I love the crunchy exterior of fried fish, but try to stay away from deep-fried foods as much as possible. However, oven-baked fish filets are often not as crispy and can easily be overcooked. This recipe is different.

These cod filets are juicy and tender, with a beautiful golden-brown crust. I’ve also added a little horseradish and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the egg mixture to give the cod an extra boost of flavor. If you’re making this recipe for kids, feel free to leave those out.

Best of all, no deep-fryer is needed.

Oven-fried fish filets are often crispy on all sides, except the bottom. The bottom is usually soggy from soaking up the fish juices and lack of air circulation. Cooking these fish filets on a wire rack ensures that each side is super-crispy.

If you don’t have a wire rack, pre-toasting the breadcrumbs will also help keep the bottom from becoming too soggy.

Pre-toasting the panko breadcrumbs guarantees that they will be golden-brown and crispy once the fish is fully cooked. If the breadcrumbs aren’t toasted beforehand, the fish would be grossly overcooked by the time the breadcrumbs turned golden-brown in color. It’s one of my favorite kitchen tricks to ensure that I always get a beautiful golden-brown crust.

Instead of toasting the breadcrumbs in the oven, I like to toast them in a dry skillet. This way, I can keep a close eye on them to make sure they reach the perfect color.

Just don’t take your eyes off the stove or they will burn quickly!

When choosing fish filets, try to find thick pieces. Filets that are thicker than one inch are less prone to drying out quickly in the oven, giving you a little more room for error. However, this recipe will also work for thinner pieces (like meat closer to the tail), just keep a meat thermometer handy and a close eye on the oven.