It’s quick to prepare, and it typically doesn’t garner many complaints from the little ones.
I also believe this is how I acquired my unhealthy obsession with cocktail sauce.
However, I had much less exposure to fried fish.
Photos: Megan Hageman. Design: Eat This, Not That!
But frozen fish or fish sticks were rarely on the menu at home.
So, I was able to approach this fishy taste test with fresh eyes.
Diving right in, I rounded up six different brands of fish sticks from my local supermarkets.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
I also went bold and decided to use my air fryer to cook them up.
I felt this was the most appropriate choice to ensure a crispy finished product.
Even with my limited experience, I knew that each one needed to include noticeably real-looking white fish.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
More often than not, this ended up being pollock.
And that’s it.
Simple enough, right?
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
And yes, I did diligently look for a more manageable size, but to no avail.
So, I will be snacking on them for the foreseeable future.
The gargantuan bag of fish sticks cost me a very reasonable $7.99.
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The Look:Light and definitely small.
The Taste:All of my preconceived notions and fears unfortunately turned out to be correct.
As I bit into the first stick, I could hardly discern the breading from the fish.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
Both are the same colora muted brownand feature the same mushy texture.
I would have guessed this to be more of a fish paste or whipped fish than anything else.
And, the seafood essence is so faint that the smell is more intense than the taste.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
But, I will likely be unloading the remainder of my four-pound bag onto a more forgiving friend.
The brand covers every category of fried seafood imaginable from butterfly fish to clams.
But, one of its trusty basics has always been plain and simplefish sticks.
The Look:Squared off and inconsistently sized.
The shape reminds me of a fried zucchini stick.
I was half expecting a green vegetable to come oozing out.
Some sticks are also much skinnier than others, causing a bit of uneven cooking.
The breading developed into a promising shade of brown, though.
The Taste:Rigid, dry, and flavorless.
The pollock was hardly noticeable stuck between copious amounts of breading.
But, it too had an undesirable consistency.
Since it is minced, it ended up too compact and gummy.
Not a great showing from the esteemed fisherman.
Under the Findus line, you’re able to find battered, breaded, and baked fish.
Thefish sticksspecifically are made with wild Alaska pollocknot mincedand come in a box of 10 for just $2.
The Look:Wide and rectangular.
This isthefish stick shape and look.
The Taste:The fish is more squishy than flakey, and a few spots even look raw.
I also came across gray spots throughout the flesh, which really hindered my appetite.
I wondered if I just received a bad batch.
It’s all the company knows and it takes great pride in its line of work.
Over 95% of its seafood, which includes haddock, pollock, and flounder, is wild-caught.
And, 99% of this wild-caught fish is also certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
Wild-caught minced pollock is what happens to be inside theVan de Kamp’s Fish Sticks.
I stuck with the original in a 44-count box which cost me $6.49.
The Look:Puny.
In fact, these may be even smaller than Seize the Bay’s.
I now understand why a total of six whole fish sticks makes up a serving.
They also look suspiciously like a tiny mozzarella stick with its crumby yet crispy looking breading.
The Taste: First-class crunchy breading, but not enough fish.
The fish, however, is mediocre at best, and there’s simply not enough.
Maybe the jumbo-sized sticks would have been a better choice.
Trident Seafoods Pubhouse Battered Alaska Cod
Trident Seafoods is the largest seafood company in the United States.
Its products are stocked at supermarkets all across the country.
Maybe Columbus, Ohio, just isn’t a big seafood hub and market (not surprising).
A box of seven cost me $6.79, almost a dollar each.
The Look:Smooth outside and flaky inside.
Each piece is more of a triangular shape than the elongated design shown on the packaging.
They are not crumby and coarse like the others, but have a polished exterior from the batter.
The Taste:A melt-in-your-mouth pairing of both batter and fish.
Its flavor notes were mild and not abrasively fishy.
Even so, there is one brand that I enjoyed even more.
A bag containing 10 pieces was priced at $13.49definitely not the most economical choice.
The Look:Identical to what you would be served in a restaurant’s fish and chip basket.
Each golden pocket is filled with bright white and flakey pollock.
The batter layer is just right, not too thick and not too thin.
This section became just a tad spongy.
The Taste:Buttery and tender.
The pollock managed to be firm in addition to both delicate and lean.
I also never would have guessed that the batter was gluten-free.
Its texture is puffy, not too oily, and it has a slightly garlicky and salty finish.
Add in a couple of drops of tangy tartar sauce, and this was near perfection.
It is also one of the best gluten-free products I’ve had in a while.
Orca Bay certainly doesn’t need tofishfor compliments any time soon.
Praise will come naturally as long as it sticks to this killer recipe.
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