Mustard Is the Key to More Flavorful Breading

I love breading. I find that the crispy crust of a good breading can make everyday weekday meals a little sublime. Lightly breaded trout fillet, crispy pork chop, slightly crunchy chicken breast.

The fact is that breading is traditionally understood as dirty hands and dishes. In the most traditional sense, you would make three meals: one with flour, one with egg mixture, and one with breadcrumbs. You use one hand to move the food while the other hand stays clean.

The reason I so rarely go down this traditional path is because of the PITA factor. You have to rinse the egg and then you will inevitably end up losing at least some of the flour and breadcrumbs as they are all contaminated after you are done and you cannot reuse them. Finally, there are additional dishes.

When I’m just cooking for myself and it’s a simple or quick meal, it doesn’t bother me. Sometimes I dust something without breading, which helps a little, but does not add much flavor, only texture.

I thought about it and realized that the whole breading process doesn’t add much flavor either. Egg wash? Any flavor in breadcrumbs; the only thing that egg wash gives us is stickiness.

I often color my proteins with various sauces and mixtures. Mustard is one of my favorites, especially the deep-tasting, grainy mustard that I ferment myself. I wondered if, as with mayonnaise, the mustard itself could be the binder for the breadcrumbs. I took the crumb container from the freezer and tried it on a pork chop. The crumbs stuck after a light rub of mustard, but will they stay in the pan?

It was a resounding success and I have since repeated it with all kinds of proteins, from fish to scallops, chicken quarters and my favorite roast beef. It’s not just that the crumb sticks, but that the mustard itself adds flavor.

Lifehacker previously mentioned how mayonnaise can be used for this purpose , which led to a discussion about what other sauces might be a better breading binder than egg mix. Oyster sauce, duck sauce, ketchup, tomato sauce and the most obvious: Caesar sauce.

Silicone brushes will change your kitchen. They are easy to keep clean and you can use less sauce because you don’t waste it on the bristles of the brush. Choose the mustard you like: imagine pork tenderloin with honey mustard, or really grainy poupon, or spicy Chinese mustard on a slice of eggplant. Brush one side of large scallops with wine mustard. Apply it – it doesn’t have to be thick, just get decent coverage.

Now sprinkle the dyed protein with breadcrumbs and press them in. Fry the egg white on the breaded side (no need to bread on all sides, I often do just one) in a skillet over medium heat with a little fat, such as oil or butter in a skillet. The temperature is too high and you will burn the breadcrumbs; over medium to medium-high heat, you can leave the egg white in the pan long enough to get a nice crispy crust from the breading before flipping it.

Then proceed as you would like with your recipe. You’ll find that the crispy crust and flavor of the mustard isn’t overpowering, just a nice kick of extra flavor and texture.