Introduction
Every great seaside town seems to have one place that serves fish burgers the size of your head. Golden crispy fish. Soft toasted buns. Lettuce. Pickles. Sauce everywhere. The Americans took the fish sandwich, supersized it, loaded it up, and somehow made it even harder to eat neatly. This recipe brings all that diner and boardwalk energy straight into the air fryer with thick flaky fish fillets and a proper burger build worthy of a road trip.
You’ll Need
4 white fish fillets (cod, haddock, pollock, or tilapia)
80g plain flour
40g cornflour
2 eggs, beaten
100g panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
Oil spray
For the Burger Sauce
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp pickle juice
To Serve
4 burger buns
Shredded lettuce
Sliced pickles
Sliced tomato
Optional but Dangerous
American cheese slices
Hot sauce
Coleslaw
Chunky fries
Method
Preheat your air fryer to 200°C.
Pat the fish fillets completely dry.
Place the flour and cornflour into one bowl.
Place the beaten eggs into a second bowl.
In a third bowl mix together the panko breadcrumbs, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
Coat each fish fillet first in flour, then egg, then the breadcrumb mixture.
Lightly spray the air fryer basket with oil.
Place the fish fillets into the basket in a single layer.
Spray the tops lightly with oil.
Air fry at 200°C for 10–12 minutes, carefully turning halfway, until deeply golden and crisp.
While the fish cooks, mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and pickle juice.
Warm the burger buns during the final 2 minutes.
Build the burgers with lettuce, fish fillet, pickles, tomato, and burger sauce.
Serve immediately with fries or coleslaw if using.