This Common Baking Tool Is The Secret To Crispy, Golden Oven-Baked Fish

Believe it or not, air is the secret ingredient that improves a lot of recipes. It's key to your homemade marshmallows, it's foolproof for whipping up cream, and, on the more savory side of the culinary spectrum, it's critical for crisping fish. Actually bathing your seafood in the stuff, however, is a little trickier than blowing a kiss. But you can borrow a tool from your baking collection for maximum circulation.

The wire rack that you might more typically use for cooling cookies is also ideally suited for crisping fish. Crispness and moisture are mortal enemies. So when you rest a bit of fish directly on a baking sheet, moisture collects, both from the fish itself, and from any added fats, and you end up with a soggy bottom. Even if you plan to flip the fish at some point during the cook time, the damage is done and you'll still end up with one decently flaky side and one so-so, sort of steamed side, due to trace amounts of water the fish releases as it heats. The wire rack is an equalizer, exposing both sides of your branzino, salmon, or misleadingly monikered Chilean sea bass to that precious, surface crisping air. One try and the wire rack will become essential to all of your baked fish preparations.

Immersing your whole fish or filet in air could barely be any easier. Follow your favorite recipe instructions — definitely pat it all dry, maybe rub with a bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and arrange with a few aromatics — place your wire rack on your baking sheet, and literally just top with the fish. If you're a real flipping zealot go ahead and interrupt the bake, but it is virtually unnecessary when using a wire rack.

The only minor downside when baking fish on a wire rack is that it leaves one more thing to wash, and those little metal squares can be a real bear to fully clean. A standard sponge isn't dexterous enough, and even a scrub brush can be too clunky to be effective. Even the dishwasher might miss a few bits. A dedicated kitchen toothbrush works best to get it sparkling again, particularly after a soak in hot, soapy water. You'll want to get the whole thing back to gleaming, as the last thing anyone wants in a batch of the sugar cookies that the rack is actually intended for is the essence of seafood.