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Q. How do you make encrusted tenderloin or fish?

A. When encrusting a food, you want to make something stick to the outside of it during the cooking process. In order to make this work, there are a few techniques that can be utilized.

You can simply press the crusting onto the surface of the food, such as pressing sesame seeds onto a tuna loin. The protein in the tuna will help adhere the sesame seeds to the tuna.

A basic breading procedure is to dredge your food in seasoned flour which makes the product tacky, then in an egg wash, and then in bread crumbs or some other crusting agent like seeds, nuts or shredded potatoes before applying heat. When heated, the protein in the egg acts as an adhesive. All you need to do is cook the product to its desired “doneness.”

Try out Chef Jeff’s methods on the following recipes:

Chef Jeff’s Tuna Steaks with Sesame Crust & Lime Peppercorn Vinaigrette

1 cup olive oil
4 – 8 oz. tuna steaks
1/4 cup lime juice
2 large eggs
1 T. cracked black peppercorns
3/4 cup dried sesame seeds
garlic salt to taste
6 cups mixed greens

Prepare the vinaigrette with 3/4 of the olive oil, lime juice and cracked peppercorns. Adjust to your taste with the garlic salt.

Whisk the eggs. Dip one side of the tuna steak in the eggs, then in the sesame seeds, being sure to cover completely.

In the remaining olive oil, sear the sesame side of the tuna steak in a medium hot pan. Put the tuna steaks sesame side up on a baking sheet and place in a 375 degree oven. Baked to desired doneness.

Place warm tuna steaks, sesame side up, on bed of greens and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Chef Jeff’s Roasted Salmon Fillet with Shredded Potato Crust

3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup seasoned flour
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 T. spicy brown mustard
2 cups shredded fresh potatoes, rinsed
1 T. white granulated sugar
4 salmon fillets, skinned (6–8 oz each)
1/2 cup olive oil
6 cups mixed greens

Prepare the vinaigrette with the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard and sugar.

Dust one side of each salmon fillet with seasoned flour.

Whisk the eggs. Dip dusted side of each fillet in the eggs, then onto the shredded potatoes that have been spread out on a pan.

In the remaining olive oil, sear the potato side of the salmon fillet in a medium hot pan until the potatoes have been cooked to a golden brown. Place the salmon fillets, potato-crusted side up on a baking sheet and place in a 375 degree oven. Baked to desired doneness.

Drizzle the mustard vinaigrette over the mixed greens. Remove the salmon fillets from the oven and place potato side-up on a bed of mixed greens. Serves 4