Dredging and Coating

Dredging is a process in which foods are pulled through dry ingredients, such as flour, in order to coat the food before cooking. Flour can be used alone as a coating, but it is more often combined with other dry ingredients such as herbs, spices, salt, or breadcrumbs to create a seasoned coating on the food that becomes brown and crispy after it is cooked. Fish fillets, boneless poultry, pork cutlets, and veal cutlets are some of the foods that are often dredged in flour and other dry ingredients before cooking.

There are several reasons for dredging: the coating applied to the food acts as a barrier that keeps the food from sticking to the pan as it cooks; it enables the exterior of the food to become crisp and darken evenly without burning; and it prevents the texture of the food from becoming tough.

The flour and the other dry ingredients should be placed on a food mat, paper towel, shallow pan, or a large bowl. All of the dry ingredients can be mixed together and then the food can be dredged through the mixture. An alternative method is to first apply any seasonings, such as salt, pepper, herbs, or spices to the food and then dredge the food in flour. This procedure enables each piece of food to be prepared with the desired amount of seasoning, rather than relying on the seasoning to be evenly distributed in the coating mixture.