Fish and Chips Recipes

[GrandMasterD]

I am a confirmed fish and chipaholic Is there any out there that want to share a batter recipe. Also how hot must the oil be to cook battered fish.

Any thoughts from all :

Grand Master D

[bughut]

When i want to make an impession i fire up some beef dripping for the frying. There are many award winning chippies in the uk that swear by it.

The batter I keep simple. i.e. :- 8oz Self raising flour
1tsp vinegar
pinch salt
enough water for a thick, but not too gloopy batter It doesn't need to sit for ages, you can use it straight away

Give the COD if possible a good coating. Keep hold of the tail and lower slowly, keeping hold of the tail till it has started to cook, then let go.
(oil should be at 190) I prefer the fillets not to be too thick ( they can seem a bit soggy otherwise)
That's it.
Done right, this deserves home made chips of course. Thick cut and fried at 140 till just cooked. Drained and left for a while to cool. Then flashed off at 190
All thats missing now is a bottle of heinz tomato sauce, a pot of tea and buttered slices of white bread.

[GrandMasterD]

Thx Bughut.

You cannot get a better recipe than from the UK, the inventors of Fish and Chips (in my book).

[boar_d_laze]

I prefer the coating on my fish to be very light and crisp, in the style of tempura, and some of the better chipper vans (can there be a "better" chipper van?) and pubs of the UK. I also like my potatoes fried properly -- something that's impossible in a van, difficult in a restaurant, and rather easy at home.

Fish and Chips

Equipment
Fryer or pan set up as fryer
Brown paper bags

Chips:
Ingredients:

Enough potato by weight for 2, cut into chips, soaked in water
Enough oil for frying

Fish:
Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 tbs double acting baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 ex-large egg
1-1/2 cups, ice-cold club-soda or seltzer, or bottle of lager beer, divided in halves
1 or 2 ice cubes
1 pound cod, haddock or plaice fillets, cut into long triangular wedges
1/2 cup rice flour, or corn starch

Technique:

A proper chip is no small thing. Peel your potatoes, and cut them into chips about the size of your index or driver's finger. Cover the potatoes with water, discard the water, and cover again with fresh water. Potatoes should soak at least 45 minutes, and up to 4 hours.

While the potatoes are soaking, begin the batter. Sift the flour baking powder and salt together. Beat the egg and add it and about 3/4 cup liquid and stir to combine a very smooth batter. Cover with cling wrap, and hold in the refrigerator. The partially completed batter should be held for at least 45 minutes and up to 2 hours.

When ready to cook, Wash and dry your fillets, then portion into long triangular wedges, each about 4 oz. English style is skin on; American is skin off. Dust the fillets with enough rice powder or corn starch, so they are fully covered, and completely dry. Shake off any excess and reserve the fish on a rack.

Heat the oil to 325. Drain enough chips to fill the fryer without crowding, reserving three for later. (You may have to work in batches.) Dry them thoroughly with a towel. Cook the potatoes through, about 5-6 minutes. They will either not brown at all, or only brown slightly.

Set the potatoes aside to drain on paper. A brown paper bag works better than paper towels for draining oil.

Raise the oil temperature to 375.

Remove the batter from the refrigerator. Add the ice cube and the remaining liquid, and stir until just combined. Dip the fish in batter until coated.

If you only have one smallish fryer cook as follows: Fry the fish until done, about 5 minutes. While the fish is frying drain, dry and reserve the remaining three chips. As soon as the fish comes out of the oil, add those chips, and let them cook for 60 seconds only. Then remove and discard. (Their purpose is to clean any fish taste that got into the oil.) Immediately, return the partially cooked chips to the oil, and cook until they pick up some color, about 5 minutes. Remember, they are already cooked

If your fryer is big enough to handle the temperature shock, you may fry the fish and partially fried chips at the same time. If you do so, chips on the bottom, fish on top.

If you have two fryers, fry the fish and the partially fried chips simultaneously.

Drain the fish and the chips on fresh brown paper. Salt lightly while still hot.

Plate the fish and chips with lemon wedges. Serve with malt vinegar
on the side.

Hope this helps,
BDL

[GrandMasterD]

Thx BDL

Wow what a great recipe. Can't wait to try it.

You do know your stuff. One little note . Where I live we grew up on Halibut. That is a great fish. Ever tried it?

[boar_d_laze]

Originally Posted by GrandMasterD

One little note . Where I live we grew up on Halibut. That is a great fish. Ever tried it?

Yes. It's a great fish for fish and chips. I mentioned plaice, and should have added halibut too.

The fin muscle is a huge delicacy as sushi/sashimi (called hirame engawa). Great spicy (Korean) fish soup. Man, I love that! I grew up with it as a family favorite -- broiled and baked (Mom was not an accomplished or even a good cook, but still). I like to grill it, love to smoke it and cook it in other ways that gives it a fluffy texture. The Chinese and Vietnamese fish markets I use (I'm not Asian, btw) feature very fresh halibut at very good prices. The only drawback is that it's not well cut, and you really need to do your own trimming. In the greater scheme, that's not much of a drawback though. Is it?

BDL

[Ishbel]

I don't cook my own fish n chips very often (we have 2 exceptional fish n chip shops in Edinburgh!) - but when I do, I use a tempura style batter, too. Much lighter.

Although other fish are available, haddock is Scotland's first choice for fried fish, although other fish are also available, along with Scotland's 'Heart Attack on a plate' - aka a deep fried pizza and chips - oh and a deep fried Mars Bar for dessert...

[chefinfrance]

A word of warning for any readers without experiance of deep fat frying, best to avoid storing your raw chips in water as hot fat and water is a accident waiting to happen. Best thing is to prepare your chips at the last moment and simply wipe off excess starch with kitchen paper.
steve masterchefinfrance

[boar_d_laze]

Originally Posted by chefinfrance

A word of warning for any readers without experiance of deep fat frying, best to avoid storing your raw chips in water as hot fat and water is a accident waiting to happen. Best thing is to prepare your chips at the last moment and simply wipe off excess starch with kitchen paper.
steve masterchefinfrance

Steve,

I strongly disagree with the premise that short-cutting is the "best thing."

Yes, you have to be careful. However, soaking in clean water is an important part of the process of making good "chips," "fries," or for that matter, "pomme frites" and "pommes souffle." Soaking dilutes the (internal) potato water which is slightly bitter, rendering the final product slightly sweeter. The diluted internal moisture will turn to steam at a lower temperature, leaving the middle airier. Finally, the browning reaction will be enhanced.

If you're sufficiently organized to soak, drain and dry the potatoes at a slight distance from the hot oil, you'll be OK. My directions included a clear instruction to dry the potatoes well before frying. Any adult should able to handle this level of kitchen safety, which is only one step up from cutting up your own food rather than having Mom do it. All of the participants in this thread have shown themselves to have a reasonable level of sophistication. There's no need to dumb good technique down to the "blunt scissors" level. Besides, Mommy is taking her nap.

Or at least I'm going to,
BDL

[Fishmonger Ran]

WoW! Fantastic recipe's all. I saw the thread and thought that "here is where I could put my two cents in." And as normally the case in this forum, there were already asnwers that I could not top.
That being said, I will give my meager opinions.
Here in the Northwest (seattle), Beer is king in all fish batters that are not tempura. And we like to use a lager.
There are very few fish houses out here that dont use Halibut. So sweet and moist! YUM!
But out here, where fresh fish comes off the docks daily, we will use fresh Rockfish, Snapper, and of course Cod or Haddock.
If you get the chance, fresh Halibut Cheeks are the ultimate fish n chip fish. Better with tempura, but works darn good with beer batter.
In my stores, we cut to order fish n chips. We will throw anything in the fryer for our customers. The biggest suprise to me was Escolar. Took to the batter real nice.
I hope you found what you were looking for.

[chefinfrance]

Safety is no accident. so if you are not experianced with deep fat frying and you dont like hospital food I would advise you dumb down to quote Bdl
Steve masterchefinfrance

[Mapiva]

I'm not a big fan of a thick batter for fish. I prefer to dust with flour, salt, papper, and a touch of curry powder and then pan fry the snapper skin on.

I like to use golden yukon potatoes for their sweetness and slice thinly. I par cook them in a pan fry using olive oil, and then let them rest. When the fish is almost ready I pan fry the potatoes again at a higher temperature.

I know I know, why fry in olive oil but I haven't been able to find an oil that tastes as good. Besides, Mario Batali fries in extra virgin olive oil!

Thanks for the idea of soaking the potatoes - will try.

[OregonYeti]

Bughut, when you said Heinz tomato sauce, I would guess that's what Americans would call catsup ??

[Ishbel]

I'm sure Bughut is talking about the same stuff, but I have to take issue with her choice.... HP Sauce is THE only way to go with traditional fish-n-chips!
HP Sauce Weekend Freedom

[GrandMasterD]

HP Sauce???? with Fish and chips ?????? Wow never ever thought of it. Good old Malt vinegar is my staple. But again anything from the UK must be taken seriously.

I actually par boil my chips in salted water, cool them and place in the fridge over night. It drys them completely so there is no splatter. It tends to make the chips crispier when you double fry them.

Signed the fishandchipaholic

Give me more folks its great.