The Best Fish And Chips Recipe



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Fish and chips was created in the 1860's in Great Britian, and rose in popularity to become the national dish of Great Britian, and a comfort food classic. So much so, that it is recognized the world over as comfort food.

Fish and chips with malt vinegar.A delicious fish and chips recipe made with salt cod

Chips For Chips And Fish

French fries soaking in water.

Cut the potatoes into french fries with the skin on. Place in a large bowl with cold water, to prevent oxidation.

French fries cooling after being blanched.French fries cooling after being blanched.

Drain potatoes thoroughly in a colander. Working in small batches, fry for 2 to 3 minutes until they are pale and floppy. Remove from oil, drain in a single layer, on a cooling rack, set over a sheet pan.

French Fries.Perfect french fries, crisp on the outside and soft and light on the inside.

Again, working in batches, fry the potatoes until they are crisp and golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and drain in a bowl lined with a paper towel. Season with kosher salt while hot and hold in the oven.

Fish And Chips Batter

Ingredients for fish and chips batter.Ingredients for fish and chips batter.
All the dry ingredients for the batter are mixed together in a bowl.The flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika.

Batter for fish and chips.Beer batter for fish and chips recipe.
Salt cod filets dredged in flour.

Lightly dredge fish strips in flour. As I was ready to batter each piece, I knocked off all of the excess flour. This step insures that the batter will adhere tightly to the fish which is what you want.

Fried cod filets.

Dip the fish into the batter and immerse into the hot oil. When the batter is set, turn the pieces of fish over and cook until golden brown. Drain the fish on the cooling rack.

British Fish And Chips Recipe

Fish and chips with malt vinegar.The Best Fish And Chips Recipe made with salt cod, russet potatoes, and malt vinegar.
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Prep Time: 20 to 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For The Fries

  • 4 quarts / 4 liters peanut oil
  • 4 large potatoes
  • Kosher salt

For The Batter

  • 280 grams / 2 cups All-Purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 5 grams / 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 gram / 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 gram / 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 pint cold beer

For The Fish

  • 1 pound firm whitefish (haddock, pollock, cod, salt-cod), cut into 2-ounce strips
  • flour, for dredging

Method

For The Fries

  1. Heat oven to 175° F / 80°
  2. Cut the potatoes into french fries with the skin on. Place in a large bowl with cold water, to prevent oxidation. The water also helps to wash off some of the excess starch.
  3. Add the peanut oil into the deep-fryer and set the temperature to 315° F / 155° C.
  4. Drain potatoes thoroughly in a colander. When the oil reaches 315° / 155°, submerge the potatoes in the oil. Working in small batches, fry for 2 to 3 minutes until they are pale and floppy. Remove from oil, drain in a single layer, on a cooling rack, set over a sheet pan, and allow to cool to room temperature.
  5. Increase the temperature of the oil to 365° / 185°. Again, working in batches fry the potatoes until they are crisp and golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and drain in a bowl lined with a paper towel. Season with kosher salt while hot and hold in the oven.

For The Fish

  1. Meanwhile, In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
  2. Whisk in the beer. Start with about 3/4 quarters of the beer and see how smooth the batter gets. You want it smooth but still thick enough to cling well to the fish. It took about 14 ounces of beer when I made it. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to 1-hour.
  3. Allow oil to return to 350° / 175°.
  4. Lightly dredge fish strips in flour, knocking off any excess flour.
  5. Working in small batches, dip the fish into the batter and immerse into the hot oil. When the batter is set, turn the pieces of fish over and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
  6. Drain the fish on the cooling rack. Transfer to the oven to hold until all the fish is done. Serve with malt vinegar.

Notes

  1. If you want to use salt cod for this recipe you will need to prepare the salt cod by soaking in water for 24 hours. See Baccala In Umido for detailed instructions.
  2. I love salt cod, I really do, so I use it for fish and chips, sometimes. What you need to realize is that using salt cod results in a battered fish that isn't quite as tender as fresh cod would be, and not everyone will necessarily appreciate the outcome.
  3. Household deep-fryers do not maintain their temperatures, like commercial fryers do. To accommodate that fact I usually set my temps higher than the recipe calls for by about 10 to 20 degrees F, or 5 to  11 degrees C.
  4. For the above recipe I set the oil to 315° / 155° for the fries, like it calls for, because you are blanching them and if the temp falls to say 300° / 150° it isn't going to impact the outcome greatly. However, when I fried the potatoes the second time I set the fryer to 375° / 190°, knowing it was going to lose 10 degrees F / 5 degrees C.
  5. The same goes for the fish, I wanted the temperature at 350° / 175° so I set it to 360° / 180°. Obviously this is going to be slightly different for everyone, depending on the brand of deep-fryer they own.
  6. If you don't own a deep-fryer you can deep-fry in a large stock pot or Dutch-oven, using a deep-fry thermometer.

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