Lifestyles

The Virtual Gourmand Column 9: Fish 'N Chips!

Three years ago, I had the honor and privilege of receiving an invitation - a very prestigious invitation - to present a scholarly paper to the Oxford Round Table. This also meant that I would be flying overseas for the first time. As luck would have it, I was to land a day early and depart a day late, leaving precious little time to explore London. Not only that, I ended up arriving on Good Friday when most of the attractions were closed (I thought England was a Protestant country!). The pubs, though, were doing a rollicking business, as people left work early for the holiday weekend, and were intent on enjoying the head start. Though I was staying at a hotel adjacent to Heathrow Airport, I still managed to find a great little pub about a half mile from the hotel, and I visited this pub at both ends of my Oxford excursion. Easy walking distance, you know.

 

I was eager not only to sample the top-fermented ales I had been told I should consume copiously, but also to partake of the world-famous 'pub grub'. At the top of my list was to try real British fish 'n chips. And since it was Good Friday (and in deference to my Catholic mama), the opportunity to sample this delicacy seemed most appropriate. It tasted every bit as good as I had been told, and was far superior to any such dish I had been served in the States. On the American side of the Atlantic, fish 'n chips more often than not is a soggy, over-battered piece of white-fleshed fish (usually billed as cod, but I suspect most often made with vastly inferior fishes) improperly fried so as to be overly greasy. Those chips on the side are also often soggy and greasy. My first attempts to reproduce the dish at home rendered an end-result that removed the greasiness. But the fish was still over-battered. To make matters worse, if I fried the chips first, they would get soggy while I was frying the fish.

 

Then I ran across a recipe for fish 'n chips in the June, 2006 issue of Cook's Illustrated that promised to deliver crispy-battered fish and crisp chips at the same time. I tried it, and was rewarded with the best fish 'n chips I'd had since my London sojourn. Seeing as it is the Lenten season again, I thought it might be appropriate to share the recipe with you-with a few of my own modifications, of course!

 

The first thing you need to address is the ingredients. You want to select a firm, well-proportioned fillet of fish. Fresh is best, of course, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Haddock or scrod are the most preferable species, in my opinion, but cod is certainly acceptable and very readily available as a frozen product nation-wide. My local Costco stocks haddock fillets at a reasonable price, so those are what I use. I also recommend selecting individual russet potatoes at the grocery store instead of buying potatoes by the bag. This approach allows you to select spuds that are free from blemishes, generally larger than their bagged counterparts, and straight as well as long spuds - the ideal shape for chips. You also need to use fresh, clean canola or peanut oil. I like canola because of its mono-unsaturated component and high smoking point. I really like peanut oil, too. It shares a high smoking point with canola oil, but its flavor is one I associate more with Asian cuisine than with Continental foods.

 

Next, you need to assemble the right equipment to do the job. You'll require a fairly large microwaveable bowl, a tall (at least 8 quart) stock pot, a candy or frying thermometer, a slotted spoon and a baking sheet and with a cooling rack. You will also need measuring cups, brown paper bags or paper towels, a bowl for mixing the batter and a spoon for mixing, but you should already have those kicking around.

 

A word about frying. For all of its simplicity, frying food is something that frustrates many home cooks. The most prevalent problem that people encounter when frying food is adding too much food to the oil at a time or not raising the temperature of the stove once they've dropped the food into the oil. Another common complication is not allowing the oil to come back up to temperature before dropping in the next round of food. The result is soggy, greasy food that isn't very appealing or healthy. However, if you understand the chemistry of frying and adjust your technique to accommodate it, frying can actually be a quite healthy way to prepare many foods.

 

The ideal temperature to fry foods lies between 350 and 375 degrees. At this temperature range, the moisture in the food is converted to steam. That steam pushes outward through the food, exiting the batter and eventually the oil. As long as the temperature of the oil is higher than about 340 degrees, this chain reaction is continuous. Since oil and water aren't the best of friends at the culinary cocktail party, as long as the steam is pushing out of the frying food, the oil can't get in to replace it. As such, it is of critical importance to keep your oil above 340 degrees at all times that there is food in it. I will explain how this can be accomplished a little later.

 

The method that the Cook's Illustrated article uses to make sure the fish and the chips are both ready at the same time and still crispy is actually very simple, I'm surprised it hadn't occurred to me earlier. Essentially, you use the oil to cook the fries partially, then batter and fry the fish, and lastly finish the fries while the fish is cooling. If the fries take so long that the fish becomes soggy during cooling, the fish can easily be crisped again in a short trip back into the oil after the fries have finished their second 'dip'.

 

The original recipe calls for the potatoes to be first peeled and then squared off to make uniformly-sized chips. This is where I differ with the person who wrote the article. First of all, I like skin on my chips. I like how it provides a subtle chewiness to the crispy fried potato. Secondly, squaring the potato off results in about a 30% loss in the potatoes. I just spent time and money selecting great individual potatoes and paid a premium price for them. Why in the hell would I want to throw a third of it away just to get 'pretty' chips? Well, the answer is, I don't. The variation in the doneness of the thick center-cut fries to the extra-crispiness of the thinner outer fries is something I like. If you don't agree, feel free to peel and square off your potatoes. Bothers me like a quart of milk.

 

Select about three pounds of potatoes (that would be about 4 large spuds). You want to wash the potatoes thoroughly and pat them dry. Cut them into " inch-thick slices horizontally, trying to keep each potato in two intact (sliced) halves. Flipping the potato halves skin side up, slice them again horizontally into ½ inch slices, placing the cut chips in the microwaveable bowl. Toss them with ½ cup oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave the chips on high for three or four minutes. Remove the wrap, toss the chips again, re-cover them and microwave them for another three or four minutes. What you are trying to achieve are partially-cooked, translucent chips that are still resistant when poked with the tip of a knife.

 

Carefully transfer the chips to a mesh strainer or collander over the sink and rinse them thoroughly under cold running water. Spread the chips on kitchen towels and thoroughly pat them dry. Cool them to room temperature. This could take anywhere from ten minutes to an hour. You've partially cooked the inside of the fries (which will reduce the amount of time they need to be in the oil), and you've removed excess starch on the surface of the chips as well as removing excess moisture. This strategy will promote a golden-brown crust on the potatoes while retaining a light and fluffy interior texture.
 

 
 
Freshly cut chips, microwaved and rinsed, chilling out on a kitchen towel 
 

While the chips are cooling, it is time to turn your attention to the fish. You need to have about one and a half pounds of whichever fish you choose to use. Portion the fillets with an eye towards the thickness of the fillets. If the pieces are of close to a uniform thickness, the danger of overcooking or under-cooking parts of the single fillet is greatly reduced. Pat the fillets dry and set them aside while you make up the batter. This would also be a good time to place three quarts of your oil in the stockpot and attach the frying thermometer to the side of the pot so it is near but not on the bottom. You do not want the tip to touch the metal bottom. Most frying thermometers are built to keep this from happening, but candy thermometers aren't usually so equipped. Turn the heat under the pot to medium and keep an eye on the temperature level as you continue to prepare the fish. When the temperature of the oil gets close to 360 degrees, the countdown has begun.
 

 
 
Cut the fillets into smaller pieces that are of roughly the same thickness.  Cooking batches of pieces of the same general size and thickness will help keep them from over or undercooking. 
 

In a mixing bowl, combine one and a half cups all-purpose flour, " cup cornstarch, " teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and paprika, two teaspoons of table salt and a teaspoon of baking powder. I like to use a wire whisk to do this, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Pour another cup and a half of all-purpose flour onto a rimmed baking sheet. By using part flour and part cornstarch, you will be creating a lighter, crispier batter. The spices will enhance the flavor of the fish (the paprika aids in making it browner), and the baking powder will add additional lift to the beer batter, making it even lighter and crispier.

 

When the oil is up to 375 degrees, add a third of the chips to the hot oil and turn the heat up to high. The ideal frying temperature is 350-360 degrees. By heating it above that temperature and then increasing the heat, you are offsetting the inevitable drop in temperature that adding the much colder chips causes. Try to keep the oil at or above 350 degrees. If it drops to 340, adjust your technique accordingly (either add fewer chips the next batch or increase the heat more after you drop them in). Fry the chips in batches for six to eight minutes, or just until they begin to brown at the corners. Using a slotted spoon or frying spider, remove the chips and drain them on your choice of brown paper bags or paper towels. Repeat until all of the chips are pre-cooked. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add another quart of oil to the pot.
 

 
 
The chips after their first fry session 
 

Dredge each piece of fish in the flour mixture on the rimmed baking sheet, shake off the excess and place on a wire rack. Add a cup and a ½ of beer (I think lager works the best, but use what you have and what you like) to the flour mixture in the bowl and stir until mixture is just combined. It should be lumpy. Add the remainder of the bottle or can of beer gradually and stir it in, testing the consistency of the batter as you stir and before you add more beer. You may not need the whole can to achieve the desired consistency, which is where it will roll off of your spoon in a ribbon just distinct enough that you could write a cursive letter with the stream on the surface of the batter.
 

 
 
The finished beer batter...  Be sure to let all of the excess batter drip from the fillets before you dredge them in the flour again. 
 

Using a pair of tongs, dip each side of the fish in the batter and hold it above the bowl to allow all of the excess to drip away. This is very important. Too much batter is potentially dangerous if it falls off of the fish while you are lowering the fish into the oil. I've burned all hell out of my hand because dripping batter splashed hot oil on my hands. Place the battered fish back into the dredging mixture and coat it again. Do this for two pieces of fish at a time and then transfer those two pieces to the oil, immediately repeating for two more pieces while the first two are frying.
 

 
 
The battered fillets, ready for the hot oil 
 

When the oil reaches 375 degrees, again increase the temperature to high. Add four pieces of the fish-- two at a time--to the oil and fry until golden brown and crispy, between seven and eight minutes. When done, transfer them to brown paper bags or paper towels to drain. Always allow the oil to come back up to 375 degrees on medium heat before adding the next batch. When all of the fish is done, again allow the oil to return to 375 degrees on medium heat.
 

 
 
The fillets in the oil...  These are just about done. 
 

When oil is again 375 degrees, add a third of the chips to the oil, again crank the heat up to high and fry until the chips are brown and crisp, about three to five minutes more. Transfer to paper towels or paper bags and immediately season with table salt to taste. Serve immediately with the fish. Repeat the process with the remainder of the chips until done.
 

 
 
Fish 'n chips worthy of any London pub...  Goes great with an English-style ale.
 

If you like the cracklings left over from frying fish, you can (carefully) pour leftover beer batter into a funnel you are holding just a half-inch from the surface of the oil. Move the funnel in a spiral pattern (starting at the middle) quickly until all of the batter in the funnel has run through. Fry until golden brown (takes a minute or two), occasionally tapping at them with your slotted spoon or frying spider to break them up and flip them over. Drain as you did the chips and serve hot.
 

 
 
Carefully pour leftover batter through a funnel into the oil to create cracklings.  They make a great garnish and are part of an attractive presentation if you want to 'pretty it up'. 
 

I hope you'll give this technique for making fantastic fish 'n chips a try the next time you have a craving for the dish. It takes a bit of effort, but the results will be as good as you will get at any chip shop in England.

 



BigO

CW Editor-at-large and Executive Chef Jason Clabaugh (BigO) hailed from New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, and has settled in a suburb of Atlanta. With the addition of a new baby to his family, he's refocused his energies on fatherhood and a new project bringing his famous mango-habanero salsa and unique barbecue sauces into commercial production.