Fish and Chips

This newest installment of the Culinary Corner features a British classic: Fish and Chips.

This is probably not the easiest recipe but the effort is definitely worthwhile.

Ingredients:

6-8 Tilapia Fillets (any whitefish will suffice, but I had Tilapia in the box freezer)

2-3 large Russet potatoes

4 cups of flower (1 ½ for the dredge and 2 ½ for the batter)

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp table salt

1 tbsp onion powder

1 can non-alcoholic beer *I actually use regular beer but this is a family publication 😉

1 48 oz. bottle vegetable oil

Recipe:

For the Fries:

Rinse and chop the potatoes into French fry shapes and then allow to soak in water. The water will remove some of the starch from the potatoes as well as prevent the potatoes from sticking together during the cooking process.

Pour the entire bottle of vegetable oil into a 5 qt stock pot and turn heat to around 8 or ‘medium high’.

Allow the oil to come up to temperature (about seven to ten minutes). Grab a handful of fries and toss them oil. BE CAREFUL! The oil will splatter and it may sting a little. The second, third, and fourth handfuls will not be as violent as the first. Allow the heated oil to do the rest. *IMPORTANT: Resist the urge to stir the fires for at least the first twenty five to thirty minutes. They will undoubtedly break apart if you start stirring them before they’re crispy enough for stirring. After thirty to forty minutes (depending on your own tastes) remove the fries from the oil using tongs and place on a tray covered with paper towels. I usually add a sprinkle of salt at this point but that’s optional.

For the Fish:

Place 1 ½ cups of flower into a shallow bowl. Dredge the fillets in the flower and set aside to ‘dry’. I use a cookie tray for drying the fillets so they don’t stick to a plate on the bottom.

Reduce the heat on the oil from medium-high to medium-low or between the 4 & 5. It will take at least twenty minutes for the heated oil to come down in temperature so be patient.

Prepare the batter in a deep bowl by adding 2 ½ cups of flower, one 12 oz can of non-alcoholic beer, the garlic, powder, onion powder, and salt.

When the oil has cooled, dip the fillets, one at a time, into the batter and place them in the oil, I usually fry two or three fillets at a time depending on the size of the fillets. Each batch will take about 7 or 8 minutes. Remove the fillets and place on the cookie rack once more again, I like to sprinkle them with a dash of salt.

Sometimes I make fish sandwiches, sometimes I just have the fish and chips in the classic style. As for sauces you can use tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, vinegar or, as I did on the sandwich pictured, horseradish sauce.

Enjoy and remember if you have any questions or comments, let us know!