Fish & Chips (Authentic English Style)

Jarom isn't one for fish really unless it is breaded and fried, so I decided, even though it is not healthy at all, to make Fish and Chips. I went online for an Authentic English style recipe. It turned out good, but it took me a couple days. I was supposed to make them Thursday and we ended up at the dealership getting a new truck all night and skipped dinner. Friday I was going to make them and Jarom got home and said he was going to bed, so I wasn't going to cook if no one was going to eat, so Saturday was the day. I just wish I had two deep fryers so that I could have the potatoes going at the same time. I found the recipe and directions on the internet written by Mark Knowles at http://hubpages.com/hub/Perfect-Fish-n-Chips-.

FISH
Ingredients:
4 pieces of Cod or Haddock roughly 1/3 rd lb each
1 sprig fresh parsley

For the batter:

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup heavy beer (Guinness is best but any heavy beer will work)

INSTRUCTIONS:
First, make the batter and let stand. In a bowl, sift the flour and salt. Next crack the egg into the bowl and whisk the mixture. Next, slowly add the beer, whisking all the time. Keep adding the beer until the batter is a thick consistency. Set aside.

Place the oil in the pan, no more than a third of the way up the side. If you are using the oil you just cooked chips in, allow it to reheat. When the oil is hot, place the frying basket in the pan.

Now, wash and chop the parsley finely. Next, sprinkle some flour on the cutting board and sprinkle the parsley over the flour.

Next, wash the fish under cold water and roll in the flour/parsley. It should now be coated in flour and parsley. Make sure the oil is hot. Dip the fish pieces, one at a time into the batter and drop into the oil. Do not put the fish in the basket and lower th basket in, because they will stick to the basket. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown. Remove with the basket, place on a paper towel to drain and serve immediately. These will not stay crispy and must be served straight away. Serve with chips, salt and vinegar or tartar sauce. If you want to be really old fashioned, serve them on paper. Not newspaper, even in England, that’s illegal now.

CHIPS
Ingredients:

Potatoes
Oil – Peanut oil is best.
Salt

INSTRUCTIONS:
That’s it, no other flavorings. If you really want to make them English, a bottle of malt vinegar is needed. Absolutely no other vinegar will do! It has to be malt vinegar. In fact, it has to be Sarson’s Malt Vinegar as far as I am concerned.

First, peel the potatoes and slice them into chips. Cut them lengthwise, about ½ inch thick, and then cut them into slices about ¼ inch wide. Fatter is healthier. Put the sliced potatoes in a bowl of cold water to cover them We will wash the excess starch off in the water. Leave them to soak while the oil is heating.

Now, pour the oil into the pan, making sure that it doesn’t come more than a third of the way up the pan. This is also important – If there is too much oil in the pan, there is a risk of the oil bubbling over the top. This we do not want.

Next, heat the oil on a high heat to around 375F. If you do not have a thermometer, just drop a small piece of potato in the oil – when it floats, the oil is hot enough.

When the oil is hot, dry the potatoes thoroughly, place in a frying basket and lower them into the oil slowly. When the chips are covered, and the bubbling has stopped, cover the pan and cook the chips for about 6 minutes. This is to blanch the potatoes and do the actual cooking. They should not be brown when you stop this, just cooked. Now take the chips out of the pan and allow the oil to heat back up to around 390F. When the oil has reheated, put the chips back in the pan to brown. This should only take a couple of minutes. A soon as they turn golden brown, remove them and place on paper towels in the serving dish. After a few seconds, the excess fat will drain of into the towels. Remove the towels, sprinkle the chips with a little salt and serve hot. They must be served immediately, or they will go soggy. Serve with battered fish, and salt and vinegar for authentic English Fish ‘N” Chips.

NOTE: All the words, except for the introduction is straight fromt he website and in Mark's own words.