Fun With Fish 'n' Chips

Andy q said:

Fun With Fish 'n' Chips
April 29, 2007

It was the deep fryer's "maiden voyage."

Being my first fish 'n' chips, I took my time.

It certainly was a fun mess and everything went well.

I twice deep fried the french fries and while good when fresh out of the
fryer, they lost crunch and dried out some in the oven while waiting for
the fish.

The french fries are more perishable than the fish. Do the fish
first, so you get fresh outta the fryer chips.

Quoted message said:

I did pause between "batches" to let the fryer return to temp.

Fish deep fried up great. The cod just melted in my mouth. Mild and flaky
fish. I malt vinegar'd the first two filets and that added a nice mild
tang. The third filet I used tartar sauce which overpowered the flavor of
the fish. The batter fried up to a nice light crispiness.

Fresh-squeezed lemon or lime is far better than any old malt vinegar,
and infinitely better than tartar sauce.

Quoted message said:

Alas, I didn't have newspaper to serve it on. 🙁

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Andy

--Bryan

Andy <q> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Alas, I didn't have newspaper to serve it on. 🙁

Make sure you use a 'white' paper to wrap the fish and chips in before you
wrap with newspaper.

Quoted message said:

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

LOL!! I have the exact same sort of knives!!

Quoted message said:

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Do the fish first next time.

On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 02:51:26 +0000 (UTC), PeterL
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Andy <q> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Alas, I didn't have newspaper to serve it on. 🙁

Make sure you use a 'white' paper to wrap the fish and chips in before you
wrap with newspaper.

Absolutely ... the ink from yesterday's classifieds does nothing to
enhance the taste.

Andy q said:

Fun With Fish 'n' Chips
April 29, 2007

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Fish deep fried up great. The cod just melted in my mouth. Mild and flaky
fish. I malt vinegar'd the first two filets and that added a nice mild
tang. The third filet I used tartar sauce which overpowered the flavor of
the fish. The batter fried up to a nice light crispiness.

Alas, I didn't have newspaper to serve it on. 🙁

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Which recipe did you use for the batter?
Eggs or no eggs? Beer or no beer?
Both???

Did you use malt vingear?

--
See return address to reply by email

Andy q said:

Fun With Fish 'n' Chips
April 29, 2007

It was the deep fryer's "maiden voyage."

Being my first fish 'n' chips, I took my time.

It certainly was a fun mess and everything went well.

I twice deep fried the french fries and while good when fresh out of the
fryer, they lost crunch and dried out some in the oven while waiting for
the fish.

I did pause between "batches" to let the fryer return to temp.

Fish deep fried up great. The cod just melted in my mouth. Mild and flaky
fish. I malt vinegar'd the first two filets and that added a nice mild
tang. The third filet I used tartar sauce which overpowered the flavor of
the fish. The batter fried up to a nice light crispiness.

Alas, I didn't have newspaper to serve it on. 🙁

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Andy

Looks great Andy, and delicious. I'll bet it was fun.

I know this is authentic Andy. A photo without the Elmer's Glue in the
background is sure to be a fake. ;-)

Koko
---
Blog in progress
http://kokoscorner.blogspot.com
updated 4/14 Irish Pub page.

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw

PeterL said:

Andy <q> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Do the fish first next time.

I was under the impression (possibly mistaken) the potatoes should be fried
first so as not to taste of fish.

Jill

Andy said:

Fun With Fish 'n' Chips
April 29, 2007

It was the deep fryer's "maiden voyage."

Being my first fish 'n' chips, I took my time.

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Andy

Hrrrmph! And since the idea came up in the course of our chat, did you save
any for moi? 😉 Good job!

Jill

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

PeterL said:

Andy <q> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Do the fish first next time.

I was under the impression (possibly mistaken) the potatoes should be
fried first so as not to taste of fish.

Jill

You can blanch/cookoff the chips first, do the fish and then as the fish
is draining, throw the chips in for the second time.

If the oil is fresh and kept at the right temp, and if the fish is
battered, the chips won't taste of fish.

If you've had chips that tasted like fish, the oil is *way* past it's
'use by date'!!

Andy said:

Fun With Fish 'n' Chips
April 29, 2007

It was the deep fryer's "maiden voyage."

Being my first fish 'n' chips, I took my time.

It certainly was a fun mess and everything went well.

I twice deep fried the french fries and while good when fresh out of the
fryer, they lost crunch and dried out some in the oven while waiting for
the fish.

I did pause between "batches" to let the fryer return to temp.

Fish deep fried up great. The cod just melted in my mouth. Mild and flaky
fish. I malt vinegar'd the first two filets and that added a nice mild
tang. The third filet I used tartar sauce which overpowered the flavor of
the fish. The batter fried up to a nice light crispiness.

Alas, I didn't have newspaper to serve it on. 🙁

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Andy

Sounds good Andy...I love fish and chips!

--
"I'm thinking that if this dilemma grows any more horns, I'm going to
shoot it and put it up on the wall."

- Harry Dresden

PeterL said...

Quoted message said:

Andy <q> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Alas, I didn't have newspaper to serve it on. 🙁

Make sure you use a 'white' paper to wrap the fish and chips in before

you

Quoted message said:

wrap with newspaper.

I have had it served directly on newspaper once. I think printing inks are
vegetable oil based these days, so it "could" be OK if any rubbed off (??).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

LOL!! I have the exact same sort of knives!!

I got a box of them from an Outback steakhouse. You?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Do the fish first next time.

I'll try the suggested "Round #1 chips, Fish, Round #2 chips" next time.

All that's left to do now is visit one of the pubs suggested by the manager
of Trader Joe's to see how close I came to authentic. After all, it HAS
been a decade or more between real and my Fish 'n' Chips.

Andy

said...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Which recipe did you use for the batter?
Eggs or no eggs? Beer or no beer?
Both???

sf,

1 cup AP flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp each cayenne pepper, white pepper
1/8 tsp Old Bay seasoning
12 oz. water (to thin/drippy batter)

No malt vinegar in the batter.

Truth be told, the flavor of the fish came through way better than any
detectable flavor of the crust.

Andy

said...

Quoted message said:

Looks great Andy, and delicious. I'll bet it was fun.

I know this is authentic Andy. A photo without the Elmer's Glue in the
background is sure to be a fake. ;-)

Koko

Thanks! <vbg>

Andy

jmcquown said...

Quoted message said:

Andy said:

Fun With Fish 'n' Chips
April 29, 2007

It was the deep fryer's "maiden voyage."

Being my first fish 'n' chips, I took my time.

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Andy

Hrrrmph! And since the idea came up in the course of our chat, did you
save any for moi? 😉 Good job!

Jill

The deep fryer with the temperature control (which was a little shy of
indicated temp), combined with the thermometer really helped!

I wanted to use up all the canola oil but it fell short of the fryer's fill
line so I added in peanut oil to it. I couldn't taste any oil in the
finished product but the grease was certainly present. That's part of the
charm that is fish'n'chips, right?

All that prep, cooking and cleanup time (about 2 casual hours) for a brief
15 minutes of dining... yeah, I'd do it again, for you!

Thanks,

Andy

ravenlynne said...

Quoted message said:

Sounds good Andy...I love fish and chips!

Thanks.

I actually slept better than usual! Go figure!? 😉

Andy

Food Snob said:

Fresh-squeezed lemon or lime is far better than any old
malt vinegar, and infinitely better than tartar sauce.

Very true. Just some lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'

Andy q said:

said...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Which recipe did you use for the batter?
Eggs or no eggs? Beer or no beer?
Both???

sf,

1 cup AP flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp each cayenne pepper, white pepper
1/8 tsp Old Bay seasoning
12 oz. water (to thin/drippy batter)

No malt vinegar in the batter.

Truth be told, the flavor of the fish came through way better than any
detectable flavor of the crust.

🙂 I know you didn't put it in the batter, but did you use malt
vinegar on the fried fish?

--
See return address to reply by email

said...

Quoted message said:

🙂 I know you didn't put it in the batter, but did you use malt
vinegar on the fried fish?

🙁 I know I didn't put it in the batter, but did you actually read my post?

Andy

Andy <q> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

PeterL said...

Quoted message said:

Andy <q> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Alas, I didn't have newspaper to serve it on. 🙁

Make sure you use a 'white' paper to wrap the fish and chips in
before

you

Quoted message said:

wrap with newspaper.

I have had it served directly on newspaper once. I think printing inks
are vegetable oil based these days, so it "could" be OK if any rubbed
off (??).

They still taste like [censored] though.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://i13.tinypic.com/4tu7gqp.jpg

LOL!! I have the exact same sort of knives!!

I got a box of them from an Outback steakhouse. You?

http://www.kingofknives.com.au/

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A fun dinner! Nothing to it.

Do the fish first next time.

I'll try the suggested "Round #1 chips, Fish, Round #2 chips" next
time.

All that's left to do now is visit one of the pubs suggested by the
manager of Trader Joe's to see how close I came to authentic. After
all, it HAS been a decade or more between real and my Fish 'n' Chips.

The last lot was over here, hey?

Andy <q> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

said...

Quoted message said:

🙂 I know you didn't put it in the batter, but did you use malt
vinegar on the fried fish?

🙁 I know I didn't put it in the batter, but did you actually read my
:post?

Andy

It's quite obvious that she didn't.

This recipe is similar to the the one I use for fish'n'chips.

http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/sauces/01/rec0109.html

If you want to be *really* decadent, coat the chips in batter as well
:-)