Pub-Style Fish & Chips
This simple comfort food classic always hits the spot. Serve with my homemade tartar sauce, plenty of lemon wedges and malt vinegar.
Fish and Chips
Ingredients
Tartar Sauce
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced capers
- 1 tablespoon minced sweet pickle
- 2 teaspoons minced tarragon
Fish & Chips
- 3 pounds Idaho russet potatoes, peeled
- 2 quarts vegetable oil
- 2 pounds of cod, rockfish, dogfish, hake or haddock, cut into 8 filets weighing 3 to 4 ounces each
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 12 ounces brown ale
- 1 tablespoon malt vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- Lemon slices and malt vinegar for serving
Instructions
Make the Tartar Sauce
Whisk together mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice and mustard in medium bowl. Whisk in olive oil.
Season with the parsley, tarragon, minced capers and sweet pickles. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the Fish and Chips
Place oil in a large pan or fryer and heat to 275 degrees F. While the oil is heating, peel and cut the potatoes lengthwise into sticks.
Fry chips for about 5 minutes in batches until soft, but not coloring up at all. Let drain and cool on paper towels. Turn oil up to 375 degrees F.
Place the flour in a large bowl and season aggressively with salt and pepper.
Dredge the fish fillets in the flour, knocking off any extra. Reserve.
Add the baking soda to the flour. Whisk in the beer, until there are no clumps. Add 1 tablespoon malt vinegar.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees F.
One piece at a time, dunk the fish pieces in the batter until well coated and fry immediately. Fry for 5 minutes, or until brown and crispy.
Place fish pieces on a tray lined with a paper towel, sprinkle with sea salt and keep warm in a preheated 175-degree oven.
Once you are finished frying the fish, fry the chips until golden and crisp, in batches. Season with salt and serve with my homemade tartar sauce, plenty of lemon wedges and malt vinegar.
Photograph by Madeleine Hill.
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