Homemade Fish and Chips

Fresh Gulf of Maine, beer-battered haddock and scallops served with homemade slaw (our own carrots; cabbages from Barker's Farm) and chips (heirloom spuds from Barker's).  The only way to fly.  Peanut oil is best.

Not all batters are created equal.  Too much flour, you wind up with pasty fish.  Too much liquid, and you wind up with a thin, baseless crust.  For the best crust and flavor, use good beer, a couple o' good secrets, and pay heed to process.


Equipment: large bowl; whisk; jelly roll pan; wire rack set over another jelly roll pan or baking sheet; dutch oven for frying; high-temp thermometer; tongs; heat-proof spider (slotted spoon); platter with several sheets of unbleached, 100% post-consumer recycled paper toweling or brown paper bag (:~)

 Batter for ~1-1/2 lbs of fish (whether finfish, shellfish, of a combo of both; will feed 4 provided you serve fries and/or onion rings!):

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose (unbleached) flour
• 1/2 cup non-gmo cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp or more cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp  paprika
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp mild dijon mustard (shh...secret)
• 12 oz. cold, good lager.  Try a bottle or two first, make sure it's good.
• 1-1/2 qts peanut oil for frying

Cut fish fillets into eight equally hefty chunks.  Pat thoroughly dry with paper toweling.  Lightly brush--thinthinthin coat--each fillet on both sides with mustard.

Begin heating peanut oil to ~375 degrees in dutch oven (or other large cast iron pot).

Except for baking powder, mix dry ingredients in large bowl until well combined.  Set aside 3/4 cup of the mixture onto jelly roll pan.   Now add baking powder to bowl.

Dredge fish chunks in jelly roll pan flour, shaking off excess.  Place on wire rack set over 2nd jelly roll pan/baking sheet.

Add most of beer to flour in bowl (watch the nice fizzy reaction from the beer and baking powder go to work!), whisking as you go until a thick, homogenous consistency is achieved.  Add more beer if necessary.  Or drink it, whichever you prefer.  Batter should ribbon-stream from whisk.

Gently place each piece of dredged fish into batter.  Yup, all in at one time (hopefully your idea of a large bowl is my idea of a large bowl!).  Using tongs, lift one piece at a time, let excess drip off, and then swiftly smudge in remaining flour mixture on jelly roll pan.  Coat both sides.  Place pieces back on wire rack in single layer.

When oil reaches 375 degrees, increase heat to high and add battered fish to oil with tongs.  It should all fit rather snugly in pot.  Fry, gently stirring, or even turning over, until golden brown, 6-7 minutes.  Using spider/slotted spoon, transfer fish to paper toweling to drain.

Freshly, lightly fried scallops and haddock.  Fisheries are on the up and up for these two species now--at least here on the East coast.  Not that the method of harvesting scallops is perfect.........but for the once or twice a year we eat them, I'm okay with taking a picture of them in my kitchen.