Fish & Chips

It would be impossible for me to make any kind of entry into English cuisine without including what is arguably the most well known dish: Fish & Chips. This fried favorite amongst locals and tourists alike has become a pub standard across the globe. Add another dish with muddy beginnings to the list, the famous meal is one of the earliest examples of culinary fusion. Based back to Jewish Immigrants from Holland who used similar cooking methods to the Spanish and Portuguese, the fish was fried so then it could be eaten the next day without the use of butter. The dish itself was one of the very few that was not rationed out during WWI and WWII.

Also traditionally served in old newspapers, most Fish & Chips can still be found in newspaper similar paper and wrapped in a cone for easy eating while walking. Traditional accompaniments are malt vinegar, fresh lemon and ketchup. Other sauces can be added in depending on the location such as tartar sauce in the US, curry sauces in Ireland and Scotland and cocktail sauces in some other spots. It really comes down to personal preference from there on out.

I’ll be honest. I ate a LOT of fish and chips while we were in England. I kinda couldn’t help it. It’s locked in my brain when I think of the country and I knew it was going to be the most authentic there. It was also part of that first famous meal in London at the Mayfair Chippy. Like I said in my last post, that meal at the Mayfair Chippy was regarded as the best meal in England by Randy and myself. Don’t get me wrong, we had some amazing food while we were there. And I loved pretty much everything I had. But that first meal of fish and chips came with a curry sauce, tartar sauce and mushy peas. All of it was divine. Hot, crispy, salty, flavorful and quintessentially British in every way, it set the standard for how all fish and chips should taste moving forward.

Not all fried fish is the same across the pond. You actually have your choice in most places of what kind of fish you want. We stuck mostly to Cod, as I have for the following recipe. But you can choose other fish like Haddock, Pollack, Skate or Hake. In our traditional pub dinner on our second night, we dined at Coach & Horses in the Mayfair area of London.

While we didn’t have the complete meal, we did kick off our meal with an appetizer of Fried Haddock, which was quite tasty. This was a cozy pub where we enjoyed huge meals and people watched. More on what else we ate there later…

Further along in our trip, we spent a day in Bath and enjoyed one more Pub meal whilst in the historic town. While Bath was loaded with dining options of all kinds and we actually had some amazing pizza while sharing dinner with some friends, we settled into The Salamander for lunch. Dying to know what Toad in a Hole was (it’s sausage links baked into a Yorkshire pudding), Randy ordered that. But I dove into one more meal of legit Fish & Chips. It was worth it.

So for ours, I also stuck with Cod. It’s a meaty white fish that really holds well in frying. For the beer batter, I actually worked up two different options: one with an IPA for a traditional batter and one Gluten Free! Both worked out great and gave that perfect beer battered taste. For fries, you can always use frozen ones but I made up my own for this recipe. Remember to cut your fries a little meatier as they would in England.

Keep your oil between 350 and 375 degrees for maximum crispness for both potatoes and fish.

For sauce, I steer a littles away from tartar sauce and made up my own remoulade that I’ve come to make a lot with fish options. It’s got a lot of flavor and works very well with both the fish and the fries as an accompanying sauce.

And for one more traditional pick, we made our own mushy peas. Some love this dish and others are not fans. You can choose whether to make it or not but if you really want to be authentically English, it’s a great addition.

Pubs are suffering in England much like restaurants are here in the US. When we are in a world Post Covid, and if you are lucky enough to travel across the pond, stop in and enjoy a pint or two and some wonderful pub fare. Most pubs are family run, like small restaurants here. They thrive on the life that locals and tourists bring to their small operations. So support them by checking out some of their delicious food. It’ll bring some of the best memories of your time there, I promise.

Fish & Chips

Serves 4

• 4 large russet potatoes
• 8 pieces of white fish (cod or haddock work best)
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 12 oz bottle of lager or IPA beer, chilled
• Malt Vinegar and lemons wedges to taste

Scrub potatoes well, dry and cut down into thick strip pieces.

In a large pot of boiling water, drop fries in and boil for 10 minutes. Remove and dry thoroughly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and paprika. Whisk dry ingredients together. While whisking, slowly add beer to dry mixture. Continue stirring until all combined but do not overmix.

In a large thick bottomed pot, bring 2 quarts of canola oil to 350-375 degrees.

Carefully dip fish pieces into beer batter mix and coat fish on all sides.

Carefully lower fish into hot oil. Cook until batter is golden brown on one side and then flip over. Cook until fish is 145 degrees in center. To check temperature, remove fish from oil and check with thermometer.

Keep fish in a 250 degree oven after removing from oil to keep warm while cooking fries.

Place potato fries in oil and cook until golden brown. If doing in an air fryer, cook at 370 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve both hot with malt vinegar and lemon wedges for garnish.

Remoulade Sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/8 cup red onion, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp capers, chopped
• 2 tsp caper juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix until combined. Serve with fish and chips.

Mushy Peas

• 2 cups Frozen Peas
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 springs of mint, minced
• 1 Tbsp butter
• Salt and Pepper

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add frozen peas and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Drain water from pot and stir in lemon juice, mint, butter and salt and pepper. Mash peas with the back of a spoon or using a potato masher. Mash mixture to desired consistency.

Serve warm.

Gluten Free Beerless Batter

• 2 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 12 oz club soda

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl using a fork or a whisk.

Slowly stir in club soda. Mix until combined but not over mixed. Use for fish or any other food item that you would like beer battered.