Description
Based on Fish and Chips, from Epicurious.com
Ingredients
Scale
For the fish:
- 1–1/2 lb boneless cod, haddock, pollock, or halibut filets, cut into 1-inch wide strips—frozen is fine, but thaw it before cooking
- 2 C all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 12-oz bottle of ale (substitute other beer or club soda)
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 qt high-temp frying oil, such as peanut oil
For the fries:
- 2 ½ lb russet potatoes
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3 qt peanut oil
- Salt for seasoning
(See our article, Homemade French Fries, Golden and Crisp, for a more in-depth look at the fries and their instructions.)
Instructions
Prepare and par-cook the fries
- Cut the fries to shape and soak them for 30 minutes in cold water.
- Drain the potatoes and dry them with some paper towels. Toss them with the cornstarch and let them sit for about 20 minutes. Preheat the oil to 325°F (163°C).
- Cook the fries in batches in the oil for about 4 minutes until blond.
- Set the par-cooked fries aside or refrigerate them while you prepare the fish.
Prepare and cook the fish
- Preheat your oven to 250°F (121°C) and prepare a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
- Whisk together 1-1/2 C of the flour with the ale and 1/4 tsp salt. Do not over-whisk, you just want everything to be combined.
- Place the remaining 1/2 C of flour in a separate bowl.
- Clip a ChefAlarm probe to the side of a large Dutch oven with the tip of the probe suspended in the oil, not resting on the bottom. Set the high-alarm for 375°F (191°C) and heat the oil to the target temperature. Adjust stove heat to maintain this temperature.
- Use the remaining salt and the black pepper to season the fish filets.
- Dredge each filet in the flour, shaking off the excess.
- Once the fish is dredged and the oil is hot, work in batches to dip the fish into the batter and add them carefully to the oil.
- Fry the fish for about 4–5 minutes, checking the internal temp of the fish starting at about 3 minutes. Using a Thermapen® Mk4, look for a minimum temperature of 140°F (60°C).
- As each batch is cooked, place the pieces on the prepared baking sheet in the warm oven. Return the oil to 375°F (191°C) and fry more batches of fish.
- Once all the fish is cooked, return the oil to 375°F (191°C) again and fry the French fries.
- Serve everything while hot and crisp.