Fish & Chips
The great British Friday supper: shatteringly crisp beer-battered cod, twice-cooked chips like little ingots of gold, a proper wedge of lemon and a spoonful of homemade tartare sauce. Vinegar optional, but strongly encouraged.
Ingredients
4 fillets skinless cod loin, about 180 g each
1 kg Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into thick chips
150 g plain flour, plus 2 tbsp for dusting
50 g cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
250 ml very cold English ale or lager
2 litres vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 tsp flaky sea salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Method
- 1
Rinse the chips in cold water until it runs clear, then dry thoroughly. Heat the oil to 130°C and blanch the chips in batches for 6–7 minutes until soft but not coloured. Lift out and drain on a rack.
- 2
Turn the oil up to 190°C. Whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a bowl, then whisk in the cold ale to a batter the thickness of double cream. Keep cold.
- 3
Pat the fish dry, dust in the reserved flour, then dip into the batter to coat completely. Lift, letting excess drip, and lower gently into the hot oil away from you. Fry for 5–6 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
- 4
Return the chips to the oil and fry a second time at 190°C for 3–4 minutes until deeply golden and crackling. Drain and season heavily with flaky salt while hot.
- 5
Serve the fish and chips at once, with lemon wedges, tartare sauce and — if you are being properly English — a puddle of malt vinegar.
Cook's notes
Cold batter and hot oil are everything. If the batter thickens as you work, thin it with another splash of cold ale; if it slides off the fish, dust the fish with more dry flour first.