It's been over three years since my last fish and chips post. While there was nothing wrong with it, I've always been a fan of the adage "if it ain't broke, then take it apart and make it better". Yep, I was "that kid" that would take apart a brand new Nintendo (amongst other household items) to figure out how to make it play foreign games. Today, I blame credit that inquisitive nature for my penchant for cooking without recipes.
When I get asked if I follow my own recipes, I usually give a long answer that includes the definition of the word "recipe", but my short answer is "no". Some people want consistency when they make a dish. For me, I relish the small variations that occur when cooking without a recipe. Part of it is the element of surprise, but it's also driven by the small chance that a change will make a big improvement in the finished dish. It's a process of culinary evolution and lessons learned in one dish often carry over to many others.
I've always double fried french fries, but I'd assumed I'd end up with a dry tough brick if I tried applying the same technique to meat or fish. After realizing a double fry was the secret to making crispy tebasaki, I decided to try this technique in other fried dishes.
As it turns out, double frying works brilliantly with fish and chips, rendering the beer batter light, crisp and keeping it crisp long after coming out of the oil. I'm leaving the old post up because the curry sauce is just as delicious as it was three years ago, but the double fry for the fish is a must.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 4 medium potatoes (I used a mix of yukon gold and russet)
- 4 medium fish fillets (cod, haddock and albacore work well)
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- vegetable oil (for frying)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup beer very cold (you may need a little more)
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes well, then cut into ¼" thick batons. Dry thoroughly with paper towels and leave them sitting on paper towels to allow the surface of the potatoes to dry out for about 30 minutes. You can skip this step if you're pressed for time, but your potatoes won't turn out as crisp.
- Mix the flour, cornstarch, paprika, and onion powder in a medium bowl until well combined. Dust each fish fillet with the flour mixture on all sides.
- Add 1 ½" of vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and heat to 330 degrees F. Line a 2 wire racks with 2 layers of paper towels each.
- Fry the potatoes in batches until a light tan color and the edges are just starting to brown. Transfer the fried chips to one prepared rack to drain.
- When the potatoes are done frying, add the baking powder to the flour mixture and whisk together. Then add the cold beer to the flour mixture and lightly whisk together. It's okay if there are still a few lumps, just make sure you do not overmix the batter or it will end up heavy.
- Dip the fillets in the batter and fry them in batches. Flip the fillets over with tongs when you see the edges start to turn light brown. Transfer to the second prepared rack as they finish frying.
- When the fish is done frying, increase the heat of the oil to 375 degrees F. Fry the chips a second time until they are golden brown and crisp. Drain on a rack and sprinkle with salt.
- Fry the fish a second time at the higher temperature until golden brown. Drain on a rack. Serve the fish and chips with lemon wedges or vinegar.
Marc Matsumoto says
You could use cold soda water instead, but it will not have the same flavor and won't brown as nicely.— Sent from Mailbox
Helen Maguire says
I made this and agree it was very light and crispy - best ever! One thing only, I like the fish to be just cooked, and moist, which it was but the batter underneath the fish (I skinned it for preference) did go a little soggy although the rest stayed crisp to the end. I've read salting the fish for a short while before cooking firms the fish and removes some excessive water - do you think that's worth a go? I'd hate to spoil beautiful fresh fish!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Helen, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this. You could salt and cure the fish for a day, which would reduce the amount of moisture between the batter and the fish, which might achieve the effect you're going for. Just give the fish a light but even coating of salt and leave it on a rack over a sheet pan uncovered in the fridge overnight. The next day the fish should be a little dried out on the surface. Hope that helps.
Helen Maguire says
Thanks Marc, I may try that next time or just stick with it! Will give your curry sauce a try too.
Nadia says
Hi sounds like a great recipe. Can I fry the chips and fish on one day and then second fry the following day? I'm cooking for a large group.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Nadia, I've never done it so I can't guarantee it will work, but in theory it should. If you try it, please let us know how it goes.
Elvisa says
Hi an I use beer batter on next day?
Thank you
Nechama says
HI, can I skip the extra step of draining and then frying a second time on higher temp by just leaving the fish in the pan and turning up the flame when its tome to make it crispy?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Nechama, I would not recommend it. For fried foods, you really need to pull it from the oil once and let the moisture redistribute once before frying it again, otherwise it will not crisp properly.
Quahog says
Marc, made these tonight AM they turned out exceptional. I grew up in a fishing town with F&C stores everywhere so I know what good fish and chips taste like. This batter was perfect, light and very crispy. This will be my new go-to recipe. Thanks!
Quahog says
p.s. that was supposed to be and, not AM. Dang autocorrect 🙂
Holly Mills says
I made this recently and everyone in my family LOVED it! And, that's no easy feat at my house! I've bookmarked this recipe and it'll be the only one I use for fish and chips. I didn't have any beer so I substituted it with seltzer water and I'm so glad I did! The batter was so light and crispy. YUMMY!!
Amy says
This was an easy recipe but my fish fell apart everywhere. Idk where I went wrong.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Amy, sorry to hear you fish fell apart. By everywhere do you mean while you were frying? What kind of fish did you use?
T-Bone says
Baking powder IS baking soda (with an added dry acid), so if you are allergic to baking powder chances are you are also allergic to baking soda. Just my 2¢.
Sandra says
I just made fish and chips for yesterday's dinner using this recipe. It came out wonderful just like what I had from famous restaurant. Thank you for sharing.
I will always use this recipe.
I did left potato pieces on the tray with kitchen towel for a while. Repeatedly soaking moisture. I used super cold light beer. I used 2/3 of small bottle amount of beer so it came much lighter batter. I also used fryer following temperature above, fried twice.
Of course fish goes with tartar sauce so looked it up,
mayo, lemon juice, pickle, a bit of pickle juice makes great tartar sauce. But do not put too much lemon juice it is too sour otherwise.
Good luck and be patient cooking 🙂
Sandra says
I used tilapia.
Little Cooking Tips says
Thank you so much, for another wonderful recipe Marc! This recipe is a)definitely Yummed! and b)will be tried before next March 25th (Greek National Day) when we all fry cod this way and serve it with skordalia.
Again, thank you!
Panos and Mirella
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Panos and Mirella, thanks for the note! Now you have me curious as to what Skordalia is. Gonna have to Google it.
Little Cooking Tips says
It's a garlic spread/dip that's either made with mashed potatoes or soaked and drained stale bread as a base. Then you add salt, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and minced garlic. Try the potato version first, it's smoother and a bit lighter in flavor:)
Have a wonderful day!
coffeenut451 says
Wow, wow, wow! Just fried up some halibut last night, and I must say, the party of people raved about it..."better than a restaurant..".." best I've tasted!", and so on..My head was swelling, but I did give credit to Marc, so I'm okay, right? The twice frying is the ticket...and I added some ingredients though probably not necessary..smoked paprika...and kosher salt..? Is this a no-no? I just loved the twice fried way, for it allowed everything to be really hot..Just a great recipe! Thanks!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad to hear you guests enjoyed it! The twice frying technique works for just about anything you want to get crisp, including fried chicken. Good idea on seasoning with smoked paprika. I try to keep my recipes pretty basic so that people can improvise. Adding some fresh chopped rosemary into the batter also works well.
Brew Bear says
Looks good, I'm willing to try it, but why are some measurements in inches?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Brew Bear, most of the readers of this site are in the US. There's a conversion function on the weight measures listed in the ingredients, but unfortunately the site isn't smart enough to convert other measurements like volume and length yet. Please keep in mind the volume measurements are US cups (1 cup = 237 ml).
Jessica Tan says
Does the baking powder go into the batter? Nevermind, found it 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep, in step 5
NiftyDeb says
I've made this 4 times now in the last several months. It's our family favorite. And both the fish and FFs are perfect. My hubby doesn't understand why his (once fried) fries don't turn out a good as these. Thanks so much Marc.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Deb, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this! Also, I need to need to look at my archives more, it's been years since I've made this and now I'm craving it!
Kathy Stroup says
This Fish and Chips recipe is just what I need! We've been craving it, but our favorite shop closed. You seem to have gotten over your aversion to frying since you've moved to Japan.😄 You got me frying again!
That's an interesting sauce. I usually put so much malt vinegar on my fish and chips that I don't need one! I usually make Tartar Sauce, but I'm game to give it a try. I think I will use the Preserved Lemons in the Tartar Sauce if I do make it. Can you have too many sauces?😉
Marc Matsumoto says
BTW one of my favorite uses for malt vinegar powder is on fish and chips. It lets you get the flavor and taste, without making the batter soggy.
Kathy Stroup says
Noted, and highly anticipated!😁