Fry me to the moon

Back when Jon and I were dating there was an Irish Pub close to where we lived (in Oklahoma) that we'd go for fish & chips. We don't really get out very much nowadays and therefore have no idea where to find good fish & chips in our current neck-of-the-woods. It's not that I'm wanting to eat this very often, as anything covered in beer batter and deep-fried is inherently terrible for you....but every once in a while the craving strikes. So since we're so close to St. Patrick's Day and we both seemed to be afflicted with the unhealthy craving at the same time, we gave in and made it at home.

Beer Battered Fish & Red Chips (adapted from Gourmet, January 2004)
Serves 2

Ingredients:

8 petite redskin potatoes, cut into wedges
1 quart peanut oil
12 oz (1 bottle) pale ale or wheat beer
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 filets cod, cut into 2 inch strips
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
malt vinegar

Preparation:

The chips take up the majority of the prep time on this recipe. Once you've cleaned them (leaving the skin on) and cut them into wedges, soak them in some ice water for 20-30 minutes.



While the potatoes are chilling out, start heating your oil in a large (we used our 8-quart pot) until it reaches 325 degrees. Remove the potatoes from the water and dry them thoroughly.



The chips are going to double-fry. The first time around, place them in batches in the 325 degree oil until the edges reach a golden brown (only 3-4 minutes). Once you remove them from the oil, place the potatoes on paper towels and allow them to cool.


For their second trip to the oil, crank the temperature of the oil to 350 degrees and drop the batches of potatoes in for around 5 minutes each, or until they get crispy and a deeper shade of golden brown. When you take the potatoes out, again place them over paper towels to remove excess oil and then place in the oven at 250 degrees to keep them warm while the fish is prepared.


Place 1/2 cup of flour with salt and pepper into a shallow dish. Mix the remaining cup of flour with 1 bottle of beer in a large bowl. First dredge the pieces of fish in flour.


Then cover in the beer batter and place into 375 degree oil for around 5 minutes or until the batter is golden and crispy. Like the potatoes you'll want to fry the fish in batches.

**For the record, this is Jon's arm, not mine. My wrists aren't that hairy.



We used a few shakes of malt vinegar on our fish and served the fish & chips with homemade coleslaw.



A plate of fried goodness. I'm gaining weight just looking at it. Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!