United Kingdom, Europe · Fish and Chips

Triple-Cooked Fish and Chips with Homemade Tartare

Name: Triple-Cooked Fish and Chips with Homemade Tartare
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: Thick haddock or cod fillets (180 g each, about 2.5 cm thick) 2; Large floury potatoes (e.g. Maris Piper or russet types) 3; Salt for the cooking water 2 tsp; Oil for deep-frying (for a 24 cm pot at least 10 cm deep) 2 L; Flour for dusting the fish 2 tbsp; Plain flour (for the batter) 120 g; Cornflour 40 g; Baking powder 1 tsp; Salt (for the batter) ½ tsp; Ice-cold beer (lager or ale) 180 ml; Mayonnaise 4 tbsp; Small gherkins (cornichons) 2; Capers 2 tsp; Shallot (or red onion) ½; Chopped parsley 2 tsp; Lemon (zest, juice and wedges) 1; Flaky sea salt to taste; Malt vinegar to taste

Chips simmered then fried twice until glassy-crisp, a light beer batter on thick fish, and a sharp homemade tartare sauce, gastropub style.

ServingsServes 2

Total cooking time1 h 5 min

Chilling the simmered chips+ 30 min

DifficultyHard

About servingsYou work with oil between 130 and 190°C, so a frying thermometer makes this far more accurate and safer.

Method

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunky 1.5 cm chips. Rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear to wash off surface starch.
Add in this stepLarge floury potatoes (e.g. Maris Piper or russet types) 3
Put the chips in a 20 cm pot with enough cold water to cover and the salt, and bring to the boil over high heat. Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer for , until the edges just start to break and fine cracks appear. Lift out carefully, spread on a rack and chill uncovered in the fridge for 30 minutes to dry.
Add in this stepSalt for the cooking water 2 tsp
high heat→medium-low heat
Heat the oil to 130°C (medium heat) and add the cold, dry chips. Fry this amount in 1 batch(es), in total. They should form a thin pale skin with no colour. Drain on a rack.
Add in this stepOil for deep-frying (for a 24 cm pot at least 10 cm deep) 2 L
medium heat
Finely chop the gherkins, shallot, capers and parsley and stir into the mayonnaise with a little lemon zest and juice. Keep it in the fridge while you fry the fish.
Add in this stepMayonnaise 4 tbspSmall gherkins (cornichons) 2Capers 2 tspShallot (or red onion) ½Chopped parsley 2 tspLemon (zest, juice and wedges) ½
Pat the fish completely dry and season lightly with salt. Mix the dry batter ingredients, then pour in the cold beer and stir only briefly to the thickness of double cream. Dust the fish in flour, dip it in the batter, let the excess drip off and lay it into the oil at 180°C (medium-high heat), away from you. Fry 2 pieces at a time in 1 batch(es), in total, until deep golden and firm when tapped. Keep warm on a rack in a 100°C oven.
Add in this stepThick haddock or cod fillets (180 g each, about 2.5 cm thick) 2Flour for dusting the fish 2 tbspPlain flour (for the batter) 120 gCornflour 40 gBaking powder 1 tspSalt (for the batter) ½ tspIce-cold beer (lager or ale) 180 ml
medium-high heat
Raise the oil to 190°C (high heat) and fry the chips again in 1 batch(es), in total, until deep golden and crisp. Salt them straight away with flaky salt and serve with the fish, tartare, lemon wedges and malt vinegar.
Add in this stepFlaky sea salt to tasteMalt vinegar to tasteLemon (zest, juice and wedges) ½
high heat

Cook's tip

Drying the simmered chips in the fridge is what makes them shatter. Mix the batter at the last moment so the bubbles stay in, and if the oil drops more than 10°C, wait for it to recover before the next batch.

Cooking it at camp

Skip deep-frying at a campsite. Simmer the chips and give them their first fry at home, carry them in the cooler, then shallow-fry the fish and chips in 1.5 cm of oil in a cast-iron pan, turning them over. Make the tartare at home and keep it cold.