Fishy Fishy

My husband and I went to Ireland a few months back and loved it! One of our favorite things was the fish and chips! For St. Patty's Day, I decided to make some, but I also wanted to make the Guiness French Onion Soup I made last year, and our favorite dessert while we were in Ireland, Sticky Toffee Pudding.

The fish breading was a batter and super light which was nice. It was crispy too, but I did struggle with our deep fryer basket and having the fish stick a bit, so I think I would use a pan next time on the stove. The fish I used was Atlantic Cod from Wegmans. Halibut is another good fish to use for the fish and chips. Make sure there is no skin or scales on your filets. I cut our fish filets down into smaller pieces as it was a full fish filet and I was feeding 4 of us. I seasoned the filets with Old Bay as suggested by the recipe I used as a guide. The batter was made up of flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and water. I dipped each peace in the batter before placing in the Fryer and made sure to have a thermometer to ensure the fish was fully cooked, 145 degrees or more. I also watched for the breading to crisp up and become golden in color. The oven was on keep warm at 170 degrees so as I pulled out the cooked fish, I could hold them and keep them warm until all pieces were fried. I fried in canola oil at 350 degrees.

The french fries were hand cut. I used about 6 russet potatoes for 4 of us, washed, peeled and cut them. As I cut the potatoes I put them in a bowl of cold water so they would not turn brown before going into the oil. VERY IMPORTANT, before you put them in the hot oil, pat the fries dry. French Fries also need to be cooked twice. Set the fryer to 300 degrees, or bring your pot of oil to 300. Since I had a fair amount of Fries I did it in about 3 batches because of the size of my fryer. You do not want to overcrowd them. Cook for about 5-6 minutes at the 300 degrees. As you pull them out, place on a plate or sheet tray with a paper towel to absorb excess oil. When you have all the fries cooked, turn the oil up so it reaches 400 degrees. (My fryer only goes to 375, so it takes a bit longer then it would at 400). Again, pat dry the fries so remove any excess moisture. Fry for 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Use a fresh paper towel on a plate or sheet tray and put the cooked fries on it as they come out of the fryer. Sprinkle with salt as they are removed from frying. Remember to do batches and not over crowed the fries. You can also keep warm in a oven or toaster in a keep warm setting. If you wanted to, you could bake the Fries as well at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve on desired plating, I did two trays for sharing, but you could put them in a basket or plate individually. I served with some lemon (you can use lemon juice or wedges) and Malt vinegar, Tartar Sauce and Ketchup. We had Irish Soda bread and Guiness with ours as well.

The recipe I based my Fish and Chips off of was: https://www.norinesnest.com/classic-fish-and-chips/ I found it easy to follow and we really loved the fish batter flavor!