- Right, the most
which is my go-to
comfort food-- served
with incredible fries and the
most delicious mushy peas.
For me, fish and
chips screams cod--
highly sustainable,
delicious, but the secret
is in the batter.
This is a beer batter, double
zero flour, eggs, and beer.
It sort of makes it
lighter, crispier,
and it's an amazing flavor.
The secret is to make that
batter the night before.
The more you let it rest,
it becomes so crispy.
Take your cod, run it through
into seasoned flour, salt,
pepper.
You could jazz this up a little
bit with a touch of paprika.
Lightly season your fish.
To wet a fish can
destroy the batter,
so I like to season my
fish first with salt.
That extracts the moisture
from the fish, which keeps
the batter even more crispy.
Then from there, just
brush off that seasoning
and just pat down the fish.
That way it stays nice and firm.
Into the flour, and
then nicely rolled--
make sure you get the ends done.
Dredge the fish in
the flour in order
to make sure the batter
sticks, really important.
And then next, into the batter.
Make sure you dust off any
excess flour, otherwise,
you get these white clumps of
flour underneath the batter.
Into the batter, let it sink.
I like topping tailing my fish.
I trim the top, trim
the base-- you've
got the even piece of fish.
If it's cut evenly, it's
going to cook evenly.
Shake off the excess
flour and into the batter.
Roll that fish around
and let it sink in there.
Now oil comes up to 300.
It takes about six to seven
minutes to cook beautifully,
but here's the secret.
Keep that fish coated.
This is where it gets
messy, but exciting.
Lift up your fish.
Go left to right, dredging
it, and then very quickly
get a point of the fish.
Let the battery run down,
shake off any excess flour,
and then into the fryer.
And just sort of taunt
it first, and just let it
lay away from you.
Shake the pan gently.
That starts to cover
the top of the fish.
Take a spatula and just gently
baste the top of the fish.
Once you've had the fish
in there for two minutes,
flip over the fish.
That way you see
it evenly coated.
God, it's beautiful,
golden brown.
Now take that out.
Shake it well.
Let that sit.
They're like these
perfect parcels,
and literally let
that sit there.
Now as it's piping
hot, use salt,
and just lightly season the top.
And what happens
to the fish now,
it just gets even
crispier, but the batter's
seasoned underneath and on top.
And that's really important.
Right, fries-- these
are Yukon gold potatoes
and basically just peeled.
Don't wash, because
I want the starch
to get really nice and crispy.
I start them off at a very
low temperature, in a way
that I blanch them.
And I have literally in the oil
first for two minutes at 330--
in.
[sizzling]
Blanching basically means
cooking with no color.
And the secret here
now is to blanch
them for two minutes at 330.
Take them out, let them rest.
Crank up the heat.
Go from 320 to 385, great.
Now temperature's
risen, fries back in.
Second time cooking,
and this time, it's
going to be nice and crispy.
A great indicator
cooking in fryers
is that when it
starts to float, it's
confirmation that it's
cooked whether it's
fish, chicken, or fries.
Cooking fries twice, blanching
them first, and then putting
them back in hot oil at the
end is so much more healthier,
because they don't sit
in the oil for anywhere
near as long as frozen fries.
So it's really good to cook
them twice, super healthy.
Fries are done.
Shake-- you can hear
how crispy they are.
Out onto a tray, drain
them really well.
Lightly, rub off the excess fat.
Let them sit there.
I love placing
them into a bowl--
fresh parsley on top, a touch
of paprika, and then a touch
of salt and pepper.
And then from there,
just roll them around.
You can hear how crispy
they are, beautiful.
Fish and chips would not be
complete unless we've got peas.
I use frozen peas all the
time, so don't be scared.
A splash of oil, just a splash--
peas go in, beautiful.
Touch of salt, touch of pepper,
a little hint of shallots
minced in, and garlic--
it's a great way
of elevating mushy peas.
From there, a little knob
of butter, in, and then
you just toss those peas.
Once that bus is
evaporated, we turn off
the gas, and then just crush--
beautiful.
And that's where you take this
frozen pea into a mushy pea.
And we sort of trying to break
it up almost like it's sort
of a puree, but I
don't want to refine
them too much, because the
flavor's when you burst them.
Touch more butter
in there-- butter
gives it that really
nice glossy finish.
One more little finishing
touch with fresh mint.
Just bring the leaves down,
lay them on top of one another.
Get your largest leaf on the
bottom, roll it really tight,
and then just shred.
Let the knife do the work.
Look, beautiful, fresh mint.
Now sprinkle that
over your peas,
and that just lifts
the peas beautifully.
When I serve lemon on a
plate, I take these bits off.
These are like the posh parts.
It's just like the perfect
wedge or slice of lemon.
And now we're ready to plate.
Fish comes over-- hear
how crunchy that is.
Fries, place on there--
look how crispy they
are-- beautifully done.
And then, from there, this
beautiful mound of mushy peas.
Place to the side.
Finally, this sort of Rolls
Royce of sources with fish
and chips, tartar sauce.
It's a mayonnaise with
gherkins, onions, and the most
amazing capers in there.
That goes on the side.
And that just cascades off.
And how can you serve fish
and chips without lemon?
I get my lemon here,
and I just squeeze it
over the fish onto the salt.
And then put a fresh one
there, literally for seconds.
And there we have fish
and chips a la Gordon.
