Name: Bigly Fish and Chips
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1.5 lb cod or haddock fillets; 2 lb russet potatoes; 1.5 cups, divided all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup cornstarch; 1 tsp baking powder; 1.5 tsp, plus more for seasoning kosher salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1.25 cups cold lager beer; 2 quarts neutral oil for frying (peanut or canola); for serving malt vinegar; 1 lemon, cut into wedges lemon wedges; for finishing flaky sea salt

Bigly Fish and Chips

Prep

25m

Cook

30m

Total

55m

Bigly says

Sit down for this one. Fish and chips. Bigly fish and chips. The greatest fish and chips ever fried in a kitchen, a pub, a chip shop, ANY shop. I've had fish and chips in London. I've had fish and chips in Dublin. I had a pile of fish and chips at a tin-roofed shack on a pier in Cornwall and the man who fried them looked at me, tipped his cap, and refused to take my money — a true story, and the people who were there are still talking about it. The best of my life, though? Gas station in Albuquerque. I know how that sounds. I would not lie about this. And the version we are about to make beats every one of them. It's a slaughter on the high seas.

The British have been doing this for 150 years and god bless them for it. They figured something out. You take a beautiful piece of white fish, you dip it in a beer batter, you fry it until it crackles when you tap it — TAP IT, the batter should sound HOLLOW like a tiny drum, that's how you know — and then you serve it with chips, which are french fries, and a lemon, and some kind of malt vinegar, and you eat it out of newspaper if you are doing it right, although the newspaper thing is harder now because nobody buys newspapers, the newspapers are DYING, sad, but that's another conversation.

The secret is cold beer in the batter and HOT oil in the pan. Cold meets hot. Steam everywhere. Crackle. Crunch. That's the whole game. And do TWO fries on the chips — par-fry low, finish HIGH — anyone who tells you single-fry chips are 'fine' has never had a real chip and should be politely escorted away from the fryer. Get those temperatures right and you cannot lose. You'll win so much at fish and chips you will get tired of winning. Believe me.

Ingredients

1.5 lbcod or haddock fillets(skinless, cut into 4 large pieces, patted very dry)
2 lbrusset potatoes(russets only, no waxy potatoes here, waxy potatoes will betray you)
1.5 cups, dividedall-purpose flour
1/4 cupcornstarch
1 tspbaking powder
1.5 tsp, plus more for seasoningkosher salt
1/2 tspblack pepper
1.25 cupscold lager beer(ice cold, straight from the fridge, not a sad warm one off the counter)
2 quartsneutral oil for frying (peanut or canola)
for servingmalt vinegar
1 lemon, cut into wedgeslemon wedges
for finishingflaky sea salt

Steps

1
Peel the potatoes and cut into thick batons about 1/2-inch wide. Soak in cold water for 15 minutes to rinse off surface starch, then drain and pat completely dry.
2
Heat the oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven to 300°F. Working in two batches, fry the potatoes for 5-6 minutes until softened but not browned. Drain on a wire rack. This is the first fry — they should be pale and limp.
3
Increase the oil temperature to 375°F.
4
While the oil heats, make the batter: whisk 1 cup of flour, the cornstarch, baking powder, 1 tsp salt, and pepper in a bowl. Pour in the cold beer and whisk just until combined — small lumps are fine.
5
Place the remaining 1/2 cup flour on a plate. Season the fish with salt. Dredge each piece in the plain flour, shaking off the excess.
6
Working one piece at a time, dip the fish into the beer batter, letting excess drip off, then carefully lower into the 375°F oil. Fry 2 pieces at a time for 5-7 minutes, turning once, until the batter is deep golden and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack and season immediately with flaky salt.
7
Return the par-cooked chips to the 375°F oil in batches. Fry 2-3 minutes until deeply golden and crisp. Drain on a wire rack and season immediately with flaky salt.
8
Pile the chips on a plate or in a paper-lined basket. Set the fish on top. Serve with lemon wedges and malt vinegar.

One more thing

That's fish and chips. The real article. Don't put ketchup on it. I'm begging you. Malt vinegar. A squeeze of lemon. Maybe a little tartar sauce on the side if you must, and you must not, but I'll allow it. Sit down. Eat it hot. Eat it fast, because cold fish and chips are a tragedy and tragedies have no place at a Friday night dinner. You did this. You made pub food in your house. Save me a piece.

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Bigly Fish and Chips

Ingredients

Steps

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