Fish and chips recipe

Chip-shop fish and chips: a beer batter kept ice cold and chips fried twice, once to cook them and once to crisp them.

1 hour and 15 minutesmedium8 ingredients

Ingredients

• 400 g cod fillets
• 800 g floury potatoes
• 200 g plain flour
• 300 ml cold beer
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1000 g beef dripping
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp malt vinegar

How to make Fish and chips

1. Peel 200 g of floury potatoes such as Maris Piper and cut them into chips a finger thick. Soak them 30 minutes in cold water, then dry them completely; wet chips will never crisp.
2. Whisk 200 g of plain flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt, then pour in 300 ml of ice cold beer and whisk to the consistency of thin cream. The bubbles are what lift the crust; water alone gives a soft coating. Rest the batter 30 minutes in the fridge.
3. Heat 1 kg of beef dripping, or oil, to 140°C and blanch the chips for 6 to 7 minutes until soft but still pale. Lift them out and let them cool. This first fry is what makes the inside fluffy.
4. Raise the fat to 180°C.
5. Pat 400 g of cod fillets dry, dust them lightly with flour so the batter grips, then dip them in the cold batter and lower them into the fat away from you.
6. Fry the fish 6 to 8 minutes until the batter is deep gold and rigid, then drain on a rack rather than on paper so the underside stays crisp.
7. Push the fat to 190°C and return the chips for 2 to 3 minutes for the second fry, until golden and rattling in the basket.
8. Salt the chips the moment they come out and serve with malt vinegar.

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