Traditional Fish and Chips

"Josh Eggleton's fish and chips recipe is an excellent rendition of a British classic."

Haddock
4 haddock fillets, each weighing 170g
100g of plain flour, seasoned
FISH BATTER RECIPE
200g of plain flour
150ml of lager beer
5g of salt
5g of pepper
150ml of ale
5g of mild curry powder

Crushed Peas
2 banana shallots, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
50g of butter
400g of peas

Mayonnaise
3 egg yolks
200ml of pomace oil
100ml of nut oil
1 tsp English mustard
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 garlic clove, roasted
1 dash of lemon juice
salt
black pepper

Chips
6 Désirée potatoes
1.5l groundnut oil
1 pinch of rock salt

Lemon Tartare Sauce
2 shallots, diced
1 egg, hard-boiled
50g of cornichons
50g of capers
25g of chives
10g of tarragon

1. To make the perfect fish and chips recipe you need to start by buying the right fish - ensure that the fish has no scales when buying it. Smaller fillets work well for fish and chips as you get more texture with the batter
2. To make the fish batter recipe combine all the ingredients, flour, lager beer, salt, pepper, ale and curry powder in a bowl and whisk until smooth. The batter needs to be as thin as possible so it’s nice and light
3. For the mayonnaise, ensure all the ingredients are the same temperature. Put the egg yolks in a blender with the mustard and garlic and blend for 30 seconds
4. This stage is critical to the process. Add both the oils very slowly while the blender is on, once the emulsion has formed you can add the rest of the oil in a slow steady stream - if it gets too thick half way through, let down with the lemon juice and a tablespoon of water
5. Once all the oil is emulsified, seaon to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice
6. For the tartare sauce, chop the herbs, cornichons, and capers. Next grate a hard boiled egg and combine with the diced shallots and the mayonnaise. Season to taste
7. For the crushed peas, sweat down the garlic and shallots in the butter. Add the peas and toss in the hot butter
8. When most of the peas are soft, pulse for 10 seconds in the blender and return to the pan and keep warm
9. To make the chips. Peel the potatoes and cut them into even-sized, not too thin batons. Wash under cold water to remove any starch. Drain well
10. Heat the oil (preferably groundnut) in a deep fat fryer to 130°C. Fry the chips for 7-8 minutes until soft. Lift out of the oil and drain
11. Reheat the oil to 180°C and return the chips to the pan, cooking until they are crispy and brown. Drain well and season with fine rock salt. Keep in warm place while you cook the fish
12. Set the deep fat fryer to 180°C, toss the fish in seasoned plain flour and pat off. Dip in the batter and allow most of the batter to run off the fish - it only has to be 
13. Hold each fillet halfway into the oil for 30 seconds before lowering it in gently - if you let go straight away it will sink to the bottom and stick
14. The fish should take approx 4 minutes and 30 seconds to cook - ensure the batter is golden and crisp. Remove and drain thoroughly on kitchen paper, then keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining fish in the same way.
15. Serve the fish and chips with the warm crushed peas, tartare sauce and a wedge of lemon

 

Great British Chefs, November 2017