Today for dinner I made gluten-free fish and chips. The thing I have always loved the most about fish and chips is the breading/batter. The problem now that we, as a family, are mostly gluten free is that most of the GF fish and chips that I have had have been very disappointing. Usually the breading is just a dredge (fish coved with a flour) that is fried. This gives me no joy. What I really want is a batter that will hold some of the fat, that is crunchy and forms a sort of cocoon about the pice of fish.
The was, and may still be, a fish and chips joint near a bar in San Francisco called Edinburgh Castle. The bar and the fish and chips place had the same name but it was under the impression that they were not owned by the same people. They may have been but when you went in for a drink and wanted to eat, the bar would call the fish and chips place to see if you could get anything.
Once or twice I was unable to get something to eat, this is what made me think that maybe they were different companies.
Anyway, their fish and chips were great. Simultaneously crunchy and greasy. The chips were home made, not the type that came out of a box from Sysco or the like.
They served them with malt vinegar and lemon, which I never use and some tartar sauce if you wanted some. I usually did. A pint of Guiness and a plate (red plastic basket really) of some of the best fish and chips in SF. They used true cod for their recipe, so did I.
So here was my challenge. Make gluten free fish and chips that would make me happy that would also be edible for my wife and son.
So I did I a little research. I searched the internet for a solution and found many versions. If there was no photo, I discarded it out of hand. My reasoning being that if their final product was not worth taking a picture, I was not going to waste my time on it. I found two recipes for GF beer battered fish and chips that promised to be the ticket.
There were parts of one that I liked, and parts of the other that worked for me. So I made a hybrid of the two recipes.
Here it is:
3/4 C rice flour
1/4 C corn starch
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
6 oz gluten free beer
2 eggs
If gluten free is not your bag, substitute all-purpose flour for the rice flour and cornstarch.
Mix all the dry ingredients together and hold them until just before frying.
The chips I have down. I have no recipe for them for you as they are made of potato....fried.
Let's talk method on the fries because there are three steps for the fries.
When I worked for a restaurant in San Francisco called Roti, I learned how to make fresh french fries. The ownership group of the restaurant had two guys named Bill. One of them was so particular about his fries, I would have to hand choose the ones my line cook would prepare for him. He liked his fries to be long, no short fries on his plate. And I didn't want to get yelled at, so long fries it was.
Like mine long as well but not in an OCD way, so I buy the longest russet potatoes that i can find at the store.
First they need to be cut. Use a knife, mandoline or any other contraption that you may possess. I like them about 3/4" thick. For that I need to cut them with a knife as my mandolin doesn't cut them this large. Today though for the sake of time I used the mandolin.
After they are cut, place them in cold water to stop from discoloration.
Heat the oil in order to blanch them. For this step you want the oil at about 325F.
The best tool to monitor the temp of the oil is a glass tube candy thermometer. It has a metal clip that holds it to the side of the pan and the clip won't melt like many other thermometers. Be careful that the tip of the thermometer is in the oil but not touching the bottom of the pan.
Drain the fries and cook them in batches.
Your looking to cook them until they are slightly translucent with no browning. The point of this part is to remove the water from the potatoes.
Let them rest to room temperature.
Let's work on the fish.
Cut the fish into small pieces. I like my fish to be cut about 1" to 1 1/4" thick. This way they cook quickly, thus saving time.
Once you have cut the fish, combine the eggs and beer.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine.
Heat the oil to 350F and place several pieces of the fish into the batter. Lift each piece individually from the batter and slowly lower it into the oil. Please be careful.
Let them fry for a minute or so and turn them with a slotted spoon or similar tool.
When they are done, hold them in a 275 F oven with the door slightly open like you would if you were using the broiler. This stops them from getting soggy.
When the fish is done. We work on the fries that have already been blanched.
Heat your oil to 375F.
There are two ways to go about this step. One: fry the potatoes in small batches, remember that the fries will drop the temp of the oil and small batches make the drop smaller and the rebound faster. Or two: toss the fries in a light slurry of water and corn starch and fry them in small batches. For each pound of fries you should use about 3 oz water and 2 T cornstarch.
The fries with the cornstarch will stay crispy longer and you can hold theming he oven if there is more than two or three people eating the meal. I did not use that method tonight, I went with traditional fries.
Once you have cooked the fries, you're done! Grab a beer and dig in!
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