Fish and Chips Portions - Ideas??

thebigbiffo

hey all,

I've my kids b-day party coming up this weekend and i normally cook up something in the way of nice snacks for the kids and adults in attendance. at the taste of dublin, one of the stalls had wonderful little portions of fish and chips in paper cones - i'd love to give something similar a go.

now, obviously, the chips i can deal with (although, i'm curious as to what potato type you believe makes the best chips) but i've never done a really nice batter before. any suggestions or recipes? and what oil should i use? what's the best fish to buy and where is the best place/which is the best supermarket to get it? i'll be trying for about 20 people having one portion (at least) each...anyone hazard a guess at the weight of fish i'll need?

i'm not a big fish eater so i actually think this would be my first time to ever even BUY a fish!!:o

thanks in advance,

lucylu

Take a look at http://www.rte.ie/food/2010/0415/fishandchips.html

you cant go wrong with Martin's advice!

thebigbiffo

looks good. might substitute the sparkling water for beer though. try and get a really really light crispy batter.

i'm very tempted to use cookeen hardened vegetable fat like my mum used to...i know this is ridiculously bad for your health but heh...it's a party!

Mellor

crisp and dry do a version, its better imo.

and, its no worse for your health than any other oil used for deep frying, better than some

jpb1974

Haddock is a good choice... not as expensive as cod but really tasty nonetheless.

For the best results try and source the freshest fish possible.

There a many different recipies for batter, the one I typically use is self-raising flour and lager.

Was watching Rachel Allen last night and she used plain flour and milk.

In any case always season the flour with salt and black pepper first.

thebigbiffo

Mellor wrote: »

crisp and dry do a version, its better imo.

and, its no worse for your health than any other oil used for deep frying, better than some

i always just assumed - for some reason - it was less healthy. probably could visualise the stuff hardening up in my arteries! it makes much better chips etc than oils - crispier and tastier imo - wonder why?

jpb1974 wrote: »

Haddock is a good choice... not as expensive as cod but really tasty nonetheless.

For the best results try and source the freshest fish possible.

There a many different recipies for batter, the one I typically use is self-raising flour and lager.

Was watching Rachel Allen last night and she used plain flour and milk.

In any case always season the flour with salt and black pepper first.

haddock instead of cod is a good suggestion considering i'm feeding so many. are supermarkets like supervalu etc the best place to go for pre-boned fish? butchers normally do fish too yeah?

jpb1974

We've a local fishmongers where I pick-up most of our fish, but we do pickup the odd bit in the local Tesco too.

The last time I bought Haddock it was about half the price of cod. Herself made just about the best fish and chips I had in a long time.

Chips were par-boiled first before finishing them in the deep fat fryer.

They say that Maris Pipers are the best potatoes for chips... I tried them once and the results weren't great but potatoes can vary. I've had some really good results with Roosters. Let them soak in cold water first to get the starch out.

rubadub

thebigbiffo wrote: »

i always just assumed - for some reason - it was less healthy

Some of those used to have hydrogenated oils and trans fats, cookeen say they are both not hydrogenated fat and trans fat free. crisp n'dry say trans fat free so might have hydrogenated fat.

Crisp 'n Dry is a brand of vegetable oil manufactured by Edible Oils Limited and marketed by Princes Limited. The manufacturer claims this vegetable oil leaves food dry after frying (hence its name Crisp 'n Dry), compared to other vegetable oils which require the fried food to be dried with kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.

Crisp 'n Dry was previously marketed by Spry, then Unilever, before being acquired by Princes Limited.

Crisp 'n Dry contains no cholesterol and the block of Crisp 'n Dry no longer contains trans fat.

BaZmO*

Made Fish and Chips recently. Used Haddock and Maris Pipers. Got both in M&S. The haddock comes in a handy pre-packed bag of fillets.

Just winged it on the batter. Flour and beer whisked together until I got the right consistency.

Double-fried the chips too. Maris Pipers are great. Only used them the once but they're nice and floury.

Mellor

rubadub wrote: »

Some of those used to have hydrogenated oils and trans fats, cookeen say they are both not hydrogenated fat and trans fat free. crisp n'dry say trans fat free so might have hydrogenated fat.

I always assume that trans-fat free includes hydrogenated fat free too.
Just because trans fat is partially hydrogenated.


I have no idea if this is infallible, just my way of judging various fats

rubadub

Mellor wrote: »

I always assume that trans-fat free includes hydrogenated fat free too.

So did I, I am just not 100% -the thing is both of those products are made by the same company and on wiki on specifically says no trans fat or hydrogenated, while the other says just no trans fat. Maybe they were not put up by the company but if they did I would expect them to say the same on both. Most vegan food will say suitable for vegetarians & vegans while it could just say vegan.

I am quite cynical of labelling and always trying to find out the real truth, like muffins with "only 5% fat" are 60% sugar or something.

Searching again I found it is HVO free and wiki says they are trans fat free.
http://www.princes.co.uk/news/home-baking-brands-remove-hydrogenated-vegetable-oil/

2006
Cookeen, Trex, Crisp 'n' Dry and Pura are in the home baking category which is currently enjoying sales growth thanks to a resurgence in home cooking. Months of tests have been carried out in order to remove HVOs while maintaining the quality and consistent baking results which consumers demand.

When they hit the shelves in October, they will be among the first home-baking products in the UK to have removed the oils, following retailer assurances that many own label products will be HVO free by next year.