I had a craving for fish and chips recently and I decided to indulge, because I'm an adult now and I can do that. It was an odd craving for me; I don't eat much fried food, nor do I fry much of anything. I'm normally a bake-when-it-says-fry kind of gal, but this craving was specific: it needed to be fried, the way God intended this dish to be prepared.
I wanted to find a recipe for fish and chips that wasn't beer-battered. I'm not a beer person per se. (Shout out to my boyfriend, who is probably very offended reading this right now. He tries to make me a beer person, and he’s made some strides, but I still don't like most of it.) I didn’t want to have a bunch of it laying around. Ya know? So I opted for a different kind of bubbles. Speaking of, do you guys know how cheap seltzer water is? It was inexpensive, AND it kept the batter for the fish light and fluffy! Total win. I bet this would work with anything bubbly… champagne-battered fish and chips anyone?
I found the recipe on Pinterest from Smarty Pants Kitchen, and she called her recipe Fish and Chips: No Beer Batter. It’s pretty on-the-nose, but who really likes subtle? Nonetheless, I appreciated the simplicity of her recipe. You set up a basic dredging station with a bowl of cornstarch and a bowl with the wet batter and spices. Simply coat the fish in cornstarch, then the wet batter, and into the oil it goes. That's all you need for the fish. I kept the chips part even simpler and picked up a frozen bag of fries at the store. I also didn't bother with the tartar sauce. If you're looking to do the same, the Beaver brand is pretty good. But, if you're feeling try-hard, you can whip up some of your own. This recipe is pretty good.
Chloe, my feline taste-tester extraordinaire, gave these fish and chips a 10/10. Obviously. She loves fish. She was meowing at me in the kitchen the entire time I was cooking. Chloe then sat impatiently in my lap while I ate, asking for scraps. She's already requested I make this again. Soon. Or else.
Fish and Chips
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
2 lbs boneless, skinless, cod fish filets (or another mild-tasting white fish)
4 cups canola oil (or another high-smoke oil)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 ½ cups seltzer water
1 bag frozen French fries
Tartar sauce (optional, for serving)
lemon (optional, for serving)
Directions
Preheat the oven and bake French fries according to package directions. Keep warm, if necessary, while you prepare and fry the fish.
Meanwhile, begin prepping the fish by patting the filets dry with a paper towel. Then, sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. Place those on a plate off to the side.
Assemble the dredging station by placing the cornstarch in a shallow and wide dish or bowl. In a separate dish/bowl that's also shallow with a wide opening, combine the flour, baking powder, cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper, and sparkling water. Add more or less of the sparkling water to get your desired consistency. Stir the wet batter carefully, so you don't kill the bubbles, until the flour is well incorporated.
Heat your oil to medium high heat in a heavy bottomed pot or deep sided frying pan.
Begin dipping the fish filets into cornstarch, shaking off the excess. Then, dredge in the wet batter mixture.
Carefully transfer the dredged fish pieces to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes on each side. Internal temperature (if you have a heat thermometer) should be 145 degrees F. In order to keep the pan from getting overcrowded, you might have to work in batches to fry the fish.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a wire rack on top. Place the hot fish on the wire rack to cool and drain. Optionally, sprinkle the fish with a little bit of salt while it's fresh out of the fryer.
Once cooled slightly, serve fish and chips with tartar sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
Enjoy!
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