The secret of a great fish supper!
THE FISH
Traditionally Scotland has been more associated towards the haddock for fish and chips, the English palate prefers cod or plaice. The secret for good fish is fresh fresh, ie caught, cooked and eaten on the same day. Unfortunately this is not always possible as most of the Scottish white fish fleet sails from the Noth East. Most boats are at sea for anything up to a week and by the time so called fresh fish works its way through markets, shops or distributors it is old by the time it sniffs batter. The answer is to freeze the fish on the boats at source thus capturing the taste and goodness in the fish. Once defrosted you are working with real fresh fish. All top seafood chefs will agree, if you can't get fish caught that day then you must freeze it.
THE CHIPS
All good fish and chip shops use Maris Piper potatoes peeled and cut in the back shop. Potatoes need to be stored in a cool dry place and be fairly fresh. The majority of the good crop is from England although there is a period during the summer when this crop runs out and the chosen potato is the very good Spanish potato. For the best results they are blanched, fried at a lower temperature, left to sit for ten minutes, once soft they are then finished off in very hot oil/fat. For best taste and results beef fat should be used. The result should be a crispy outside with soft fluffy potato inside.
THE BATTER
A very important part of the process often overlooked by many. The batter should a be a simple mix of flour and water made fresh and stored at around 2 degrees. Hot or warm, thick, lumpy batter will have dire consequences on the end product. The prepared fish should be dipped well in cold, fairly thin aerated batter and then placed straight in the hot pan.
THE OIL/FAT
This is another field of contention; many outlets use oil in all its forms, sometimes owner driven, sometimes customer driven. The real truth is, if you want a fantastic fish supper you can only use the best de-oderised beef fat. The other secret is it must be kept to the correct temperature when frying good fish. This is one of the main reasons for good fish suppers. A typical 8oz fillet of haddock or cod fried in batter should take about four minutes - any longer and it will turn into dried up leather.
Another secret to the fat is that it should be filtered at least two or three times a day to remove unwanted batter or carbonised batter pieces.
THE RESULT
Perfectly cooked chips in a cardboard box with a lovely fillet of haddock or cod placed on top with fresh lemon wedges, salt and vinegar, eaten straight away! Delicious..