On Battered Fish

.

I had a nice comment on my Fish 'n Chip post, from Kim in Alaska.

She asked:-

"What exactly kind of fish do you use in your area for fried fish? Being a life long Alaskan, beer battered fish and chips is a much beloved recipe in many homes. Halibut is the best fish to use, coated in a delicious Beer batter."

I wonder if, by area, she means the Thames Valley or perhaps England (OK Britain) as a whole?

.

.

Well, when I was a lad in Bournville, it had to be Cod.

We had no Fish 'n Chip shop locally so I had to get on my bike and cycle up to Cotteridge.

I honestly can't remember in the 1950's having any other fish, with our chips, than Cod.

However my research shows the preferred choice of fish to be regional.

Cheshire, Lancashire, South Wales and the West Country used to be Hake country (but the Spanish fishermen soon put a stop to that). Now they have switched to Cod.

Yorkshire is for Haddock of course, whilst down in London they will eat anything that swims - cod, haddock, plaice, skate and of course the infamous “rock”. (dogfish). And not forgetting the famous Eel's and Winkles, although not in batter!

Up in Scotland they fancy small Haddock. (so I'm told - perhaps they can't afford large Haddock?)

Halibut and scampi are sometimes shown on the menu in various areas where there is demand.

.

.

This is an old menu I found from 1971.

I have never come across a 'Pea Fritter' before. I shall get Foody to investigate, I think.

And look at those prices! Wow.

Of course these were the days when chip shops smelt of fish and hot fat, usually lard.

Now days they use oil and they invariably stink of curry and frankfurters!

Now about the batter.

This is not something I have ever tried. Of course in the days before 'packet mixes' everyone had to make their own. My Mother certainly did.

Chip shops in the good old days used to keep their batter mixture recipe a secret.

Every fryer had his own. The secret is not only in the ingredients but also in the aeration of the batter. This was achieved by whisking, or with baking powders or even by adding yeast. This is the reason for adding beer, usually a Guinness - to get air (or CO2) into the batter.

It has to be just right.

A thick stodgy batter will take longer to cook and be doughy inside.

A puffy batter is much favoured by chip shops as it makes the portion look bigger.

A watery mixture will explode when it hit’s the fat.

So what do most people now do? They buy a batter mixture and simply add water.

Well you can't blame them really.