For St. Patrick’s Day, New York City’s historic Grand Central Oyster Bar, celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year, offers this “Centennial Classic” recipe: Guinness Battered Fish and Chips.
Chef Sandy Ingber’s rendition is served daily throughout the year Mondays through Saturdays, for lunch and dinner. Since St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday this year (March 17th), the restaurant is closed. But Fish & Chips lovers can make Chef’s recipe at home.
National Fish & Chips Day is the first Friday in June.
RECIPE: GUINNESS BATTERED FISH & CHIPS
Ingredients
2 cups Guinness or other Irish beer
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg
All purpose flour
8 boneless cutlets (3 ounces each) of cod, haddock or pollack, sliced on bias
Cooking oil
Garnishes: chopped fresh parsley, lemon or lime wedges
For serving: fries, cole slaw, tartar sauce
Preparation
1. COMBINE beer, baking soda salt, pepper, and egg in a large mixing bowl.
2. WHISK in flour slowly, until the batter is thick (not runny) and adheres to a wooden spoon.
3. HEAT oil in a deep fryer or in a deep-sided sauté pan to 350°F. DREDGE fish in flour, shaking off excess, and dip in batter, covering all sides of the fish.
4. HOLD an end of the battered fish and gently dip it into hot oil, dipping it halfway in; wait 15 seconds and drop into oil. This will prevent the fish from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
5. FLIP fish over when brown on one side and cook all together for about 6-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. The fish should be all one color all the way through or 140°F internal temperature.
6. DRAIN on paper towels. Serve with tartar sauce, French fries, cole slaw and lemon or lime wedges.
VARIATIONS: TEMPURA BATTER, CRISPY PANKO COATING
We prefer Japanese methods for breading and deep fat frying:
Tempura batter: Combine 1 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1-1/2 cups of seltzer water and salt.
Panko breadcrumbs (if you want a gluten-free version, use crushed Corn Flakes instead of panko):
Here’s how to create a panko coating on your fish and chips.
1b. SKIP steps 1 and 2: You are not making a batter. Instead:
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[1] Fish and chips: Perfect St. Patrick’s Day fare (photo © Hannamaria H. | iStock Photo).
[2]
[3] Panko bread crumbs (photo © Kikkoman).
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