3 lb Cod fillets, firm, white
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup milk -- or more as needed
2 cup flour
3 cup pancake mix
2 cup club soda (approx.)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 cooking oil
Directions
Note:
There are many variants of the traditional UK Fish batter, and many US based retailers passing off their products as being 'English' or 'traditional'.
For example, Arthur Treachers - claiming to sell "old England's national snack" - but who at one time substituted the traditional Cod with the much inferior pollock.
Arthur Treachers is now just another franchise, and not a very big one judging from the figures
It is no surpise that their chain has been much troubled, including bankruptcy along the way - I sampled the fish and it wasn't even close to the 'real thing' served in the UK.
Rest assured, this recipe is for the real thing, NOT a copy of Arthur Treacher's Fried Fish - this uses authentic batter and real Cod, and can't be beaten by the poor grade imitations served up by franchise chains.
The Preparation:
Cut fish fillets in half, making triangular shape. Cover with milk and
lemon juice and refrigerate 3-4 hours. Drain off milk. Dip fillets in
flour to coat each piece lightly. Let dry on a cookie sheet, making
sure pieces do not touch.
Add oil to deep fryer or heavy pan to a depth of at least 3 inches. Heat oil to 425~. Combine pancake mix, basil, pepper, garlic salt and enough soda to make a thick batter, about the consistency of buttermilk. Dip floured fillets in batter and add to the hot oil one at a time. Fry 4-5 minutes. Remove filets to cookie sheet, again, not letting them touch and keep warm in a 250~ oven. Deep fry remaining filets, keeping the depth of the oil at least 3 inches.
NOTE: Do not heap fish as this creates steam in the oven and makes coating soft.
Better than Teacher's Fish Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fish; Seafood
The History of Recipes
Food historians have proved the existance of recipes way back into the distant past, at least as far back into recorded history as early Egypt, and possibly even further than that. However, these, early cook books were just primitive hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for food preparation.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe found, according to Professor Solomon Katz, are a few clay tablets in ancient Sumerian describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel `blissful`. During the time of the Roman Empire a man called Apicius assembled a number of documents describing recipes prepared by the Romans. In his publication, he tells us how the meals were split into starters, main meal and desserts, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius also describes how the ancient chefs were skilled in the use of a wide range of spices, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs such as bay, mint and dill. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought back a variety of foods and spices from the holy land, including spices like basil and rosemary. These new herbs and spices was responsible for an explosion in books on cookery, some of which still exist in private collections. Over the next few centuries, the upper-class families of Wesstern Europe competed to serve the most extravagent banquests, and consequentially the best chefs and their collection of recipes were much in demand. Nevertheless, it was during the 19th century that fine cooking and recipe publications really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, spent years to assembling, testing, and publishing the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. The introduction of television brings us TV cooks and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting us all to access thousands of recipes just like those on this recipe site. |
