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
We are able to track the history of written recipes way back into the distant past, in truth as far as the early Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. In practice though, sadly, these old recipes were just very basic pictorial instructions for preparing food.
As we move into The time of the romans around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a collection of scripts which described recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, he tells us how the meals were divided into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and afters, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius recounts how the cooks of his times were skilled in the use of a good variety of aromatic flavors, including some familiar names for example bay, rue and dill. Later, in the fifteenth century, the Crusaders brought back many new spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including spices like coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new tastes caused a surge in manuscripts on cooking, some of which are now in private cookery archives. By the advent of the 20th century, recipe books are increasing in popularity mostly due to higher levels of literacy, people having increased spare time and having more money to spend. |
