About Joseph Johnson Expertise I am a Le Cordon Blue trained chef. I would be happy to answer questions related to fish, shellfish, and seafood, and I can provide you with recipes and meal plans using them. I can also offer cooking tips and techniques to help you prepare a better seafood meal.
Experience I am a chef and a founding partner of Caroline's Rub, a manufacturer of dry rubs, smoked salt, and Texas chili seasoning. I am Le Cordon Bleu trained, and have authored 1 cookbook and am currently working with my partner on my second, specializing in Gulf Coast foods and flavors.
Thanks for your advice. I love the batter. I have to add 1 more oz of soda water to make the batter I like. When you say wheat flour, do you mean whole wheat flour?
Do you have a killer tempura batter? I tried a few on the net, but they turn out to be very soggy and soft. The color was there, but not the crispyness. Basic tempura recipe is flour, egg and cold water, right?
Thanks
Harvey
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Followup To
Question -
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Hi Joseph
Which brand of flour do you recommend? It seems that Robin Hood all purpose flour absorb a lot of water. I followed your recipe and the batter turned out to be a thick paste and the finished product has a really thick batter.
Thanks
Harvey
Followup To
Question -
Hi Joseph
In your opinion, what is the best fish and chip batter recipe?
I like to make a thin yet crispy batter.
How to keep batter crisp after frying? After about 20 minutes, the batter turn soggy and chewy.
Thanks
Harvey
Answer -
Hi Harvey,
I love fish and chips, and there is no one who does them better than the folks in England. Below is one of my favorite authentic English fish and chips recipes which I first had many years ago back in college. I got my hands on this recipe from a good friend whose father owned a number of fish and chip shops back in his hometown in England. Whenever he got homesick, we all managed to be around for a sampling of true English fish and chips.
As for how to keep things from getting soggy - when trying to keep fried food crisp you are fighting a tough battle. The moist steam from the cooked food within will naturally begin to moisten the crust, as will any residual oil remaining on the crust itself. To combat the sogginess, I recommend first that you make sure your fish and chips are well drained, and not sitting in any oil. Second, I would suggest heating your oven to about 200¢XF. Place the fried fish on an oven-safe metal rack, which has been set upon a foil covered cookie sheet, and put it in the oven at just above the mid point of the oven. This will allow for plenty of air circulation around the fish, and the low temp will keep the fish warm and crisp without cooking it further.
And now on to our recipe...
Peanut oil, for deep frying (I like peanut oil, but feel free to substitute canola, vegetable, or corn oil.)
4 large russet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (12-ounce) can of really cold soda water
1/2 cup rice flour, for dredging
2 (8-ounce) cod or haddock fillets, cut in 1/2 on an angle
Place the peanut oil in a deep fryer, and heat the oil to 325 degrees F. Alternately, heat 3-inches of oil in a deep pot, but be careful to monitor your temperatures so as not to burn the fish and chips or ignite the oil.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into fries about the size of your index finger. Put the potatoes in the oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes - you don't want them crisp or fully cooked at this point. Remove the chips with a spider strainer or slotted spoon, and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Increase the oil temperature to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and egg. Pour in the cold soda water and whisk to a smooth batter. Spread the rice flour on a plate. Dredge the fish pieces in the rice flour and then dip them into the batter, letting the excess drip off.
Put the chips in the bottom of the fryer basket and carefully submerge in the hot oil. Gently place the battered fish into the bubbling oil lowering them on top of the chips. Fry the fish and chips for 4 to 5 minutes until crispy and brown. Remove the fish and chips from the oil and drain well on paper towels. Season lightly with salt, and for a truly authentic touch, serve wrapped in a newspaper cone with lots of malt vinegar and your favorite tartar sauce.
Answer -
Hi Harvey,
I am sorry to hear your batter didn't turn out as expected. There are a couple of tricks you can do to help this out, and you are dead on with the flour being an issue. Different flours have different gluten contents,and are prepared using a variety processes. Even though they all say all-purpose, this can result in very different outcomes
First, since you like a thinner crust, I would suggest thinning the batter with more soda water. That way you can achieve a consistency more like you want...the thinness of the batter is a matter of preference, so it is really up to you to experiment by adding small amounts of the soda water until you reach your desired consistency.
In the case of type of flour, I also use Robin Hood all-purpose, and I find that temperature, outside weather, etc. can actually affect things quite a bit. So what I do is thin the batter with additional soda, or I may mix it with a 80/20 proportion all-purpose/cake flour mix. This helps to give a lighter crust as well.
One thing I want to experiment with is wheat flour. Adding a couple of tablespoons of wheat flour to your pizza crust really adds texture and crunch, so I have to wonder if that would work as well here, helping to reduce the sogginess factor. I will try it and get back to you!
Best of luck, and please feel free to report back and let me know if things worked a bit better for you!
Answer Hey Harvey,
Glad to hear that everything turned out great with your fish and chips batter. Sorry about that, and you are right - I was referring to whole weat flour.
While a lot of the recipes you see for tempura are exactly what you describe, egg, water, and flour, I find the best tempura to be made with 2 cups of rice flour and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of ice cold club soda. The key to success being in the rice flour and the club soda. Rice flour is light and provides an authentic flavor and a crispy crust. The ice cold club soda serves to aerate the batter with the carbonation, working with the flour to create a lighter, more crispy crust. It must be ice cold though...that is another really important key. Be careful not to just pour in the club soda or overwork the batter once you have added the soda as you want to preserve as much carbonation as possible.
Basically, you want a batter that is similar to a pancake batter, so like the fish and chips batter, you may have to add a little more or less club soda to get the consistency you want.
You can also spice things up a bit by adding your favorite spices and herbs to the batter. I like to add my favorite chili seasoning (I'm partial to Caroline's Rub) to give it an unexpected kick!
