When you think of England, what immediately comes into your mind? English breakfast? Tea? The iconic Marmite? The Royal Family?
Nothing is more representative of England or the U.K than fish and chips when it comes to food. In fact, according to The National Federation of Fish Friers, the sale of fish and chips goes about £1.2 billion in a year, with 10,500 shops specializing in fish and chips and serving over 382 million fish and chips meals every year.
Many people love fish and chips, and while it is a staple British food, it is enjoyed in all parts of the world with each country’s version. Fish and chips are delicious, simple, and very easy to make.
How to Make Fish and Chips
Despite its many variations across the globe, the classic fish and chips are still one of a kind.
Four servings of the classic fish and chips are prepared with the following ingredients:
For the Fish
- Seven tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- Seven tablespoons of cornstarch
- One teaspoon baking powder
- Sea salt
- One pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup cold dark beer
- ⅓ cup cold sparkling water
- Four, 7-ounce fish fillets (preferably thick, white fish)
For the Chips
- 2 pounds of peeled potatoes
- 1 liter of vegetable oil
Once all the ingredients are ready, set aside two tablespoons of flour. Afterward, mix the remaining flour with cornstarch and baking powder in a large bowl, then season a bit with salt and pepper.
Add the beer and sparkling water into the mixture while whisking continuously until you achieve a thick and smooth batter. Let the batter rest on the fridge for 30 minutes to one hour.
While the batter is resting, slice the potatoes into ½ inch thick slices, then cut again into ½ inch wide chips. Rinse them afterward under cold, running water. Place the chips into a pan of cold water and let it boil for 3 to 4 minutes.
Use a colander to drain the cooked potatoes out of the pan carefully and then dry using paper towels. Keep them in the fridge and keep them covered with paper towels until they are ready to cook.
For your fish, grab thick, white fish and lay them onto a paper towel, and season with sea salt.
Grab a deep saucepan or deep fryer and heat a generous amount of oil up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and fry a batch of chips until they are slightly cooked. Do not let them go brown! Remove them from the oil once they are slightly cooked.
Using the two tablespoons of flour set aside earlier, coat the fish thoroughly and dip it into the batter. Fry each fillet for approximately 8 minutes or until the batter, looks crisp and golden. Remove the fish fillet and let the oil drain in a paper towel.
Using the same oil, cook the chips again until golden and drain, then season with salt and serve hot.
How to Make Chip Shop Chips
Now that we’ve shared how to make the classic fish and chips, how about we tell you that you can cook your chip shop chips with these chip shop chips recipes?
Classic Fry
To fry your chip shop ships, you can peel old potatoes and cut them into sticks of about 1cm thick and 8cm long. Don’t forget to submerge them in cold water to remove excess starch before frying.
Layer chips into a pan of oil and fry until golden. Remove them from the pan and drain to remove excess oil. Always remember to re-fry the chips before serving to make sure they are crispy and golden.
Using the Oven
Who says you can’t cook chips with an oven? Of course, you can. In fact, you can do everything with an oven. Here’s how to cook chip chop chips in the oven:
For oven-roasted chips, prepare the chips as you usually would. The chips’ length depends entirely on you, although it is recommended to keep them at least a finger wide.
Take a large non-stick baking tray and arrange the prepared and patted chips onto the tray. Spread some olive oil and salt. Do not overcrowd the chips in the baking tray, so they cook well.
Cook the chips and turn them now and then for 45-50 minutes until golden and crispy, and then sprinkle some sea salt to serve.
Using an Air Fryer
Like an over, an air fryer is your best friend for everything that needs frying. There are many chip shop chips recipes, but how do we cook chip shop chips in air fryer? Here’s how.
Using an air fryer is a healthier alternative than deep frying. Air frying allows you to cook the chips like it was fried but with little to no oil.
To cook chip shop chips in the air fryer, prepare the chips in their usual size. Not too thick and not too thin.
Toss the chips into the bottom of the air fryer and lather them with a little bit of oil until they are evenly coated. You can initially cook the chips for thirty minutes, check on them, and then cook them for another five until they are cooked to your preference.
You can season your chips by using garlic granules, salt, pepper, paprika, dried herbs, or grated parmesan.
How Many Calories are in Chip Shop Chips
You can expect a significant number of chip shop chips calories mainly because they are oiled and salted. A 7 oz serving can have 424 calories, a 10 oz serving with 606 calories, a 13 oz serving with 788 calories, and a large, 16 oz serving can have up to 972 calories.
Chip shop chips contain carbohydrates, protein, and fat, and each of them contributes to the number of calories a chip has. Carbohydrates carry 47.7% of the total calories, fat contains 46.9%, and protein carries 5.4%.
Can you Freeze Chip Shop Chips
While nothing beats fresh, hot off the pan or oven chip shop chips, no one said you couldn’t store or freeze them if you want.
You can freeze chip shop chips by first letting them cool at room temperature for only up to four hours. Do not leave your chips for longer than this at room temperature.
To flash freeze your chips, place them on a metal baking tray with grease-proof paper once they are cooled. Spread them and make sure they don’t touch. Then place the tray into the freezer for two or three hours until each chip is frozen in place.
Remove each one of them from the tray and place them on a freezer bag. This will ensure that they’re not frozen in a clump, and you can cook as much as you want when needed.
These frozen chip shop chips will last for about two to three months in the freezer, although it’s best to consume them as soon as you can.
