Fee and Chee Friday

Of all the things I miss about not living in Newfoundland anymore, one of the most missed are Friday's in St. John's. To me, the city gets a whole working for the weekend vibe to it as people get excited for a night out on the town and one, maybe two good feeds of fish and chips, or as the townies say, fee and chee.Chicago and New York may be famous for pizza and hot dogs, and Montreal may have its smoked meat, but St. John's is the place for the best fish and chips.The fish is always cod (best if its fresh of course), and the chips are always hand cut and fried to perfection. Traditionally, fish and chips is served with malt vinegar, and unlike across the pond where mushy peas is an accompaniment, here dressing (buttery stuffing with minced onion and dried savory) and gravy are standard fare. A few peas and some good tartar sauce never seem to go astray either.Wash it down with a cold brew or a can of pineapple soda and you're in fried heaven.

For some, their fee and chee fix comes early, with an over sized lunch at Ches's, The Big R or Scampers, for others it comes in the happy hour variety with a few pints down at the Duke (The Duke of Duckworth has arguably the best fish and chips in St. John's) or take out from Leo's (also outstanding). Finally, many get their fix after making home in the early hours of Saturday morning after a night on George Street. Luckily places like Ches's and Buddy's are open late, and deliver.

If you aren't fortunate enough to live in Newfoundland and have a hankering for some fee and chee, don't despair as making it at home is not all that hard. It's easier if you have a deep fryer, but if not, an oil filled wok or pot works too (you'll have to be very careful). Here's my recipe for a beer battered fish and chips, whereby I use a dark, flavorful Quid Vidi 1892 Traditional Ale. Just season your portions of fish wit a little salt and pepper, dredge in some flour (will help the batter stick to the fish) and coast in the batter, and cook until golden brown in 375 degree oil.

Beer Battered Fish and Chips
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup beer
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- pinch of salt

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. I like a thin batter. To get the desired consistency I dip my fingers in the batter and let it drip off. I do a count on how long it take to see my skin through the batter. I'm looking for a count between 1 and 2 seconds.

Fish and Chips II

Beer Battered Deep Fried Cod


Every now and then you just got to have something fried. As I've said in previous posts, it's hard to find really good deep fried fish and chips in these parts, and it had become a goal of mine to start making my own. One a month, this will be a guilty pleasure. I do not own a deep fryer (fry-o-later) but that doesn't stop me from being able to deep fry...as long as I am careful. This time I used a wok, but I was without a thermometer so that I could control the temperature. I'll have that for the next batch of fish fry goodness. When deep frying on the stove top, you have to be extremely careful because trouble can begin without a moments notice. You can not let the oil get too hot (hence the need for a thermometer) and you can not leave it unattended. Too many times in Newfoundland a house burns to the ground because of someone cooking a feed of chips and either not being careful enough or worse yet, try and do so after getting home with a few too many black horse in them. If you don't feel comfortable using the stove top, deep fry only with a deep fryer.

I like to think that I know a thing or two about deep fried cod. Besides having eaten my share over the years, I've also worked the fryer at a couple fish and chips places in St. John's back in college. My most notable experience was as fish cook at the famous Ches' Fish and Chips (http://www.chessfishandchips.ca/home.html). While I did not have a hand in making the batter from scratch at Ches', as they have their own secret and special blend you just add water too, I did learn alot about the proper thickness of the batter, cod portion preparation, cooking temperatures and times, etc. For the recipe below, I use a homemade beer batter that is light and thin, that frys up crispy and bubbly. For the cod, I used thick loin fillets and sliced them into roughly 3 0z portions.

Directions

For the batter, in a large mixing bowl combine with a whisk:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper1 Tbsp baking powder
- 2 beaten egg yolks
and add gradually, whisking constantly
- 1 cup of light beer

Allow to rest in the fridge for an hour or two. Before using, add 2 egg whites beaten. This will make the batter nice and light. In order to get the right thickness, I dip my fingers in the batter and begin to count until I can see my fingers to through the batter as I let it drip off. You're looking for a two count to see your fingers begin to show through the batter. Anything longer will be too thick and produce unwanted dough around the fish. If you need to thin your batter, add a little more beer to get it right. This is enough batter to cook at least 2 pounds of fish.

In a large pot, or deep fryer heat 3-4 inches of vegetable oil to 375 degrees.

While oil is heating, portion the cod into 3-4 oz portions, season with a little salt in flour, and dredge in some flour. The flour is key in having the wet batter stick to the fish. Once the oil comes up to temperature begin cooking the fish. Don't over crowd the pot and cook the fish in batches. Once a piece is done, transfer to a wire rack, season with kosher salt and keep warm in a low oven. To "drop" your fish into the oil, submerge the floured portion in the batter, hold from one end and let the excess drip off, and slowly lay the fish in the hot oil. Hold it for a few seconds and slowly release it away from you. Keep an eye on it and turn it once one side becomes golden brown. Getting the fish cooked right is pretty easy for portions this size. Generally speaking, when it is well browned, it is done just right.

Served with some hand cut oven fries, and lots of fresh lemon juice, malt vinegar and salt and this was some of the best fish and chips I've had. It was most definitely the best I've had in this neck of the woods. Enjoy!

In Cod We Trust

My recent trip to Newfoundland was really spectacular. From sea kayaking in Trinity Bay, hiking many miles of the East Coast Trail (http://www.eastcoasttrail.com/), a boat tour (and a Dildo Island boat tour at that....thanks Gerald and Dennis), a winery tour (http://www.rodrigueswinery.com), live Irish music, a garden party, touring the Cape Shore including Cape St. Mary's, camping at La Manche park, cod fishing, dining out at Bacalou (2 impressive meals), and spending quality time with family and friends...I really was able to do it all. When people have since asked me if I did get to do all that I wanted, I jokingly say I didn't eat enough fish and chips. On second thought, that's no joke...I didn't eat enough fish and chips!

While my waistline is probably thanking me, I was limited to only a single "feed" of fish and chips...and what a meal it was! While I had plans to get fish and chips in St. John's, and also possibly on the southern shore, I knew my first choice had to be my old stompin grounds out around the bay in my hometown of Green's Harbour. Until recently, this restaurant/take-out was known as Taylor's (and probably always will be in my mind) but has since been sold and renamed to "CJ's". It's good to know however that they still have the same cook behind the closed door, dishing out what I could tell were the same recipes, although I did find that the fish batter had improved, as it was a little thinner and lighter. This place really has the best chips, dressing and gravy I've ever had, and their fried chicken is also outstanding. It's better than Mary Brown's and that's saying something (my sister gave me once of her wings and it was better than I rememmbred). On this occasion however I needed to have the deep fried cod, and the 3 piece dinner at that, with dressing and gravy. Served with a tasty creamy coleslaw, and some peas and carrots, and tarter sauce, it was a meal fit for a bayman prince. The cod was super fresh and the batter was crispy. I don't usually order 3 pieces of fish but I inhaled this meal and had room for more (even on top of the wing and two glasses of Black Horse beer). It's really too bad I can't find deep fried fish like this here in New York and New England. I'm going to have to start making it for myself as a treat once a month!

Besides the deep fried cod, I did have cod more than once while I was home. The best of the bunch had to be the pan fried cod I cooked on the second last day of my trip, using cod my wife, father-in-law and myself caught that afternoon, on the first day of the food fishery. For appetizers we had succulent cod tongues and cheeks with a lemon/malt vinegar tarter sauce, and for the main meal we feasted on morsels of pan fried cod, oven baked fries, peas, gravy, and fresh corn. There really is nothing like eating extremely fresh fish, cooked the day it comes out of the water. For my money, cod is king when it comes to my favorite type of fish to cook and eat.

I am still excited for having the opportunity to get out on the water, and catch cod this summer. It really is a shame that Newfoundlanders only get a couple weeks a year to get out and do the same, to put food on their tables, in their freezers, and in their bellies, when the inshore cod fishery and hand lining is such an intrinsic part of our culture, our heritage and way of life. While I don't know if there will ever be any more than this for our "food fishery" at least we have it. It could be worse I suppose.