Crispy Fish and Chips with Frozen Cod and Sweet Pickle Tartar Sauce
Crisp battered cod made with thawed frozen fillets, shortcut frozen fries, and creamy sweet pickle Dijon tartar sauce. Use cold lager or club soda for the light, golden coating.
Equipment
- 1 Heavy deep pot, keep no more than one-third full
- 1 Clip-on deep-fry thermometer, rated for hot oil
- 1 Wire rack and rimmed baking sheet, for draining
- 1 Stainless-steel mixing bowls, for batter and sauce
- 1 Whisk, for mixing batter
- 1 Instant-read food thermometer, check fish reaches 145°F
- 1 Spider strainer or heatproof slotted spoon, for removing food from oil
Ingredients
Fish and seasoning
- 1¼ pounds frozen plain cod fillets completely thawed, skinless and boneless
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour for the light dredge
- Neutral frying oil such as canola or vegetable oil, for about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot
Beer or club-soda batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125 g
- ½ cup white rice flour about 75 g; or ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup very cold mild lager or club soda 240 ml; plus 1–4 tablespoons more as needed
- 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce to taste
Shortcut fries and serving
- 1.25-1.5 pounds store-bought frozen French fries kept frozen until frying
- Salt to finish
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
Sweet pickle Dijon tartar sauce
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup finely diced sweet pickles not dill pickles
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice plus more to taste
- ½ small garlic clove finely grated (about ¼ teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill or parsley optional
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make tartar sauce: Stir all the sauce ingredients together, taste, adjust lemon or seasoning, and refrigerate until serving.
- Set up: Place a wire rack over a sheet pan. Heat about 2 inches of frying oil in a heavy, deep pot (no more than one-third full) to 350–365°F.
- Dry and season fish: Drain fully thawed cod, blot very dry on all sides with paper towels, cut into four pieces, and season with ¾ teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Mix batter: Whisk the flours, baking powder, salt, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. Whisk in 1 cup of very cold beer or club soda and hot sauce until just combined. Add a little more cold liquid if needed for a thick, pourable consistency.
- Dredge and batter: Dust each cod piece lightly in the ⅓ cup flour, shaking off extra. Dip in batter, let excess drip away, and move directly into hot oil.
- Fry fish: Fry 1–2 pieces at a time for about 4–6 minutes depending on thickness, adjusting the heat to keep oil near 350–365°F. Remove when golden and the fish is cooked through to 145°F. Drain on the rack and sprinkle lightly with salt.
- Fry frozen fries: Increase oil to about 375°F, or use package temperature. Fry the fries straight from frozen, in small batches, usually 3–5 minutes for regular-cut fries or according to the package. Drain and salt immediately.
- Serve: Put the hot fish and chips on plates with lemon wedges and the chilled sweet pickle tartar sauce.
Notes
Frozen cod: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator at 40°F or below. Remove vacuum-packed fish completely from its packaging before thawing and follow the package instructions. Pat extremely dry; never fry fish with ice or excess surface water.
Batter: Keep lager or club soda very cold and mix just before frying. Rice flour may be replaced with the same volume of cornstarch. Discard leftover dredging flour and batter that touched raw fish. Beer batter is not guaranteed alcohol-free; choose club soda if avoiding alcohol.
Fries and oil: Use fries whose package includes deep-frying instructions; keep frozen and follow the specified temperature and time. Fry in small batches. Keep the pot no more than one-third full, monitor oil with a deep-fry thermometer, and never leave it unattended. Check the cod separately with a food thermometer: the thickest part must reach 145°F.
Timing and yield: Makes 4 portions, each with one-quarter of the cod, fries, and sauce. Prep 20 minutes; cook about 20–25 minutes; total about 40–45 minutes, excluding overnight thawing. Extra-small batches may take longer. The sauce yields roughly 1 cup (about ¼ cup per person); divide the actual finished sauce equally.
Make ahead and storage: Make the sauce ahead and keep refrigerated. Fry close to serving for best crunch. Refrigerate perishable leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), in shallow containers; keep raw-fish utensils separate from the sauce. Reheat leftover fish to 165°F.
Estimated nutrition: Approximately 900 kcal, 33 g protein, 67 g carbohydrate, 53 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 3 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 80 mg cholesterol, and 1,500 mg sodium per serving. This is a calculated estimate, not a measured batch or laboratory analysis. Assumes 1¼ lb raw Atlantic cod, 1½ lb frozen straight-cut fries (120 kcal, 19 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 310 mg sodium per 84 g), all ¾ cup regular mayonnaise and all tartar sauce consumed, about half the mixed lager/rice-flour batter retained, 20 g of dredging flour retained, and 4 tablespoons (56 g) additional canola oil absorbed across the whole fish-and-fries batch. Oil already in the frozen fries is included separately. Sodium assumes light-flake kosher salt (280 mg per ¼ teaspoon), half the batter seasoning retained, and about ¼ teaspoon finishing salt across the batch. Different salt, fries, sauce portions, coating retention, and oil absorption change the result substantially. Each additional tablespoon of absorbed oil adds about 33 kcal and 3.5 g fat per serving. Club soda reduces calories slightly. No cooked serving weight was measured.
Nutrition references: USDA raw cod data, representative frozen fries label, regular mayonnaise label, rice flour label, and canola oil label.
Equipment affiliate links: Stainless-steel mixing bowls and instant-read food thermometer (for fish doneness; use a separate thermometer rated for monitoring hot oil). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Nutrition
Calories: 900kcalCarbohydrates: 67gProtein: 33gFat: 53gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 1500mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4g
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