Fish & Vinegary Chips with Tartar Sauce

There are a lot of pubs in Savannah, and we really have only been to one. We really need to go to more because although Savannah is famous for its southern food, it's also famous for the pubs. Obviously, the most popular dish you can order are Fish & Chips. So we decided to take a stab at it. I made a classic beer batter for the fish, and it turned out flaky, crunchy, and delicious. But for my twist on this classic, I decided to soak the potatoes in malt vinegar, (normally they are soaked in water to remove the starch for better frying) which gave it an awesome tangy flavor. Malt vinegar is usually poured all over fish and chips, so I though why not soak the french fries and kind of make salt & vinegar french fries. Well all of it turned out pretty good, we have our own little pub here. I served it with some homemade tartar sauce too! Enjoy :)

Ready to Eat

Ahh look at those glorious fish & chips

Pub-Style Fish & Vinegary Chips with Homemade Tartar Sauce

For the Tartar Sauce:

½C Mayo

1t Grainy Mustard

½t Prepared Horseradish

1 Lemon, Zested & Juiced

2T Anchovy Paste

3T Sweet Pickle Relish

2T Capers, Roughly Chopped

1t Garlic, Chopped

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Vinegary Chips:

4 Large Russet Potatoes

2C Malt Vinegar, Very Cold

6-8C Water, Very Cold

1T Paprika

1t Garlic Salt

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Fresh Chopped Parsley, For Garnishing

1Q Canola oil

For the Fish:

2C AP Flour (plus a little extra)

Pinch of Salt

1t Baking Powder

½C + 2T Seltzer Water

½C + 2T Beer

4 6oz Filets of Cod Fish

Few Drops of Yellow Food Dye

1Q Canola Oil 

Salt & Pepper, For Sprinkling

Directions:

1. For the Tartar Sauce: In a mixing bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until well combined. Put the tartar sauce in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
2. For the Vinegary Chips: Whisk together the paprika, garlic salt, sea salt, and pepper in a small bowl and set it aside. Cut the potatoes into ¼inch thick slices, and then cut each slice into ¼inch thick fries. Place the cut fries into a bowl and pour over the cold vinegar and water. Refrigerate the fries for about 4 hours (this helps to get out the starch in the potatoes). Heat the oil in your deep fryer to 325 degrees. Drain fries in batches on paper towels. Fry each batch for 3-4 minutes until a pale blonde color forms and remove to a sheet lined with paper towels. Just before serving, heat the oil up to 375 degreed and fry the potatoes again, in batches, until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Drain the golden French fries slightly and put them into a bowl. Toss the French fries with the spices you set aside earlier and garnish with the chopped parsley.
3. For the Fish: Heat the oil in your deep fryer to 375 degrees. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add in the seltzer, beer, and yellow food dye. Whisk until lumps are gone. Dip the filets into some plain AP Flour, so that it is completely covered, and then shake off the excess. Dip the floured filets into the batter and gently lay into the hot oil for about 4-6 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and flaky inside. Sprinkle the fried fish with salt and pepper.
4. Serve the fried fish with the vinegary chips and the homemade tartar sauce.