If you're passionate about cooking and recipes, especially those celebrated by Bon Appétit, this guide to making the perfect fish and chips will transport you straight to the British seaside. Chef Ed Shamitesky, owner of Dame in New York City, shares his expert approach to crafting this iconic dish with light, airy batter, crispy golden chips, and a tangy homemade tartar sauce. Let’s dive into the art and technique behind this classic, modern British favorite.
Starting with the Fish: The Heart of the Dish
At Dame, fish and chips are the cornerstone of the menu, and Chef Ed chooses local hake when cooking in the Northeast US. Hake is prized for its texture — large, pearly flakes that fall apart delicately in the mouth, creating a pleasant eating experience. It’s also ideal because it has a lower moisture content, which helps keep the batter crispy during frying.
The fish undergoes a simple curing process with salt and lemon zest. Salt draws out excess moisture and seasons the fish from within, ensuring the batter crisps up nicely. Lemon zest adds a bright aromatic note, while lemon juice is reserved for later to avoid making the fish too firm and ceviche-like. After curing in the fridge for a couple of hours, the fish is portioned into generous 6-ounce chunks — no stingy little pieces here — ready for frying.
The Perfect Chips: Thick, Crispy, and Fluffy
Chips, or thick-cut fries, are just as important as the fish in this dish. Chef Ed uses Idaho russets, peeled to maximize crispiness, and cut into large chunks. The process to get the perfect chip is a labor of love, involving three cooking steps over two days to achieve a crispy exterior and creamy interior.
First, the potatoes are soaked in water to remove excess starch, preventing gummy fries. Then, they are boiled in heavily salted water — but unlike the usual gentle boil, the goal here is to break down the exterior cell walls to increase surface area for crisping. After boiling until tender but not mushy, the potatoes are cooled and refrigerated to firm up before frying.
Homemade Tartar Sauce: The Tangy, Chunky Companion
No fish and chips would be complete without tartar sauce. Dame’s version is a creamy, seasoned mayo packed with crunchy ingredients like cornichons (small pickled cucumbers), capers, shallots, chives, dill, and parsley. These add bright acidity, saltiness, and fresh herbaceousness that perfectly balance the richness of the fried fish and chips.
The mayonnaise base is made in-house with egg yolks, mustard, champagne vinegar, a touch of garlic, salt, oil, and a spoonful of crème fraîche (or sour cream as a substitute). A dash of malt vinegar finishes the sauce, staying true to fish and chips tradition.
Frying the Chips: A Two-Step Process for Ultimate Crispiness
To get that perfect crunch, the chips are fried twice. The first fry is done at a low temperature to gently cook the potatoes and start setting their edges, allowing the exterior to become firm without browning too much. This slow approach ensures a crisp shell and a creamy interior.
If you don’t have a deep fryer, use a pot filled halfway with oil to avoid dangerous overflow. After about 8 minutes, the potatoes develop golden brown edges and a crunchy texture but remain pale overall. They are drained and cooled again before the final fry, which happens alongside the fish.
The Magic Batter: Light, Crispy, and Full of Air
The batter is the secret weapon that elevates Dame’s fish and chips. It’s a delicate lace-like coating that crisps up beautifully and stays light rather than becoming soggy or heavy. The key is understanding that the batter fries while the fish inside steams gently.
The batter combines all-purpose flour for body, rice flour for crispiness (think of the light, crunchy coating on Asian-style chicken wings), and baking powder to create puffiness and texture. Two special liquids are added: vodka and a local New England beer called Narragansett. Vodka lowers the batter’s evaporation point, helping it form a crispy shell faster, while the beer adds flavor and carbonation, creating bubbles that make the batter airy.
Mixing is done carefully to avoid developing gluten, which would make the batter chewy rather than crisp. Instead of smoothing out every lump, the batter is lightly combined to preserve frothy air bubbles essential for that perfect texture.
Frying Fish and Chips Together: Timing is Everything
When frying, the fish goes in about 30 seconds to a minute before the chips, as it takes longer to cook. The fish is lightly dusted in batter, with some batter allowed to drip off, and then dropped into the oil with a shaking technique that creates those beloved crispy batter bits on the side — a favorite treat in UK fish and chip shops.
The chips get their second fry at high heat to finish crisping, ensuring both fish and chips come out hot, crunchy, and ready to serve simultaneously. Salt is sprinkled immediately on both while hot to enhance flavor and help the seasoning absorb.
A Beautiful Plate: Serving Fish & Chips the Dame Way
To plate, crispy chips are stacked and topped with the golden, flaky fish. The crunchy batter bits are added alongside a generous spoonful of homemade tartar sauce and a lemon cheek. A spritz of malt vinegar, applied using a perfume bottle for even coverage, adds that classic tang without sogginess.
This dish is all about texture and flavor harmony. The chips are crisp on the outside, fluffy and creamy inside, almost like mashed potatoes. The fish flakes off into juicy pieces coated in a delicate, crispy batter with bright lemon zest and seasoning shining through.
Fish and chips are finger food — dip a chip in tartar sauce, savor the crunch, and enjoy the big, juicy flakes of fish. This simple dish is elevated by meticulous technique and care for each element, proving that tradition and craftsmanship go hand in hand.
Whether you’re a fan of British cuisine or just love exploring new cooking, recipes, and flavors, this detailed approach to fish and chips is an inspiring way to bring a beloved classic into your kitchen. With the right ingredients and a bit of patience, you can recreate this crispy, flavorful dish that will impress family and friends alike.
This article was created from the video How One of NYC’s Best Chefs Makes Fish & Chips | Made to Order | Bon Appétit with the help of AI.
How One of NYC’s Best Chefs Perfects Fish & Chips: A Delightful British Classic. There are any How One of NYC’s Best Chefs Perfects Fish & Chips: A Delightful British Classic in here.
