MATT: As soon as the coin hits the wood and the textures begin to scrape a bit, you can see one of the ears turn off to the side and Ishir goes, "Hey! (laughs) Sorry, I, you know, was running a business, but I heard your coin on the table. What can I do for ya?"
TALIESIN: Something for breakfast. Whatever breakfast beer you have would be great.
MATT: "Breakfast beer."
TALIESIN: And also, just to put into your mind, imagine how much drunker I would be right now if you knew a way for me to earn some money.
MATT: "Ah, ah. Okay, okay. Well, for a breakfast beer-- Is this your protector? You're one of those arcane guardians or whatever they're called? I've seen a couple of them come through here, but this one's quite small. You might want to get your money back."
TALIESIN: They're complicated. This is Fresh Cut Grass, please.
SAM: Smiley day to you. It's a lovely establishment you got here. Is this owner-operated, or is this your place?
MATT: "It is. Yeah."
TALIESIN: Be careful what you say, they're very vicious.
SAM: Fantastic.
TALIESIN: They'll fuck you up.
SAM: The ambiance is really nice. The clientele looks varied, and I'm impressed that you're so busy mid-day like this.
MATT: "Well, thank you!"
SAM: Yeah!
MATT: "I thank you! No one seems to appreciate the hard work I've put into this place for the past 10 years, and it's nice to get a little acknowledgment from a stranger."
SAM: That's right.
MATT: "Yeah. Yeah. Would you like a breakfast beer as well?"
SAM: I would not. I can't drink it.
MATT: "Oh, right." (laughter)
MATT: "Should have... Sorry. I'll say a Hartmore Brisket Beer. I can get it for you. I'll get one for myself as well."
TALIESIN: What a good idea.
Campaign 3 Episode 1, "The Draw of Destiny," October 21, 2021
Thanks to critrole.fandom.com for the transcript from the episode shown above.
Breakfast Beer Battered Fish & Chips
I don't even know really where to start.
We're throwing it all the way back to episode 1 when things were just beginning - Dorian was still around, we didn't know Laudna's origins, and Bertrand Bell was alive. Simpler times. Oh, how complicated things have gotten, and how far we've come since October. And since tonight's an off week, and the EXU crew is returning(!!!), I thought it might be a good time to reflect on origins. We have had a lot of Ashton recipes lately, but I seem to go in phases. I went through my Fearne phase, my NPC phase, and my Dorian phase... still need to get more Imogen in here. Anyway...
I've been sitting on this since episode 1, trying to decide when would be a good time to try it. Full disclosure, I've never fried things like this before. I never quite got the appeal of frying things at home. It takes so much oil, most of which you'll throw away, it's messy... just felt unnecessary. I've fried things in pans in a little oil, but this recipe called for 3 inches of oil in a pot with a sturdy base, very different.
I also am not a big fan of beer. That being said, you don't really get the full effect when you cook out the alcohol, and I've had beer battered fish before, so I knew what to expect. What I did not expect is how fun it would be and how quickly everything would cook! Grab your breakfast beers, and let's get cookin'.
Ingredients
- Chips
- 2 Large Baking Potatoes
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable/canola oil
- Fish
- Canola/Vegetable oil
- 2 pounds of whitefish (cod, tilapia, etc)
- Salt & pepper
- 1 cup Flour
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons of seasoning salt
- 1 egg
- 12 oz of beer
Here is the Breakfast Beer that I found - Founders Breakfast Stout. I'm not a beer drinker (but I do hope to try this). I don't know if it's good on its own, I assume it is. But I did find it in a beer cooler in a liquor store and it says breakfast on it, which was my entire criteria.
Directions
- Chips
- Preheat the oven to 450
- Cut the potatoes lengthwise into slices. I like to leave them nice and long but keep them about the thickness of fries about a 1/4 inch thick and no more than 1/2 inch wide. I personally like to leave the skins on my potatoes, but you can also peel them.
- In a large bowl mix the oil and spices
- Add potatoes and mix well until they are coated.
- On a baking sheet arrange the potatoes in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes.
- Fish
- Heat 2-3 inches of canola oil in a pot with a thick base. We want the oil temperature to be about 370 degrees, so try to use a thermometer if you have one. (Preheat the oven at the same time, and I'd suggest doing all of the prep work for the potatoes now as well if you haven't already so they are basically ready to go in the oven.)
- Cut the fish into fillets. Tilapia worked really well here because you could cut them right down the middle and have 2 perfect sizes. You want them to be 1-2 inches wide and 3-5 inches long. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Make the beer batter by mixing the dry ingredients together first (flour, garlic powder, paprika, and seasoning salt), and then add the wet ingredients (egg and beer). You want to try to get rid of any clumps in the batter. If it feels too thin add more flour, too thick add a little water.
- Dip the fish into the batter, don't allow too much of the batter to run off of the fish, and then carefully put them in the oil. (This is about the time you'll want to put your potatoes in the oven) Each piece should cook for about 3-4 minutes each - fry until dark brown. (More about coloration in the Substitutions section below)
- Remove from the oil and let it drain and cool on a wire rack.
Tips, Suggestions, and Substitutions
Tips & Suggestions
- You'll probably have a good amount of batter leftover. I thought that by using the whole 2 pounds of fish I'd use it up. I used a good portion, but I think I still had half left.
- Don't leave the fish to dry on paper towels or anything like that, the wire rack for draining is pretty key. Another option is a cookie cooling rack on a baking sheet - same concept.
- Consider flipping your fish fillets when they are halfway through cooking, this helps to make sure that the coloring is more even on both sides.
- If you are frying in batches (which you'll probably want to do!) try and give a minute between frying to let the oil temperature come back up to its expected heat. Adding fish to the oil reduces the temperature, so, to keep things consistent, letting the oil reheat will make sure that your fish continue to cook correctly over time. When I did this I fried 2 fillets at a time while I prepped more. It actually worked out pretty well.
- Don't dump the oil down the sink when you are done! Dispose of it properly, please.
Substitutions
- You don't have to use the beer that I used! Any beer can be a breakfast beer if you believe hard enough. That being said, I used a stout, so my beer batter was a darker brown color. If you use a lighter colored beer your batter (and your fish) will come out in a lighter color. With the darker batter looks were deceiving because it looked burnt but didn't taste burnt. (Side note - this beer was not the cheapest beer on the shelf and was probably not the best use for it. The best use would have been to drink it. I've learned that beer you use in cooking, is like wine you use in cooking, it can be cheap.)
- If you don't have seasoning salt you can get a little creative here. Maybe Old Bay, if you have it, a "Season All," or a "Lowery's Seasoning Salt," will do. Worst case, do 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
In Conclusion...
I don't typically like to brag, but this whole experience has kind of taught me that I'm a better cook than I thought I was. I have pretty good instincts when it comes to cooking (though, not making Kool-aid, but that's a story for another day), I know more about it than I realized, and I really really enjoy it. After a long hard day, I can cheer myself up by getting in the kitchen and creating something fun and yummy to eat.
As I mentioned at the beginning I wasn't a fan of frying in home, for many reasons. I still don't think it's something that I'll plan to do on a regular basis, but I'm far less intimidated by it now than I was a week ago. And that sort of is true for everything I've done on this blog. Most of the recipes I'm sharing here I've never made before and most of the time (when I follow the directions, looking at you Pretzels), they turn out pretty good! And this recipe was no exception. It was very tasty (got lots of approving nods from my partner on this one) and all things considered, pretty quick!
This recipe was a combination of two that I found on Dinner then Dessert, and I Wash You Dry. Have you ever fried things before? Have you fried fish? Are you going to try this recipe? Will you please let me know how it goes if you do?! I love hearing from folks that they have tried my recipes and enjoy what I've come up with, so please let me know if you give it a whirl. Of course, if you have any questions or suggestions, or just wanna say hi, all of that can go in the comments below. Remember to follow me on Pinterest , Twitter, and now on INSTAGRAM! Thanks for visiting, and don't forget to love each other. Is it Thursday, yet?
I can pretend I'm much more interested if there's food and beer in front of me.
Original character art by Hannah at @agarthanguide on Twitter.
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