16 Nebraskaland • June 2024
By Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
CATFISH AND CHIPS
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
•
4 catfish fillets
•
4 large starchy potatoes
•
Vegetable/peanut oil for frying
Beer Batter
•
1 cup of flour, plus extra
•
1
1
⁄2 teaspoon of baking powder
•
1 teaspoon of fine sea salt, plus extra
•
1 to 1
1
⁄4 cups of lager beer
1. Cut potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, into desired size
strips. Soak in water for about 2-3 hours.
2. Meanwhile, make the beer batter by combining the
dry ingredients first, and then whisk in the beer. Batter
should resemble thin pancake batter. Refrigerate the
batter, covered, for up to 3 hours until you're ready to
use it.
3. To fry the chips, drain potatoes and lay them out
onto a large cookie sheet lined with paper or cotton
towels. Dab the potatoes to get them as dry as possible
— water and hot oil do not mix. Then heat oil to 300
degrees Fahrenheit, and fry in batches until potatoes
become tender, about 5 minutes. They should still be
blond at this point. Drain par-fried potatoes on paper
towels or on a cooling rack.
4. Then, crank up the oil temperature to 375 degrees.
Fry the chips again until golden and crispy — do
not crowd the pan to keep the oil temperature from
dropping too much. Transfer chips to a cooling rack,
toss with salt to taste and keep warm. If fries get soggy,
crisp them again in a 400-degree oven.
4. Rinse catfish with cold water, and then pat dry
and season with salt. Next, lightly coat the fish with
plain flour and then dip into the beer batter; gently
stir batter if separation occurs. Fry fish in 375-degree
oil until golden and crispy. Drain before serving
immediately with chips and your favorite condiments.
IN THE FIELD
JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY, NEBRASKALAND
