Fish and Chips Tacos with Tartar Sauce

Yield: 8 tacos

Fish & Chips Tacos

20 minPrep Time:

30 minCook Time:

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Ingredients

For the tartar sauce (recipe from America's Test Kitchen)
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained & chopped
• 2 tablespoons pickle relish (they recommend sweet, but I used dill)
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the malt vinegar slaw
• 2 cups finely shredded cabbage (I use Fresh Express Angel Hair slaw)
• 1/4 cup malt vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
For the fish & chips (fish recipe from Alton Brown's Good Eats Volume 1 , fries from Devin Alexander's Fast Food Fix
• 2 Medium Russet potatoes
• 3 quarts water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more for sprinkling)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (or olive oil spread)
• 1 1?2 pounds firm-fleshed white fish (I used cod)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1?2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• dash Old Bay seasoning
• 1 cup beer (I like brown ale or pale ale...for this I used Founder's Dry Hopped Pale Ale)
• 3?4 cup cornstarch for dredging (you may not need all of it-start with 1?2 cup)
• 24 ounces safflower, peanut, or canola oil
For tacos
• 16 corn tortillas

Instructions

1. Stir together all tartar sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Place the cabbage in a medium bowl. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Set aside until ready to assemble the tacos.
3. Make the fries: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place stoneware bar pan or large baking sheet in oven to preheat.
4. Place the 3 quarts of water in a medium pot and place on stove over medium-high to high heat. Scrub potatoes. Cut into fries. I cut my potatoes into 5 or 6 slices then stack the slices and cut each slice into 5 or 6 planks; you can adjust the size of your cuts to fit your desired fry shapes. Place the potatoes in a bowl of cold water until the water has come to a boil. Put the salt in the water and place the potatoes in the boiling water with a slotted spoon and discard the starchy water. Boil the fries for three minutes then drain, shaking in the colander to remove excess water. Allow to sit for five minutes in the colander, giving an occasional shake.
5. After the fries have “rested” and the oven has preheated, you can either place the fries in a dry bowl and toss with the teaspoon of olive oil or place them on the baking sheet/bar pan and spray with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with salt. Spread out on the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every five minutes. When the fries have reached desired brownness, remove from oven and serve immediately.
6. While the fries are cooking, prepare the fish: Pour the oil into a ten-inch cast iron pan. Preheat over medium heat.
7. Cut the fish into “planks” and dry with paper towels. Dredge the fish in cornstarch then, using tongs, dip into the batter until completely coated. When a drop of batter dropped into the oil sizzles, place the battered fish into the oil (you will need to do this in two to three batches). Cook for about three minutes then carefully turn and cook for another three minutes, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve while hot with the chips, malt vinegar, and tartar sauce.
8. To make the tacos, warm the tortillas. I do this on the open flame of my gas stove, but you could also do this in the microwave wrapped in damp paper towels or in a low oven wrapped in foil. Use two tortillas per taco. Divide the fish and cabbage among the tortillas. Top with tartar sauce. Serve immediately.

Notes