So I recently had the honor of tweeting with Steven McMullin aka @Chef_Steve on twitter. Our discussion revolved around how to use pickled eggs. Yes you read it right “pickled eggs”. Having never been one to actually eat one willingly I sat and did the flavor profiles in my head. I have always been blessed with that ability. call it good genes I guess, my grandmother also had the talent.
My Grams was an amazing woman. She ran kitchens her entire life…and while she was never formally trained, she honed her cooking skills behind the grill old school. She and my grandfather owned a restaurant in St Boniface, the name long forgotten by me, (Gonna have to ask dad) that catered to American’s during Prohibition, where she served drinks in a bar that women where not allowed to drink in. She later owned and operated a dinner in St. B on Tache. This is where I began my culinary experience. I remember getting 5 cents for every table I cleaned when I was about 4 or 5. The house that is now the Red Lantern Restaurant belonged to my grandparents, and remember going there for dinner once and sitting down to dine in what was my father’s bedroom.
But enough about my grandmother…on to pickled eggs…
After chatting back and forth with Chef Steve, I finally came up with my next culinary masterpiece. And I think this one is gonna be a keeper.
Beer Batter Fish with Pickled Egg Salad.
As you know, I am all about keeping it simple…so here we go…first the egg salad.
We are basically going to make a basic egg salad, but substitute the regular boiled eggs for pickled eggs.
4 pickled eggs chopped coarsely
2 green onion chopped fine
2 stalks of celery chopped fine
1 tablespoon Dill Pickle Relish
2 tablespoons REAL mayo
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Fresh chopped dill
salt and corse black pepper to taste
Mix it all together and chill…pretty basic so far.
Okay now to the beer batter fish
First the batter…this is a very delicate process and you have to be very careful to get it right…
First you get a bowl of flour…about 3 cups.
Now…the hard part…pour in a bottle of beer and mix…okay not so difficult, but really that is it, beer and flour and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. You can experiment with different beers, dark beers light ales…they will all give a slightly different taste to the batter…but basically like with wine, cook with the beer you are gonna drink it with.
Now the fish, your choice, but I personally like cod…it is fatty enough to not dry out when you deep fry it…but again…experiment…
Dip your fish into the batter and deep fry it in HOT oil till it is golden brown…don’t make the fish too thick or it will not cook through before the batter is cooked…And since you have the oil ready some hand cut fries would be amazing to go with this.
For the best fries use white russets…cut them up into french fries and soke them in cold water for a few mins…and then drop them into the oil…the trick to crispy fries is to double fry them…so before you start the fish, pre cook your fries…they should be cooked enough to actually eat, but they are gonna be soggy. Set them aside and then cook your fish.
Just before you are ready to plate this up…drop your fries into the oil again…this will crisp them up…sprinkle some coarse salt on them while they are hot…
Okay plate it up…a piece of fish, some fries, and a good helping of pickled egg salad.
Picture to come…
