Perfect chip butty

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stringjunior said:
Living on the wrong side of the hill and constantly hearing about individual sandwich sized loaves being described as barms, I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying reading about bread cakes. WTF is a barm anyway?
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Not 100% but I think barm is an old name for yeast. Anyone confirm?
 

stringjunior said:
Living on the wrong side of the hill and constantly hearing about individual sandwich sized loaves being described as barms, I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying reading about bread cakes. WTF is a barm anyway?
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It's what wrong'uns call a bread cake. The perfect chip butty has to be served in a breadcake and has to be buttered, not 'margarined.' Margarined isn't even a word.

ElephantBlade said:
Sentinel brewing co. do an exceptional chip butty great pre game
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Don't you have to have a top knot and call real ale, 'craft beer', to sup in there?
 
Non-Yorkshireman hot take here:

Breadcakes are terrible for a chip butty. Too soft to withstand adequate condiment use and too doughy to provide a satisfying chew. A crispy bread roll is what you’re after.

Plenty of salt and vinegar and brown sauce - but vitally not HP. You want something thinner and more tart like GoldStar (the classic “chippy sauce”) or Daddies (the closet supermarket equivalent to the afore mentioned “chippy sauce”).

Bliss!
 
When I'm home it has to be Two Steps on Sharrow Vale road. One of the finest dining establishments in Christendom and definitely a 2 star Chip Butty Michelin Star place.

Slutty Rutty butty with an oversized bread cake from the Rutland en route to the Lane from the station is worth one Chip Butty Michelin star. The overcomplication of sauce on occasion bringing it down from 2 stars.

However, living 6 miles from the sea the best is VC Jones in Whitstable who offer a make Your own butty service. Bread cake wrapped in cling film overnight nicely marinades the marg. open up and spread the freshest batch of chips on with a mix of vinegar and a splash of onion vinegar and then wander to take in the sea air. The cooling sea breeze nicely cooling the chips.

Ps I've never had a decent chip butty in a Chinese take away
 
Canterbury Blade said:
When I'm home it has to be Two Steps on Sharrow Vale road. One of the finest dining establishments in Christendom and definitely a 2 star Chip Butty Michelin Star place.

Slutty Rutty butty with an oversized bread cake from the Rutland en route to the Lane from the station is worth one Chip Butty Michelin star. The overcomplication of sauce on occasion bringing it down from 2 stars.

However, living 6 miles from the sea the best is VC Jones in Whitstable who offer a make Your own butty service. Bread cake wrapped in cling film overnight nicely marinades the marg. open up and spread the freshest batch of chips on with a mix of vinegar and a splash of onion vinegar and then wander to take in the sea air. The cooling sea breeze nicely cooling the chips.

Ps I've never had a decent chip butty in a Chinese take away
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McCabe tried seeing to that when he visited chengdu, unfortunately he couldn’t get the message through to them thus the real reason we dropped our friendship either the chengdu Blades
 
Bayingblade said:
Cut into chips, boil in water for 5-10 mins. Drain and allow to go cold. Boil in fat at 130 degrees until nearly done. Up temperature to 180 and do until golden brown.

The pertfect chip!:)
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that's one hell of a lot of unnecessary messing about isn't it? I don't even think Heston Blumenthal would mess about like that!
 
WincobankBlade said:
Home made in a chip pan are the best in my experience, but how many people have a chip pan these days? White breadcake or two thick slices of white bread, buttered, loads of salt. vinegar and tomato sauce - nowt else. Food heaven.
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I don't. But I do have a very large Le Creuset casserole dish which is far better than a chip pan. Cast iron, gets hot quick, half fill it with oil and fry enough chips for 4 people in one go!
 
Tom Bott said:
Are they not cold and slightly rank by now ?

Assault And Battered on London Road, simply the best.

Though if they cooked in lard they would be better.

I used to run the Broomhill Friary back in the day (year).

Maris Piper is the only way to go..
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Agree with the recommendation for A Salt N Battered on London Road. Haven't tried Whitby's but I've heard good things about it. The thing is though, folks have lost sight of what good fish and chips should be like. In the 1990's we seemed to have an invasion of foreigners, especially Greeks, who took over our chip shops. They don't cook brown chips, only pasty white ones. And they don't do golden brown crunchy batter on fish, just a thin yellow soggy one. You might wonder why this idea ever took off? Simple! Because they appeal to folks who eat with their eyes rather than their mouths. They always give stupidly large portions of chips (enough for 2 or 3 people) and the fish is usually huge too. Although it's nearly always haddock - and it's often "Y" shaped. The idea caught on and was promoted by a lot of the franchises that you see around the place, like "Admiral" and such places. And that's another point...a lot of these chip shops are part of a franchise - which basically means the franchise provide all the kit, including the potatoes, the fish, the batter mix, the oil, etc., So as a result you end up losing the skill of the individual chip shop proprietor, it's not an individual family recipe anymore, it's mass-produced bollocks. After nearly 30 years of eating this rubbish most folks have forgotten a few basics about fish n chips...

1 Chips should be brown - not white
2 Fish batter should be golden brown and crunchy
3 Fish (especially cod) should have large soft juicy flakes of flesh
4 Fish and chips should be wrapped in paper, then newspaper
5 Fish and chips taste better if cooked in beef dripping

The only chip shop I know within about 15 mile radius of Sheffield that still does fish and chips in a traditional style is Margaret's just off Whit Moor, near Chesterfield. (Bottom of the Dronfield by-pass to some). Here's a link...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Margarets-Chippy-The-Best-Chip-Shop-in-the-World/172246332889961

They don't use beef dripping though. But their fish and chips are absolutely divine. There's two other big chip shops within 50 yards walk of Margaret's, "The North Sea" being one of them. Another bleedin' franchise. It's usual to have to queue for half an hour to get fish n chips from Margaret's, but you can walk straight in and out of the franchise ones round the corner. Says it all!

One final thing...re the potatoes...

I see you are recommending Maris Piper Tom? I think they're good and just about every recipe I've ever seen for fish and chips recommends Maris Piper as the potato of choice for chips. People need to be aware that the variety of potato makes a huge difference to the quality of the chips. My own preference though is for King Edwards. Especially, "Red King Edwards" if you can get them. They seem quite rare these-days but as a kid we had them all the time. They make fantastic chips.

I did a comparison a few weeks ago as I had some white King Edwards and Maris Piper. The noticeable difference was that the King Edward chips went brown much more easily and came out crispy! Perfect! Maris Piper's were still good though, but I prefer the King Edwards. They also make superior roast potatoes too. Nothing quite compares to a roastie made with King Edwards potatoes. No other potato gives you that crunchy outside and soft fluffy potato inside.

Anyhow... back to fish and chips.
 

I’ve noticed fish cakes aren’t as good as they used to be. Darnall fisheries (with their slogan Thas tried rest nar try the best) and others are generous with the potatoes but hardly any decent fish included. Who knows somewhere that does decent Fishcakes?
 
Summat wrong here. Chip butty has to be the aforementioned bread cake that disintegrates dependant on how much salt n vinegar and PRESSURE, yes pressure is applied! This is due to the copious amount of chips provided by whichever establishment supply’ you. No fangled barm cake, whole meal bread or margerine. Bread cake, butter, chips, salt n vinegar and to hell wi you ‘yuppies’ puttin red sauce on it! Next someone will want mayo! Hells teeth (heaves a very heavy sigh in desperation!).
 
Bayingblade said:
Au contraire, it’s his method:)

And it’s dead simple.
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:D Well, the first thing I thought of was Heston Blumenthal when I read that!

I've been to two of his dining establishments. The rather pretentious and extremely expensive "Fat Duck" restaurant in Bray, Berkshire - and the pub of his in the same village. Can't remember the name now but it's just up the hill from the Duck. I had his "thrice cooked" chips. Yes, very nice. But he does go a little bit over the top I think.

I admit I normally cook chips twice. Here's my method...

Peel the chips and leave the standing in cold water for a few minutes (doesn't matter if it's a few hours really). This gets the starch off them. Rinse and dry them before putting into a deep pan of oil. (If you put them in wet the oil will spit and may even explode and catch fire - so it's really worth patting them dry first with kitchen towel or a tea-cloth.

To check if the oil is hot enough, drop just one chip in it and count to 4. The chip should rise to the surface within 4 seconds. If it doesn't then the oil isn't hot enough. If it rises quicker than that then you've probably got it too hot.

Cook the chips for about 7 or 8 minutes on a medium heat - stirring them occasionally as chips are good friends with each other and tend to stick together (especially if you didn't soak them like I told you first to get the starch off!).

Take them out and drain them in a colander - I normally put the colander on a plate as oil will obviously run out. Then transfer the chips to a plate and do the same thing again to see if the oil is hot enough before cooking the next load. (Assuming you want more than you could cook in the first batch).

When you've cooked all the batches of chips that you need, go back to the first cooked batch and put them in the pan again (when the oil is hot enough) and cook for about one minute. They go brown really quickly and crisp up. Then remove and put in a large bowl lined with greaseproof paper and sprinkle with freshly milled salt. Repeat with the other batches.

I only cook chips maybe once or twice a month - often if I'm having steak, because I love steak and chips. I usually cook the chips once first and just let them cool down and get on with barbecuing the steak. When the steak is done I put that in a warm dish and cover it with foil, then go back to the chips and cook them one more time, just for a minute. Result: golden brown, crispy, hot chips and steak that has got lots of juices running out of it.

This is also a lot of messing about btw - especially cleaning up afterwards.:rolleyes:
 
Perfect technique there CB, if you need a 2nd opinion or review I'm available at short notice....

The technique of double frying is known as blanching.

I like them with some proper Hellmanns Mayo.
 
Steve Mackan said:
It's what wrong'uns call a bread cake. The perfect chip butty has to be served in a breadcake and has to be buttered, not 'margarined.' Margarined isn't even a word.


Don't you have to have a top knot and call real ale, 'craft beer', to sup in there?
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No top knot here my friend. And I choose to ignore craft beer, BUT it is worth it for the chip butty pal trust me!
 
JohnStreet said:
I’ve noticed fish cakes aren’t as good as they used to be. Darnall fisheries (with their slogan Thas tried rest nar try the best) and others are generous with the potatoes but hardly any decent fish included. Who knows somewhere that does decent Fishcakes?
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Depends what you mean by fishcake. Proper Sheffield fishcake being two slices of potato sandwiching a layer of fish all in a light batter cooked in beef dripping with scraps. One on Commonside called New Cod on the Block.
 
Cerberus Blade said:
Agree with the recommendation for A Salt N Battered on London Road. Haven't tried Whitby's but I've heard good things about it. The thing is though, folks have lost sight of what good fish and chips should be like. In the 1990's we seemed to have an invasion of foreigners, especially Greeks, who took over our chip shops. They don't cook brown chips, only pasty white ones. And they don't do golden brown crunchy batter on fish, just a thin yellow soggy one. You might wonder why this idea ever took off? Simple! Because they appeal to folks who eat with their eyes rather than their mouths. They always give stupidly large portions of chips (enough for 2 or 3 people) and the fish is usually huge too. Although it's nearly always haddock - and it's often "Y" shaped. The idea caught on and was promoted by a lot of the franchises that you see around the place, like "Admiral" and such places. And that's another point...a lot of these chip shops are part of a franchise - which basically means the franchise provide all the kit, including the potatoes, the fish, the batter mix, the oil, etc., So as a result you end up losing the skill of the individual chip shop proprietor, it's not an individual family recipe anymore, it's mass-produced bollocks. After nearly 30 years of eating this rubbish most folks have forgotten a few basics about fish n chips...

1 Chips should be brown - not white
2 Fish batter should be golden brown and crunchy
3 Fish (especially cod) should have large soft juicy flakes of flesh
4 Fish and chips should be wrapped in paper, then newspaper
5 Fish and chips taste better if cooked in beef dripping

The only chip shop I know within about 15 mile radius of Sheffield that still does fish and chips in a traditional style is Margaret's just off Whit Moor, near Chesterfield. (Bottom of the Dronfield by-pass to some). Here's a link...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Margarets-Chippy-The-Best-Chip-Shop-in-the-World/172246332889961

They don't use beef dripping though. But their fish and chips are absolutely divine. There's two other big chip shops within 50 yards walk of Margaret's, "The North Sea" being one of them. Another bleedin' franchise. It's usual to have to queue for half an hour to get fish n chips from Margaret's, but you can walk straight in and out of the franchise ones round the corner. Says it all!

One final thing...re the potatoes...

I see you are recommending Maris Piper Tom? I think they're good and just about every recipe I've ever seen for fish and chips recommends Maris Piper as the potato of choice for chips. People need to be aware that the variety of potato makes a huge difference to the quality of the chips. My own preference though is for King Edwards. Especially, "Red King Edwards" if you can get them. They seem quite rare these-days but as a kid we had them all the time. They make fantastic chips.

I did a comparison a few weeks ago as I had some white King Edwards and Maris Piper. The noticeable difference was that the King Edward chips went brown much more easily and came out crispy! Perfect! Maris Piper's were still good though, but I prefer the King Edwards. They also make superior roast potatoes too. Nothing quite compares to a roastie made with King Edwards potatoes. No other potato gives you that crunchy outside and soft fluffy potato inside.

Anyhow... back to fish and chips.
Click to expand...

That was a long but yet informal interesting read into the fish and chip industry, i get the feeling though that around the time of writing this you had some rubbish fish and chips !
 
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