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Back in 1982, at work, we went on strike, as the company I work for is unionized. For the duration of the strike, I had zero income, yet I had bills to pay, mouths to feed and things to do. A friend of mine found me a job as a "Prep Cook" at The Wharf Restaurant, in Fort Bragg, CA, where I was living at the time. One of my duties consisted of preparing fish, for fish and chips, which I learned to do quite well. This recipe is the way The Wharf Restaurant made fish, for fish and chips, circa 1982. Special
tools: Deep fat fryer, assortment of mixing bowls, paper towels
1/2
pound white fish, preferable cod fillets, cut into strips or
chunks Cut fish into strips, about 6" by 1" and set aside. Size is not critical, as it varies due the size of the fillet. Wharf used all pieces, including the smaller ones. If you choose to season your filets, rub seasoning on to filets. Pat filets dry with paper towel and reserve. Break egg into mixing bowl, stir until white and yolk are blended. Reserve.
Left: I have all of the bowls of ingredienets lined-up and ready to go. It's very important to keep the High Life handy; as you may have noticed, I purchased a tad extra. Right: I dip a piece of fish into the egg mixture. Photos show ingredients for only a single serving of fish, as I was making dinner only for myself. In medium mixing bowl add one cup of Bisquick. Add beer, a little at a time to Bisquick, and stir with large mixing spoon, ensuring that mixture is blended well and that there are no lumps. The mixture should be blended to the consistency of pancake batter, without any lumps. If you get carried away with the beer and the mixture is too thin, add more Bisquick until the mixture is the correct consistency. It is very important to get the consistency correct. You won't need all of the beer, and I'm sure you can find another "use" for it. Reserve. Place the remaining 1/2 cup Bisquick in another mixing bowl. Reserve. Heat deep fat fryer to operating temperature, which should be 350 degrees. Here's how we battered our fish at The Wharf Restaurant: We placed a cutting board directly in front of us, and basically worked from left to right. A plate of fish strips was placed to the left, then the bowl of blended egg mixture, bowl of "dry" Bisquick, and the bowl of batter. I use this sequence at home, and I place the deep fat fryer on the far right of my lineup. A plate with paper towels should be placed near the fryer to allow the fish to drain, after it is removed from the hot oil. Refer to photo for details... The sequence for battering and frying the fish sounds complicated, but it really isn't. The trick is to use your left hand for the "dirty" work which is all of the dipping, and keep your right hand clean and dry. Using your left hand, dip a fillet in the egg mixture, coating evenly. Place fillet in "dry" Bisquick, roll it around in the dry mixture to coat fillet evenly. Now dip into batter and coat fillet evenly with wet batter. Carefully place fillet into deep fat fryer. Fry until fillet starts to turn golden in color, which is about 5 minutes. Repeat the process until all fillets are cooked, but do not put too many fillets in your deep fat fryer at one time, as they will fuse together and not cook properly.
Left: Left: rolling the egg-coated fillet in the "dry" Bisquick. Right: Dipping the fillet into the batter. Offer cocktail sauce, tartar sauce or malt vinegar on the side. Serve with chips. Coleslaw makes an excellent salad with a meal of fish and chips. As a "Prep Cook" at the wharf, by myself, I was able to prepare, batter and fry enough fish to feed the busy lunchtime crowd at The Wharf Restaurant, which at the time, was the most popular fish restaurant in Fort Bragg. I can't recall how many pounds of fish I prepared for lunch, but it was always a lot. We didn't prepare the fish in advance, as The Wharf stressed freshness and quality in the food they served, and we delivered the food to our customers hot from the deep fat fryer, not warmed-up under heat lamps. The Wharf purchased its fish from fresh from local fishermen, who had just unloaded their cargo of fish from their fishing boats, and the customers were served fish that was still hot from the deep fat fryer. The customers loved our fish, and we took pride in the quality meals that we served. Naturally, because The Wharf is a commercial establishment that fed several hundred folks lunch each day, the quantities were much larger than the recipe suggests, but the sequence I use to prepare Wharf-style fish at home is basically the same that I used, all those many years ago. In 1982 at The Wharf, for lunch, our featured meal was a "Fish and Chips Basket," which consisted of a oval wicker basket, with a piece of butcher paper in it, that contained three large pieces of fish, and a very generous portion of chips, and as I recall, the price was $1.95. Cocktail sauce, tartar sauce and malt vinegar was offered on the side. One side benefit to working at The Wharf is that the kitchen staff got a free meal of fish and chips, so in the two weeks I worked at The Wharf, I got to eat lots of fish and chips. They also looked the other way if you had a little of the beer left that couldn't be reused for anything else, so I always managed to find a "use" for it.
Left: A single piece of fish cooking in the deep-fat fryer. Right: My meal of fish and chips, with cocktail sauce on the side for dipping. For best results, use the cleanest, freshest salad oil you can find for your deep-fat frying. Your fish, and chips if you choose to make them, will taste lighter, crispier, and above all, fresher. Try my recipe for Wharf-style fish, and you'll agree with me that this is the best deep-fried fish that you've ever made at home. Epilog:
In 2002, my wife and I spent a long weekend in Fort Bragg;
I hadn't been there since 1984, and my wife had never been there.
For Saturday night dinner, we drove down to Noyo Harbor,
and, you guessed it, we ate dinner at The Wharf. Of
course, after 20-something years, none of my old co-workers
were there, as the staff was composed of all new faces. However,
the view overlooking the harbor hadn't changed, the decor hadn't
changed, they still have the most awesome bar in town, and the
fish and chips tasted exactly the way that I remembered them.
When you're visiting the Mendocino coast town of Fort
Bragg, you owe it to yourself to enjoy a lunch or dinner at
The Wharf. Copyright(c) 2007 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...
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