Fish and Chips with Alaskan Salmon

My friend of 25+ years, Dan Weir, enjoyed a fishing trip to Alaska last summer, and spent several days off the coast, in and around Kodiak Island catching fish... most noteworthy Alaskan Silver Salmon! Being the generous guy he is, he gifted me with LOTS of fish, and made my freezer and I happy!

Wednesday evening, January 08, 2025 it was time to put some of this great fish to work, in the form of "Fish and Chips."

Photo: I took a fillet of wild-caught Alaskan Silver Salmon and cut it into several large bite-size pieces. I cut a whole Russet potato into wedges, and lightly seasoned both the potato wedges and the salmon chunks. For seasoning, I went commercial and used Old Bay Seasoning, which can be purchased at practically any supermarket.

Photo: I heated peanut oil, which has a high smoke point, in a small cast iron pot, and fried the potato wedges. I gave them a light coating of the batter, as the recipe made plenty of it and I didn't want to waste any.

Photo: After the chips were finished, I removed them from the pot and placed them on a wire rack to cool. Next, it was time to add the chips, after the oil recovered from the potato wedges. When you're deep frying, it's very important not to crowd or overfill your pot.

I'm a happy guy, as remove the last of the potato wedges from the pot.

Photo: Three pieces of salmon, deep fried to golden perfection and ready to remove from the pot.

I realize most recipes, especially recipes originating in the United Kingdom, call for cod or other white fish. That's great and I LOVE it, but I had salmon on hand, so that's what I used, and it worked perfectly.

I pulled up a recipe on line called "Deep Fried Salmon," which included a recipe for "Seasoned Beer Batter," and simply followed the recipe, and it worked perfectly.

Years ago, back in the early 1980's when I was just beginning my career with AT&T, we had a strike, and a friend landed me a temporary job in a fish restaurant as a prep cook, where I learned how to make fish and chips. It was The Wharf, located in Fort Bragg, CA, and it's still going strong after all of these years! I absolutely LOVED the two weeks I spent in their kitchen, and I learned a lot about making fish and chips.

The recipe I used differs slightly than the one we used at The Wharf, but I think the results are nearly identical.

Photo: The finished product... "Fish and Chips," with coleslaw and ketchup for dipping. Sorry, I'm not a fan of malt vinegar and we were out of tartar sauce, and I didn't feel like running back to the supermarket to purchase a bottle.