Friday 27 September 2013

SAMREC (Beer Batter Fried Fish & Chunky Chips)

SunWun and I headed off to SAMREC (South African Marine Rehabilitation & Education Centre) at the Cape Recife Nature Reserve, on Heritage Day for a penguin release. Well, we missed it by a few minutes as each car had to be registered at the Security entrance. Anyway it wasn't a problem as we got out into a part of Port Elizabeth we don't usually get to.

This is Grumpy, the Penguin, not the wonderful Volunteer Keith. He's brain damaged so cannot be released back into the wild and is kept for education purposes.


Even though we had missed the release, we were incredibly fortunate to see this particular juvenile African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Black-footed Penguin, who has not been around adults long enough to be told that Penguins are flightless. I was fortunate enough to catch this fellow coming in for a landing. It just shows that we really shouldn't believe everything adults tell us. 


If you are interested in learning more about SAMREC please follow them on Facebook. They do amazing work for all sorts of Marine wildlife.



Beer Batter Fried Fish & Chunky Chips




  • ·         4 large (about 200g each) unpeeled potatoes, cut into wedges. Par boil potatoes first if you like.
    ·         2 tsp olive oil
    ·         225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
    ·         1 egg, whisked
    ·         375ml (1 1/2 cups) chilled beer. You can now get some amazing Craft Beers in your favourite Booze Store. Each one will make your meal a unique experience.
    ·         Salt & freshly ground black pepper
    ·         Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
    ·         8 (about 120g each) white fish fillets (such as Hake)
    ·         Sea salt flakes, to serve
    ·         Lemon wedges, to serve
    Preheat oven to 200°C.
    Spray a baking tray with Spray and Cook and place potato wedges on tray.
    Drizzle with olive oil.
    Cook in oven, turning occasionally, for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

    Meanwhile, place flour in a bowl.
    Add the egg and stir to combine.
    Gradually whisk in the beer until batter is smooth.
    Season with salt and pepper.
    Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

    Add enough vegetable oil to a large saucepan to reach a depth of 8cm.
    Heat to 190°C over high heat (when oil is ready a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 10 seconds).
    Dip 2 pieces of fish, 1 at a time, into batter to coat. Drain off excess.
    Deep-fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and cooked.
    Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.
    Repeat, in 3 more batches, with remaining fish and batter, reheating oil between batches.
    Season with sea salt flakes.
    Serve with tartare sauce (Recipe below) and lemon wedges.


    Tartare sauce
    ·         1 egg yolk
    ·         1 tbs fresh lemon juice
    ·         2 tsp mustard powder
    ·         250ml (1 cup) light olive oil
    ·         2 tbs drained capers, finely chopped
    ·         8 baby gherkins, finely chopped
    ·         2 small onions or shallots, ends trimmed, finely chopped
    ·         2 tbs finely chopped fresh parsley
    ·         1 tbs finely chopped fresh dill
    ·         2 tbs finely chopped fresh chives
    ·         Salt & freshly ground black pepper
    ·         To make the tartare sauce, place the egg yolk, lemon juice and mustard powder in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture thickens. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin steady stream until mixture is creamy. Transfer to a bowl. Add capers, gherkin, shallot, parsley, dill and chives and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

2 comments:

  1. Getting into Cape Recife is an effort if one doesn't have a permit or if there is a line. Pity you missed the release but the photo made up for it. SAMREC really needs all the support they can get so its always nice to read about it on blogs or social media.

    I think I need to try your beer batter

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