Fish And Chips-Style Loaded Fries Recipe

Though I love a simple, crispy french fry dunked in ranch (or a Wendy's Frosty), there's no better way to enjoy a mountain of fries than loaded with a variety of toppings. Piled high with additions like steak, shredded chicken, melted cheese, sauces, or gooey curds, the humble pieces of crispy-fluffy potato become a necessary base for a masterpiece of flavor. A plate of loaded fries is a versatile dish that can be found around the world, everywhere from Rochester, New York, to Chorrillana, Chile, and it always features fries stacked with local ingredients. It only makes sense, then, to turn one of the most famous french fry dishes in the world into a loaded-up version of itself with fish and chips-style loaded fries.

Famously served in a newspaper wrap or alongside mushy peas, fish and chips has become a staple of English and Irish pub culture. Instead of simply piling the exact ingredients onto crispy french fries, this recipe reimagines the dish for fork-and-knife eating, layering each flavor carefully in order to best balance every bite. It begins with deep-fried french fries and beer-battered cod and layers them up with pea and cabbage coleslaw and a drizzling of curry ranch. This fish and chips-style loaded fry has everything you could want from the iconic dish in every delicious bite.

The recipe starts with a simple cabbage slaw, made with shredded green cabbage, scallions, julienned carrots, green peas, Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper. To save time chopping, you can also buy a pre-made, bagged coleslaw mix and add peas and dressing. For the curry ranch, you'll need curry powder, more Greek yogurt, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon. From there, you'll just need ingredients for frying and assembling the fries: canola oil, thick-cut (sometimes called steakhouse) frozen fries, flour, baking powder, a light lager beer, fresh cod, and bacon for topping.

In a large bowl, toss together the scallions, cabbage, carrots, peas, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, pepper, and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, and seasonings until very well combined. Add to a squeeze bottle and set aside.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add the bacon.

Cook until browned and crispy, about 5-6 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.

Once very hot (400 F), add the french fries and fry until golden and crisp, working in batches to avoid crowding.

Drain on a paper-towel-lined sheet tray, then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt while still warm.

In the meantime, prepare the fish for dredging. In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 cup flour, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt.

Pour the beer into the flour and baking soda mixture slowly, whisking to combine.

Add ½ cup flour to a second bowl.

Dredge the fish pieces first in the flour, fully coating.

Once the fries are done, dredge the fish pieces in the beer batter, then add them immediately to the oil.

Fry until golden and crispy. Drain on a wire rack fitted to a sheet tray.

To assemble the loaded fries, first add fries and cod to a shallow tray or serving platter.

Add the coleslaw, then sprinkle with bacon pieces and drizzle with curry ranch to serve.

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Deep frying is the best way to get truly delicious fried food with golden-brown, crispy exteriors and perfectly fluffy insides. It's an easy method, but it requires knowing some essential tips like using the right oil, heating the oil to the right temperature, and working in small batches, which hardly matters in dry heat methods like baking, broiling, and air frying. Because the hot oil cooks the food, the food stays moist while developing a crispy, airy crust, which can't happen in quite the same way with other methods. Still, deep frying is messy, greasy, and frankly, a little less healthy, so you can use other methods to achieve similar results.

The next best way to fry beer-battered cod is in the air fryer, which heats quickly to a high, dry, circulating heat. To employ this method, heat the air fryer to 400 F and dredge the fish in beer batter. Dredge the fish in flour after you batter it to keep the batter from dripping excessively, then spray it very lightly with oil. Add it to the air fryer basket and fry it for 10-12 minutes, flipping it halfway through, until the fish is light golden. The crust won't have quite the same deep hue and crispy crust as it would if you deep-fry it, but it will still have a satisfying crunch (and it will be covered by coleslaw and bacon bits, anyway).

The leftovers for this dish can be saved, but it is wise to be strategic about how you store each component. The french fries and fish should be saved together in an airtight container in the refrigerator, since these two will need to be reheated before you consume them. To reheat the fish and chips, place each into the air fryer in a single layer and heat them for 1 to 2 minutes at 400 F, until they're just crisped and warmed through. You can also save the bacon separately and microwave the leftovers until warm because the bacon bits will stay crispy without needing to be fried.

The coleslaw and curry ranch should each be saved in their own separate containers in the refrigerator, and each can last up to 5 days. Because the coleslaw should not be heated, store it in a separate container and add it to the reheated fish and chips to serve. As for the curry ranch, try storing the dressing in a squeeze bottle for easy application to the fish and chips or any number of dishes you might want to add curry flavor to, like in chicken wraps, sandwiches, or burgers.

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