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Anchovies Fried in Batter

Anchovies fried in a light batter after soaking and seasoning.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Anchovies Fried in Batter

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the anchovies

  1. Clean the anchovies thoroughly and soak them in spring water for 2 to 6 hours.

  2. Dry the anchovies, open them, and remove the backbones without dividing the fish.

  3. Season the insides with cayenne pepper.

Fry

  1. Close the anchovies, dip them in the batter, and fry until pale amber in color.

  2. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes until cooked through.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Anchovies
Provide the main flavor and form the body of each fritter.
Batter
Coats the fish and crisps in the hot fat, forming a protective golden shell.

The step that matters

Fry until pale amber and cooked through. Batter browns quickly while the fish needs several minutes in hot fat to cook through. Frying at a steady heat lets the coating turn golden as the anchovies heat to the center, avoiding a raw interior or an overly dark, bitter crust.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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