Anchovies Fried in Batter
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean the anchovies thoroughly and soak them in spring water for 2 to 6 hours.
Dry the anchovies, open them, and remove the backbones without dividing the fish.
Season the insides with cayenne pepper.
Fry
Close the anchovies, dip them in the batter, and fry until pale amber in color.
Fry for 4 to 5 minutes until cooked through.
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 fish flavor and the tender, delicate body that the batter surrounds.
- Batter
- Forms a light, golden coating that crisps during frying and seals in the fish's moisture.
The step that matters
Dry the anchovies before battering and frying. Moisture on the fish keeps the batter from adhering evenly and turns steam into oil spatter, so the coating can fry unevenly or turn soft instead of crisp.
“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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