Coke Battered Fish 'n' Chips

Fish 'n' Chips... have I mentioned that S.D. is obsessed with England? If it's from England, he loves it. Jammie Dodgers, rugby jerseys, pint glasses (oddly enough we don't even drink) - the list goes on and on. So, as I was pondering how to do something new with tilapia, Fish and Chips seemed like a viable option. I've always wanted to try them, and I knew S.D. loves them - so why not? I did find however that practically all the recipes call for a bottle of beer in the batter. As I mentioned, we don't drink, so I tried to see what I had for a good substitute. As I opened the fridge door, the lone coke bottle in the middle of the shelf was staring me straight in the face. TaDahh!.........

I've been wondering what to do with this thing! I knew I would never find the right moment to pop the top and just drink it. Coke never sounds appealing - maybe if it was poured over 3 large scoops of vanilla ice cream in an icy cold mug... yeah that would've been good. Oh well, too late for that because I used it on the fish.

It's hard to say if the Coke added anything since I've never had another fish and chips to compare it to, but it was fun pretending that it did.

It's definitely not a meal for dieters since both the fish and the chips are fried. Seriously, I could feel my waistline widening with every bite. But it was totally worth it!

I only fry something about 2-3 times a year, so I'm definitely not a pro at it. In fact, after the chips were done I didn't turn down the burner and the oil got too hot while I was preparing the fish. You would think the fact that large quantities of smoke were rising from the oil would've been a clue. Hmm... apparently not. This was from my first batch of fish:

And I took that out of the oil about 15-30 seconds after dropping it in! Haha! Luckily the next batches were much better after I turned the heat down a bit.

I might have to make these again even though S.D. wants to ban all frying in our house. (I guess he couldn't take the smoke filled room and grease splattered on every surface within 5 ft. of the burner... go figure.) Sweet Boy ate this fish better than any fish I've made so far. I only had to bribe him with carrots a few times. Yes, you heard me right... carrots... he LOVES roasted carrots. I made them to go along with the fish and chips. I do believe he could live off of 3 things: roasted carrots, dairy-free ice cream, and ketchup. I'm not complaining though... carrots are a good favorite to have! But in spite of the carrot bribing, I'd definitely say the fish and chips were a success!

I used Paula Deen's Beer Battered Fish and Chips recipe. Obviously I changed the beer to coke, and I switched the order of the dredging. The recipe states to dip fish in the batter and then dredge in flour. I did the opposite and dredged in flour, then dipped in the batter. Some of the reviewers suggested that and it worked great! I would also recommend a tartar sauce to go with it. Sweet Boy and I were fine dipping in ketchup, but tartar sauce would have been the best I think.

Have fun frying!