Enrobed Cod with Potato "Scales"

So, my experiment with enrobing cod in potato slices was disappointing.
To be sure, the flavor was superb. But, despite having seen the technique used several times, I couldn’t get it to work. The potato “scales” wouldn’t fold flat, and stood up in all directions. And many of them fell off in the fry pan.

Even so, I’m presenting the procedure so anyone who wants to try it knows how to proceed. And, of course, I’m open to suggestions for getting it to work.

Start by preparing an infused oil. In this case I mixed 1 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan. While it was coming up to heat I added a bundle of fresh thyme, 2 bay leaves, the zest of a lemon cut in wide strips, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and a tablespoon of fennel seeds.

This mixture should sit at least an hour for the flavors to meld. I let it go overnight.

Using a mandolin, I cut a large russet potato into thin slices. These should be very thin, so much so you can practically read through them. One good sized spud should yield more than enough slices to cover four 6-ounce cod filets.

Around here you cannot buy the sort of processed fish so often shown on the TV shows. Anne Burrell, for instance, when she made this, had four perfectly portioned pieces, each exactly the same side.

All that were available around here were the tail cuts. Fortunately, the guy behind the counter was willing to cut off the thin, triangular ends, giving me four thickish pieces. They still had the bellies attached, so I cut them off and poached them to use in a different dish.

Now we’re ready to go. Lay a square of plastic film on your work surface. Lightly brush it with the infused oil, and lay out the potato slices so they are slightly overlapping in both directions. You want to create a square or rectangle large enough to wrap around the fish.

Light brush the potatoes with oil (it keeps them from browning), and season with salt and pepper.

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Lay one piece near an edge of the potatoes and carefully roll it, pressing down on the slices to flatten them, and peeling away the plastic film as you roll.
When finished, wrap the enrobed fish in the film. Finish the other pieces in the same way. Refrigerate at least an hour.

Strain the remaining oil into a fry pan, discarding the solids. Heat the oil to 350F.

Working in batches, unwrap the fish pieces and add to the hot oil. Fry about five minutes, until potatoes are brown and crisp. Carefully turn and fry five minutes more.

End result is a fancy version of fish & chips. The potatoes will be crisp and crunchy, the fish moist and succulent.

Friend Wife and I certainly enjoyed eating this dish. But visually it wasn’t the most pleasing thing I’ve prepared, and, unless I can do a better job getting the potato slices to lay the way they’re supposed to, I would not plan this for guests.

......try again. And then quit. No sense making a damn fool of yourself.

W.C. Fields

Great tip, Ahron. Thanks!

    Okay...I think I got it.

HistoricFoodie wrote: If you do, Dan, I hope you've kept notes, so you can explain what I did wrong.

   When I said that I got it, I was looking for some pictures of the technique to go along with the instruction.  I have now "got" the pictures needed, I haven't tried the technique yet...we shall see how that goes

    I haven't forgotten about this one either Brook.  Hoser, it will be great to read some more experiences (here) on this method.  I'll be sure to post pictures and experience as well, even if it isn't successful.  I'm hoping if enough of us have trouble with this recipe that we figure out the successful methods, lol.  This year, I have felt more like an electrician, carpenter, auto mechanic, landscaper and general do'er of too many things I'd rather not have to do in summer!

   Can't wait to both try this and see how others do with it!

 Dan

   Okay, tonight I gave this a try.  I wasn't entirely happy with the way it turned out and not entirely disappointed.  I three "rods" of scales so I would end up with three different varying scales...then cut them as thin as I can on the mandolin (discarding any thicker ones). 

   After this I poached them in butter at low temperature (no color).  After they were cooked through (but not entirely) I drained the butter and placed the potato scales on some paper towels to dry them off and let them cool. 

    After they were cool I took the fish out and dried it with a paper towel.  I put some cornstarch in a bowl and separated the potato scales into the bowl so each one got coated on the front and back.  To place the scales on the fish I first made an egg wash and brushed (what would be) the skin side of the fillet.  I started placing the potato scales on the tail end first, working my way from top to bottom from tail to head.  After the first roll of scales I would brush some egg wash on the underside of each scale before placing it on the overlapping scales. 

    The potato scales stayed on good.  I put a fish spatula under the fillet and placed the parchment paper on top, then I flipped it over (all went good).  I heated the oil up in the pan and once hot I placed the fish-on-parchment into the oil.  I left the parchment in there the entire time it was cooking on the potato scale side.  Once the scales were good and browned I flipped and removed the parchment. 

   I think it turned out okay looking.  I served it with the nectarine reduction which actually went well with the crispy potato scales.  Once trying it...I could really get what this dish was trying to convey.  The balance of flavors and textures was really quite nice.  I should have gone a touch more browning the potatoes.  They were all crisp and crunchy...but could have used a more uniform color.

  can't wait to hear how others do!

Very pretty! You have got my foodie/artist brain going on this!

Looks pretty darn perfect to me ~ great job, Dan!

TasunkaWitko wrote: Looks pretty darn perfect to me ~ great job, Dan!

   Thanks Tas!  It was a fun project for sure. 

HistoricFoodie wrote: Lovely job, Dan, with a result that even more resembles the natural flow of fish scales, particularly on a rapidly tapering tail section.

    Thanks Brook...we all feed off of eachother.  With the vision I had, I actually bought the tail pieces of the Cod to start with.  When cooking other preperations of Cod I love the nice thick/narrow fillets...but for the potato fish scales I thought the tail pieces would serve better for what I was going for. 

HistoricFoodie wrote: I'm not sure that the pre-poaching actually made a difference. With you're adaptation you're, in effecting, gluing the individual scales in place on one side of the fish. In the original technique, the fish is actually wrapped in a sheet of potato.

After using the mandolin on the potato "rods", I contemplated soaking them...or poaching them.  I tried a few of them and felt there was too much raw bite to them.  I was concerned this would come through after doing a (relatively) quick cook on the fish.  I poached them to (I guess) al dente (very slight tooth).  Would it have been fine otherwise, I don't know...but it did what I was envisioning.

   Once the "scales" were partially cooked, I let them drain...then placed them on a paper towel to dry them off a bit.  After they cooled slightly I put some of them into a bowl of seasoned (salt) corn starch and made sure both sides were lightly coated.  I brushed the fillet with an egg wash and started to place the (dredged) scales on the egg washed fillet.  The first row went on fine, but I noticed that the second row wasn't adhering as nicely.  This was because the potato scale was partially overlapping the dredged scale before it.  To help with good adhesion I dipped my finger into the egg wash and brushed the bottom of each scale before placing it into position.  This helped. 

   I will also note that I sliced my potato "rods" on the thinnest setting on my inexpensive mandolin. I could tell when I had pieces where I pushed down too hard because they were ever so slightly too thick.  The scales wouldn't lay nicely if the scales were even a little bit thicker than the thinest setting.  The thicker pieces were set aside and discarded.  

   I took a combination of things into consideration when trying this dish, your post here, a Le Cordon Bleu recipe, a recipe from someone's blog and my own thoughts.

HistoricFoodie wrote: Next time I try this I will use your technique. Not only does it apparently work, it makes a much nicer presentation.

  I can't wait to hear how it goes. 

HistoricFoodie wrote: One question: I'm not sure what purpose the parchment paper serves. Why did you opt for that instead of transferring the fish directly to the pan?

  The use of the parchment paper was used (in some degree) in both of the recipes that I was looking to for guidance.  Could it have worked without?  Maybe...but I felt doing it this way did help keep the scales on during transport into the pan, and I didn't feel it hindered the cook at all.  Once I flipped the fish I removed the parchment. 

  Hope this helps...thanks!
  Dan