NASHVILLE HOT HALIBUT SANDWICH

Nashville Hot Halibut Sandwich image

This sandwich doesn't get as much love as Nashville hot chicken, but who doesn't love a fried fish sandwich? Eat it immediately or wrap it in wax paper and enjoy it under the shade of a maple tree with some unsweetened iced tea.

Provided by @MakeItYours

Number Of Ingredients 17

Ingredients

5 cups (1.25 L) canola oil
⅓ cup (75 g) roughly chopped Scotch bonnet chiles
¼ cup (50 g) roughly chopped bird's eye chiles
⅓ cup (75 g) roughly chopped jalapeño chiles
1 pound (480 g) unsalted butter
⅓ cup (50 g) ground cayenne
⅓ cup (50 g) smoked paprika
1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the fish
6 eggs
2 cups (300 g) panko bread crumbs
1½ pounds (680 g) halibut fillets, cut into (4-ounce / 115 g) portions
6 potato rolls (preferably Martin's) or 12 slices slices white bread (preferably Japanese milk bread)
½ cup (120 ml) mayonnaise (preferably Duke's)
¾ cup (180 g) bread and butter pickles
6 slices American Kraft Singles
⅓ cup (120 g) sliced white onion

Steps:

Preparation In a large pot over high heat, combine 1 cup (240 ml) of the canola oil and the Scotch bonnet, bird's eye, and jalapeño chiles and cook until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 350°F (175°C). Turn off the heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Working in 2 batches, pour into a blender and blend until smooth. Pass through a fine chinois or strainer into a medium pot. Heat again, then add the butter, cayenne, and paprika and stir with a whisk. Set aside and keep warm. In a large Dutch oven, heat the remaining 4 cups (800 ml) canola oil over medium-low heat to 320°F (160°C). Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs in another medium bowl, and put the panko in a third medium bowl. Dust a piece of fish in the flour, then dip in the eggs, then coat in the panko. Place on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining halibut. Once the oil has come up to temperature, use a spider to carefully lower 2 pieces of the breaded halibut into the oil. Cook until golden and the internal temperature is 275°F (135°C), 4 to 6 minutes. Scoop out the fish and rest on a baking sheet with a rack set on it. Repeat with the remaining halibut and spoon the hot chile oil over it until the fish is covered and glossy. Build your sandwiches: Lay out the bottom bread, mayo, then pickles, the halibut, followed by the cheese and onion slices. Slather mayo on the top bread and squish the sando down. Excerpted from Matty Matheson: Home Style Cookery by Matty Matheson, copyright © 2020. Published by Harry N. Abrams. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.