Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: Crispy fish burgers with all the trimmings

If you want to get your kids to eat more fish, this crispy and delicious burger will do the trick

This fish burger will satisfy the deepest cravings for a fish supper. 

We have been eating a lot more fish than usual lately and I have to say I am loving it. Seafood is wonderful to cook with, and fabulously versatile. For the home cook, seafood is the ultimate fast food. It only takes minutes to cook a piece of fish in a pan or under a grill, add a little seasoning or some spice and lemon juice, and with the right sides and dressing, you have a fabulous meal.

This week’s recipe takes just a little more time, but not that much to be honest. If you are trying to get your kids to eat more seafood, then this gorgeous fillet of fish burger might do the trick. 

The chips are easy to make and take only a little more time to prepare than frozen oven chips. As with any great burger, the right trimmings are essential. My pickled cucumber is wonderful with this dish, with a lovely sharp and sweet fresh flavour that is perfect with the crispy fried fish fillet. Serve these on the side rather than on the burger as you want to keep the batter nice and crisp. 

I suggest a homemade tartar sauce for the burger, but a wasabi mayonnaise would also be wonderful. Just add some wasabi paste to mayonnaise, tasting as you go to get it to your preferred heat level. Maybe add a little grated lemon zest as well, that would be delicious.

I used cod for this recipe, but any firm white fish such as hake or even ling will work well. If you are not confident about removing the skin, ask for skinless fillets or have your fishmonger remove it for you, and check to make sure there are no bones left before you marinade and cook the fish.

Crispy fish burgers with all the trimmings

recipe by:Colm O’Gorman

I serve this with homemade chunky chips cooked in the air fryer and shoestring onion rings - simple and delicious

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the burgers:

• 400g skinless cod loin fillets

• 25ml rice wine

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 

• salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 100g cornflour

• 4 brioche burger buns

• 1 head of little gem lettuce

• 1 tomato

• 1 litre sunflower

• For the pickled cucumber:

• 60ml white vinegar

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

• 1 cucumber

• A pinch of salt

• For the tartare sauce:

• 4 tbsp mayonnaise

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tbsp capers, chopped

• 1 tbsp chopped gherkin

• 1 tbsp lemon juice and a little lemon zest

• For the chunky chips:

• 8 medium sized potatoes

• 2 tbsp of fine polenta (optional)

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Method

1. Grate the garlic, pop it into a bowl with the rice wine and grated ginger. Cut the fish fillets to size, you will want somewhere around 100g per portion. Add them to the bowl and stir to cover with the rice wine, garlic and ginger. Let them marinate for about 30mins.

2. Now make the pickled cucumber. Warm 60ml rice or white wine vinegar in a small pan and add one tablespoon of caster sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Thinly slice a cucumber, pop it into a bowl and pour over the vinegar mix. Stir in one tablespoon of fresh chopped dill and a pinch of salt. Stir well to coat all the cucumber and set aside until you are ready to serve.

3. Pop the mayonnaise and all the other ingredients for the tartare sauce into a bowl and stir to combine. Keep the sauce in the fridge until you have cooked the fish and are assembling your burgers.

4. Peel a few potatoes per person and cut them into thick, chunky chips. I usually use red rooster potatoes for this. Blanch them in some boiling water for about three minutes before draining and tossing them in a tablespoon of rapeseed oil and some fine polenta. The polenta helps to make them nice and crispy, but don’t worry if you have not got any to hand. Cook the chips in an air fryer or oven at 200c until golden brown, about twenty to thirty minutes, tossing them halfway through to make sure they are golden and crisp all over.

5. When your chips have about fifteen minutes left to go, it is time to cook the fish. Heat one litre of sunflower oil to 180°C in a deep pan. While the oil is heating, toast your buns, chop the lettuce, and slice the tomato.

6. Put the cornflour on a plate and add some salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you have some onion salt, that adds some nice flavour to the batter, just use it instead of regular salt. Dredge the fish fillets one at a time in the cornflour.

7. Carefully lower them into the hot oil, one by one. Do not crowd the pan, you will need to do this in batches of two to three pieces at a time. Fry them for two minutes before removing them and allowing them to drain on a wire rack or some kitchen paper. Check the temperature of the oil between batches and make sure it gets back up to 180°C before adding more fish. You need it this hot to cook the fish properly and get a lovely crisp coating.

8. Lightly toast the brioche burger buns. Now give the fish another quick fry to get them beautifully golden and crisp, again at 180°C This second fry is crucial, but they will only need a minute or two at the most. Again, do this in batches and, as before, let them drain for a few minutes before assembling your burgers. Lay some lettuce and a big slice of tomato on the base of each bun, add some tartar sauce and the rest of the bun. Serve with your pickled cucumber on the side and chunky chips.