Scottish Deep Fried Food

[Claire]

Ok, I'm fairly new to this web site, so bear with me in this question, especially if it's been asked before. Is it true that in Scotland you can buy battered, deep-fried candy bars and slices of pizza? I've seen, read, heard this from a lot of sources .... so, just curious.

 

[GB]

Clair you are not so new here. I would consider you an old pro. Wait I take that back. I consider you a pro

Yes I have heard the same thing. I saw a show on FoodTV (I think) where they were deep frying everything including candy bars (which you can actually find in the US a lot now) and pizza. They also did a deep fried hard boiled egg. Believe it or not, the host of the show really enjoyed the egg. He did not like the pizza very much though.

 

[Michael in FtW]

New to this site? :?

Tyler Florence did do the fried candy bar thing on "Food 911" - Episode FO1D14 - "Fish and Chips". It had to be invented by a mad (drunk) Scot after one too many pints at the end of a football game when he dropped his candy bar into the "fish-n-chip" batter and then after plucking it out dropped it into the deep fryer.

 

[crewsk]

I love deep fried candy bars! Snickers are my favorite. I use a funnel cake batter or pancake batter. Deep fried Oreos are also at the top of my list!

 

[Lugaru]

New to this site? :?

Tyler Florence did do the fried candy bar thing on "Food 911" - Episode FO1D14 - "Fish and Chips". It had to be invented by a mad (drunk) Scot after one too many pints at the end of a football game when he dropped his candy bar into the "fish-n-chip" batter and then after plucking it out dropped it into the deep fryer.

That's the way chimichangas where suposebly invented. They where interviewing an old lady who came up with them and the name is a derivation of the spanish curseword she shouted when she accidentally dropped a burrito in the deep frier.

About the candy bars... some one was doing them but they got a major "word of mouth" promotion which gave them urban legend status. Every one wanted to know more about it, so dozens of places started making them to cash in on the curiosity and hype. I doubt they will take them away either, something about the idea just clicks.

Lugaru stares at his frialator... uhm...

Nah, I think Im having salad.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Heaven knows I don't want to get an argument going on here as to which is the best candy bar to fry - and the best batter to use!

 

[crewsk]

Me either Michael! Those are just my favorites & I'm sure everyone is diffrent.

 

[Haggis]

Unfourtunately yes. When I was last over there, visiting family when I was 10 (my god...11 years ago) I made the mistake of ordering pizza at a cosy little takeaway joint somewhere in the mid-north of Scotland.

Hah! Believe my suprise when this...mass...was placed in front of me. Complete with the odd chip that had left floating around in the oil and had stuck itself to the top of the pizza. Trust me, take the oven baked version, your tastebuds and your arteries will thank you.

Other popular things to deep fry over there are of course the Mars bar and Creme Eggs (the chocolate egg that has a filling inside it to make it look like the yolk and white of an egg).

*Shudder*

One good thing I remember from over there that I can't find over here is the Mars popper (juice-box to you Americans).

 

[Lugaru]

(snipped)... and Creme Eggs (the chocolate egg that has a filling inside it to make it look like the yolk and white of an egg).

*Shudder*

Man, I would love to do what with a kiner surprise egg sometime. Mmm... crunchy batter, sweet chocolate and a melted, toxic toy in the middle.

:twisted:

 

[Barbara L]

I've never tried one, but a lot of people around here eat deep fried pickles.

Someone here at DC (I think Spryte?) has a recipe for deep fried candybars on her website.

Barbara

 

[crewsk]

Barbara, deep fried pickles are wonderful! Rainee posted a recipe for them in apitizers a while back.

 

[Brooksy]

Heaven knows I don't want to get an argument going on here as to which is the best candy bar to fry - and the best batter to use!

You might call it "Bitter Batter Banter..........."

 

[Ishbel]

As a Scot, I feel well qualified to answer this...

Scotland is probably the Heart Disease capital of the world - or if not, then should be.....

I've heard it said that in Scotland 'anything can be deep fried'... a well balanced meal could consist of deep fried pizza and a deep fried mars bar!

However, I hasten to add, that it is only a minority of the population who eat like that.

We DO like our chip shops though - with fried fish (haddock is the favourite sea fish) and chips (french fries to a lot of you, I think). The deep fried pizza is a fairly new phenomenon - and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The pizzas appear to be the cheapest that can be made.... texture of a polystyrene ceiling tile, smeared with a little tomato paste and a few strings of cheese. These are folded in half, dipped in batter )!) and put into the chip fryer.... BLECH....

Legend has it that the deep fried Mars Bar (also dipped in batter) was 'invented' in Glasgow - and I can believe it... (coming from Edinburgh and with the good natured rivalry between the two cities!).

I had some family over from Aus who had seen the sign in a chip shop 'Deep Fried Mars Bars Sold Here' (and took pictures to take home to raise a laugh about the unhealthy Scots). They weren't game to buy it from the chippy, but asked me to do some. Here's my secret recipe from the one and only time I cooked the 'treat' - and no, I wasn't game to try it :P

Put the Mars Bars in the freezer for 15 minutes or so.

Prepare a plain, coating batter, not too thin.

Roll Mars bar in flour - dunk into the batter until coated... deep fry until the batter is puffed up and golden.

Eat - and listen whilst your arteries harden.

 

[Claire]

BB King's restaurant in Memphis features "the Lucille" which is deep fried, thinly sliced pickles. They were actually quite good for the first few bites. Before we got to the bottom of the pile, and they'd cooled, not so good. But they were very tasty when fresh from the fryer. Wouldn't make it a regular, but fun to try.

I guess most deep-fry Scotch eggs, the few times I've made them I've either pan fried them (no extra grease, the sausage is fatty enough) and the last time, baking them (best results yet). However, I have no idea if Scotch eggs are actually Scottish in origins or not.

 

[PA Baker]

You might call it "Bitter Batter Banter..........."

LOL--that's great, Brooksy!

I remember hearing somewhere (local news? Food TV?) that a new "fad" at carnivals and fairs is deep-fried Twinkies. I can't imagine how the stay in tact and don't just absorb ALL the grease! *shudder*!

 

[Ishbel]

Yes, Scotch eggs are Scottish

I stress that the deep fried diet is only followed by a minority of my countrymen (and women!). Scotland has some of the finest foods in the world (bar NONE!) and I try to only use fresh food, in season, just like some of my favourite Scottish chefs, like Nick Nairn, Lady Claire MacDonald, Sue Lawrence and Catherine Brown.

 

[Haggis]

I'm going to go whip up a batter and deep-fry the couple of pieces of Rhubarb and Edinburgh Rock I have lying about :P.

 

[Ishbel]

Sounds a bit too healthy to me, Haggis. After all, rhubarb is a fruit - and FRESH fruit at that....

 

[Haggis]

Even healthier than that since rhubarb is considered a vegetable!

Heh, deep fried tablet....DEAD!

 

[Ishbel]

My Goodness....... deep fried Taiblit? Awa ye go.... I think even the worst sweet-toothed Scot would balk at that one

And I never knew that rhubarb was a veg - suppose it's a bit like tomatoes being fruit?!