Fish Burgers & Deep Fried Corn On The Cob

Although dinner last night was a little work, I had a blast throwing it together. I brought some fresh  haddock trimmings home from work thinking I might make a simple tomato based fish chowder that I knew I would like, but knew Michael wouldn't.  I usually save those types of meals for my food orgies when he's travelling.  The trimmings were too small to fry into anything forkable, so I decided to make fish burgers.  Fish burgers?  Fish cakes.  Fish croquettes.  Whatever the name, they were pan fried fish patties.

I needed a sauce.  Something with a bit more oomph than tarter sauce.  I decided to make  blender mayonnaise and flavor it with capers, dill, and chives.  Refined tarter sauce.  Fresh mayonnaise is a snap to make and tastes lighter and fresher than manufactured mayonnaise. I dropped 2 egg yolks (pasteurized) into our aged blender with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of cracked Tellicherrie peppercorns, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of sugar. With the blender squealing away on the highest speed, I drizzled in 1 cup of vegetable oil  very slowly until the mixture emulsified into a creamy yellow tinted gorgeous mayonnaise. Totally fun!  I reserved half for the burger mix and the other half for the sauce.

With the help of the food processor, I minced green peppers, onions, and celery.  After removing them to a mixing bowl, I tossed in the haddock and pulsed the processor a few times to chop it finely without pasting it.  I added that to minced vegetables along with an egg, fresh dill, parsley, chives, breadcrumbs, and my fresh made mayonnaise.  I blended it carefully, formed the mix into burger patties, and refrigerated them to firm up.

I was all over the place with what to serve with dinner.   What exactly goes with fish burgers?  I couldn't make up my mind, so I made all the sides that had bounced around in my head..  Halved new potatoes steamed and sauteed with parsley butter sat side by side with fresh sliced grape tomatoes from the garden.

The kicker?  Deep fried corn on the cob slathered in butter with salt, pepper, and fresh squeezed lime juice.  Crazy, right?  I heated our deep fryer to 350, carefully placed the Peaches & Cream corn cobs into the hot oil, and let them fry until the kernels were golden and caramelized.  While still hot, they were generously buttered and seasoned.  The texture of the corn was fantastic, almost as if grilled.  Crunchy, soft, chewy, and fresh.  The salt accentuated the sweetness of the corn while the lime cut through the fatty butter.  The flavored buttered bits and juices dripped from the fried corn and puddled onto the plate for licking.  It happened. I licked the buttery salty lime corn juice right off the plate.

I placed the fish burgers on simple toasted buns and drizzled the caper dill  chive mayonnaise over the top.  And they were...Over. The. Top.  Glammed up fish cakes on a bun.  The moist juicy burst of minced vegetables gave the fish patties a light mouthfeel with texture.  The creamy sauce was bright from the lemon, briny from the capers, and  grassy from the herbs. 

Yep, it was a a bit of trouble  throwing that meal together.  The appliance usage and cleaning alone would have turned most people off, but I had a great time preparing it and the food was special.  Worth it, in my book.

Try deep  frying fresh corn on the cob.  Totally outrageous!