Beer and food matching: Scampi and chips
This month - what would you serve with scampi and chips?
It's the classic pub basket meal. A genuine scampi is the fleshy bit of a Dublin Bay prawn, although historically there are some less identifiable fishy substances, cleverly disguised by a coating of breadcrumbs and a dip in the deep fryer, which have turned up on pub menus.
With suppliers such as Young's Bluecrest and Whitby Seafoods now offering very high quality scampi, more pubs than ever are making it a feature of their food offer. Our panel rolled up their sleeves and set about the task of finding the right beer to go with a plate of scampi and chips.
- Michael Tuckwood, Craft Guild of Chefs member and patron chef at the Stag in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire: It's important to select a beer that complements the strong taste of the fish and tartare sauce accompaniment, which can be quite overpowering. To counteract this intense flavour, I would suggest a beer that is quite dry and light tasting, like Peroni Nastro Azzurro, a popular Italian premium lager. It's brewed using spring-planted barley, malts and hops, which gives it that dry, crisp and refreshing taste allowing you to taste the flavour of the beer above the concentrated taste of the fried fish, and it also cuts straight through the strong flavour of the dish. If you prefer a stronger, more robust tasting beer, Wells Bombardier English Premium Bitter is also great with scampi and chips, as it has a malty dry taste. It has recently been a popular choice with customers at the Stag.
Phil Vickery, TV chef and owner of the King of Prussia, Farnham Royal, Buckinghamshire: I reckon a light, white or fruity beer, something like Hoegaarden, is perfect with fish, and even better with shellfish. The crunchy coating would also work well with a light beer, served in small glasses.
Ben McFarland, beer writer: What, dear readers, has become of our tavern culture? Was Scampi and chips not once the gastronomic highlight of the pub menu? Did not the basket once reign supreme over the vulgar plate? Was not there a time when tartare sauce was the dollop of choice instead of the new-fangled houmous? Where have these halcyon days gone?
Replaced, it seems, by ciabatta, sun-dried tomatoes and Bangers & Mash for £10! Ten quid? For potatoes and pork? What's going on? It's time for a return to boozer basics and, whether draped in post-modern irony or not, time for It's time for a return to boozer basics and, whether draped in post-modern irony or not, time for the return of scampi and chips.
To celebrate its happy homecoming, I suggest pairing it with a bottle of Badger First Gold from Hall & Woodhouse in Dorset. Like modern-day scampi and chips, it's a quintessentially English delight with a modern twist. Amid the influx of extreme flavours from the Continent, First Gold is a welcome bastion of Britishness. A classic golden country beer brewed with a single English hop, no other ale goes with wholetail quite as well. With enough bitter to break down the batter and sufficient spicy apricot tang to tame the tartare, the well-balanced and fruity First Gold is the ideal bottle to stand up next to the basket.
Richard Fox, chef and author: Here's the recipe for food heaven - take a handful of plump, juicy Dublin Bay prawns, flour, egg-wash and breadcrumb, then deep fry with freshly cut maris piper chips. Serve with a bowl of homemade tartare sauce and a pint of Guinness. It's the classic stout and seafood combination - rich, dark, bitter beer with light, sweet shellfish. Of course, a good quality bought-in frozen scampi will also be delicious, particularly with a full, golden pilsner such as Budvar or Urquell for that perfect cut and cleanse routine with deep fried food.
John Keeling, Fuller's head brewer: With its
citrus hoppy flavour, Discovery Blonde Beer would be a good contrast to the scampi. The hop character will cut through the "greasy" - and I mean that in the nicest possible way - nature of the meal. Organic Honey Dew would also serve the same purpose. As an alternative to a Fuller's beer, why not try Oakham JHB or Adnams' Explorer, which also have hoppy citrus notes.
Ben Bartlett, catering development manager, Union Pub Company: Wholetail scampi is a popular pub dish and has to be matched with a light, but still flavoursome ale. A good match is Cumberland Ale. Four per cent in alcohol, this golden ale is brewed with malt made from specially selected Maris Otter barley and fine English aromatic hops. Ideally the accompanying chips taste best when they are deep-fried in lard, though a healthier vegetable oil that has already been used will also colour the chips and give that golden result.
Rupert Ponsonby, R&R Teamwork: I would be looking for an ale or a lager with a zesty hop character, which would cut through the fat of the batter without submerging the scampi's delicate flavours. A hoppy beer's citric zest would provide the equivalent of the fresh lemon which I normally squeeze over my chips, but in a more complex and subtle manner. So with lighter flavoured fish I would use a zesty beer such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from Chico, Little Creatures from Freemantle, Australia, or the fabulous Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted from Scotland. If tartare sauce enters the equation then I would go for a beer with a fuller hop flavour and hints of delicate lime marmalade such as Coniston Bluebird, Worthington White Shield or Arran Blonde.
Next month's matches should go with a bang, as the panel suggest matches for pub menu mainstay sausage and mash. And if you'd like our experts to suggest beer matches for a dish on your menu, please email your request to chosbbq@gurchoyvpna.pbz.
