In this excerpt from MeatEater, author April Vokey addresses the modern squeamishness surrounding eating fish eyeballs, a highly nutritious and historically common food source. While this culinary boundary is certainly not for everybody, it is the perfect challenge if you are feeling adventurous and looking to expand your palate.
While many are deterred by the gelatinous texture, eyeballs sit on a bed of flavorful, fatty tissue and can be used to enrich stews or eaten whole like an olive. Looking to explore nose-to-tail dining, Vokey replicates a recipe for fish eye chips from chef Josh Niland’s The Whole Fish Cookbook, transforming fresh fish and calamari eyes into a puffed, prawn-cracker-like snack that serves as an excellent standalone treat or conversation starter.
To prepare the fish eye chips, follow these steps based on Vokey’s experience:
- Extract and blend the eyes: Use scissors to carefully cut out 5 ounces of fresh fish eyes and 3.5 ounces of calamari eyes, then blend them into a runny, grey liquid.
- Strain the mixture: Pass the liquid through a fine sieve, using a spatula to push it through, and discard any solid leftover chunks.
- Mix the batter: Stir 1 cup of tapioca flour into the liquid using a spatula until the mixture achieves the consistency of thick cream, adding water if necessary.
- Steam the patties: Spread the batter as thin as possible onto a paper-lined bamboo steamer and steam it over a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.
- Dehydrate: Place the steamed patties into a dehydrator (or an oven propped open at its lowest temperature) until they completely dry out into hard sheets.
- Fry and serve: Heat vegetable oil to exactly 375°F (190°C), break off a piece of the dehydrated sheet, and flash-fry it for 10 seconds until it puffs up. Remove the chip, let it cool on a paper towel, and enjoy.
What do you think? Worth a try?
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