No shit! I do have to admit to thinking this was a joke when I first heard about it. It is an ordinary Mars bar normally fried in a type of batter commonly used for fish and chips. It originated at chip shops in Scotland as a novelty item, but was never mainstream. Since various mass media have reported on the practice since the mid 1990s, in part as a commentary on urban Scotland’s notoriously unhealthy diet, the popularity of the dish has spread.
Rumour is that it was invented in the Haven Chip Bar in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, in 1995. The first recorded mention of the food was in the Aberdeen Evening Express following a tip off phone call to their journalist Alastair Dalton that a chip shop in Stonehaven had been deep frying Mars Bars for local kids.
Here’s the recipe if you are perverse enough to want to try this. I have the “luck” of having a chip shop that makes this nearby if I ever have the urge (that was the “inspiration” for this post).
Directions:
1. Chill the chocolate bar by keeping it in the fridge, but don’t freeze it.
2. Mix the flours and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) together.
3. Add milk (traditional) or beer (which gives a lighter result) until you get a batter with the consistency of thin cream.
4. Heat the oil until a small piece of bread will brown in a few seconds, but don’t allow to smoke.
5. Remove wrapper from chilled chocolate bar.
6. Coat completely in batter.
7. Carefully lower into hot oil and fry until golden brown.
8. Serve, with ice cream or french fries, if you’re so inclined
One restaurant that serves this calls it a “A serious indulgence! For health and safety reasons, we can’t give you seconds of this.”
I can’t imagine wanting seconds of it.
But, it would be an interesting St. Andrew’s Day after!
And you thought Haggis was disgusting!
Joining the long line of deep-fried yummies which I have never eaten. Twinkies, Snickers, now a Mars Bar. There are plenty of others. I used to work in a place that served deep-fried Camembert with deep-fried parsley and cloudberry preserves. It was yummy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that somewhere in Scotland there lives a guy who deep-fries tatties and neeps or that supreme Burnsian delicacy, haggis.
You need to read up on what some of the state fairs offered to eat this year. It seems they think of something worse every year to deep fry and smother in chocolate, bacon, whip cream, etc... (yes I did say bacon).
ReplyDeleteand not to mention battered and friend butter...really. you scotsmen are but namby pikers when it comes to real he manly artery clogging fare...you see, you take a kosher dill pickle, inject it with cream cheese and dip it into batter and deep fry the sucker! The crispy item is presented on a stick, the custom is to walk down the midway, deep fried cream cheese injected pickle on a stick in one had and a battered and deep fried pork chop on a stick in the other.
ReplyDeleteuhh, did someone mention bacon?
I wish somebody would shoot that ugly thing.
ReplyDelete"I wish somebody would shoot that ugly thing."
ReplyDeleteThat was funny. Thanks for the chuckle
Wow, I wonder what people would think about the haggis biryani!
ReplyDelete