Deep-Fried Pizza at
THE ATLANTIC CHIPSHOP Address: 129 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn NY 11201 [map] Phone: 718-855-7775 Cost: $3 a slice The Skinny: Inspired by the Scots, who have a penchant for deep-frying just about anything, the battered slices at the Atlantic ChipShop taste like a combination of a pizza roll and a mozzarella stick. Very good, if you're into those things.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but video is priceless, especially when it comes to the wonder of deep-fried pizza. Take a peek:
Yes, that's right. Deep-fried pizza, long the exclusive domain of the Scots, has landed Stateside. Slice noticed it on the menu of the Atlantic ChipShop a little over a month ago. After some pestering on our part, chippie owner Chris Sell allowed me and Matt Jacobs into his kitchen to film the process. Matt shot the footage above while ChipShop kitchen manager Randy Carpenter fried up a couple slices for us.
And here are some stills from the shoot: Deep-fried slices at the Brooklyn Heights restaurant are $3 each and begin their lives as plain pies from My Little Pizzeria on Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
The pizza is refrigerated first because, as Mr. Carpenter points out, if it's fresh and the cheese is already melted, it won't hold the batter.
Cool slices are dredged in flour then dipped in batter before taking a 2- to 3-minute dip in a bath of 500-degree oil.
A bright-yellow battered slice is dropped into the deep-fryer, dives below the surface for just a moment, and resurfaces with a light-golden tint. The oil around it hisses and bubbles while the shell puffs up noticeably. After a minute or so on one side, Mr. Carpenter flips the slice with a shallow wire strainer and weights it down with a large fryer basket so it cooks evenly.
Cooking time is only as long as it takes for the batter to "brown out," achieving a dark golden color.
The slice is cut in half, to make eating easier, plated over a smattering of greens, and sprinkled with parsley for a prettier appearance (above).
The batter forms a light, crisp, puffy shell around the pizza (above), the interior of which is quite hot.
The overall effect is that of a mashup between a Jeno's Pizza Roll and a mozzarella stick. It's actually quite tasty, if you're into pizza rolls and mozzarella sticks (which I am).
Here's the patented Slice Upskirt shot, taken more for fun than for serious crust evaluation, of course.
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We'd like to express our gratitude toward Mr. Sell and Mr. Carpenter. Thanks for your hospitality, mates!
Apropos of nothing ... Have you ever noticed how easy it is to mistype fried as friend? That's your fingers tellin' you something. Very wise, those digits are.
Are you guys crazy? Scottish people don't fry their pizza in batter - we simply deep fry the pie. Serve with salt and chip shop sauce (which is HP brown sauce diluted with malt vinegar). Until I was 17, I thought that was how pizza's were made everywhere... Whaddaya mean, wood fired ovens? x Jo from Scotland
That was excellent... the video, I mean... the idea of deep fried pizza makes me mentally thrombosis. Have you guys done video segments before? That was like Food Network, but likeable. (don't tell Giada De Laurentiis I said that)
Jo: Sorry about the inaccuracy. I didn't know the Scots didn't batter the pizza. I'll have to do some more research on this. I knew they deep-fried it, but that was it. Maurice: Thanks! The only video I've ever done on Slice before was back in late 2004. It was pretty much just a series of photos with the "Ken Burns Effect" turned on, set to music -- Kiss's "Any Way You Slice It." Link here: "Any Way You Slice It" [11.9MB Quicktime .mov]
I concur with Jo. The Scottish deep fried pizza is unbattered. Many Scottish chip shops have an Italian-scots heritage so they serve Pizza and Ice cream as well. It was a simple logical step to drop handy left over Pizza into the fryer. I'm not sure that makes us Scots 'Lazy' however, perhaps as the better known stereotype would suggest we are merely being frugal with leftovers. Nevertheless it is a guilty pleasure. yum.
Baws to Jo and Rob. You can get battered deep fried pizza in Glasgow, which just happens to be in Scotland. It all depends on the establishment whether they serve their deep fried pizza battered or not.
This isn't new. I'm from Philly and we've been eating inside out pizzas filled with peperoni and cheese or steak and cheese or whatever for a very, very, long time. Years. The place is called Florida Style Pizza in South Philly.
I've seen both battered and unbattered fried pizza in Scotland. However, the real difference between the Scots and NY version is, every time I've had it in Scotland, you fold and fry the entire thing, rather than doing it one dipped slice at a time.
It looks like the pizza was already cooked before it was fried because the side view doesn't show any absorbsion into the bread as would likely be the case if it was uncooked. I think you should try this method as it would give the pizza a true deep-fried taste.
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Deep-fried slices at the Brooklyn Heights restaurant are $3 each and begin their lives as plain pies from My Little Pizzeria on Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
A bright-yellow battered slice is dropped into the deep-fryer, dives below the surface for just a moment, and resurfaces with a light-golden tint. The oil around it hisses and bubbles while the shell puffs up noticeably. After a minute or so on one side, Mr. Carpenter flips the slice with a shallow wire strainer and weights it down with a large fryer basket so it cooks evenly.
Here's the patented Slice Upskirt shot, taken more for fun than for serious crust evaluation, of course.
15 Comments:
Are you guys crazy? Scottish people don't fry their pizza in batter - we simply deep fry the pie. Serve with salt and chip shop sauce (which is HP brown sauce diluted with malt vinegar). Until I was 17, I thought that was how pizza's were made everywhere... Whaddaya mean, wood fired ovens? x Jo from Scotland
Slice Jo at 12:56PM on 10/13/06
That was excellent... the video, I mean... the idea of deep fried pizza makes me mentally thrombosis. Have you guys done video segments before? That was like Food Network, but likeable. (don't tell Giada De Laurentiis I said that)
Slice Maurice Downes at 11:50AM on 10/16/06
Jo: Sorry about the inaccuracy. I didn't know the Scots didn't batter the pizza. I'll have to do some more research on this. I knew they deep-fried it, but that was it. Maurice: Thanks! The only video I've ever done on Slice before was back in late 2004. It was pretty much just a series of photos with the "Ken Burns Effect" turned on, set to music -- Kiss's "Any Way You Slice It." Link here: "Any Way You Slice It" [11.9MB Quicktime .mov]
Adam Kuban at 2:44PM on 10/16/06
Mm, deep fried pizza. I think I'll come out of my diet for that.
Slice yvo at 10:32PM on 10/16/06
Is it my monitor, or was the batter fire truck yeller? Makes we wish for a commercial fryer in my kitchen. Biggles
Slice Dr. Biggles at 10:12PM on 10/18/06
I concur with Jo. The Scottish deep fried pizza is unbattered. Many Scottish chip shops have an Italian-scots heritage so they serve Pizza and Ice cream as well. It was a simple logical step to drop handy left over Pizza into the fryer. I'm not sure that makes us Scots 'Lazy' however, perhaps as the better known stereotype would suggest we are merely being frugal with leftovers. Nevertheless it is a guilty pleasure. yum.
Slice rob from scotland at 10:02PM on 11/07/06
Rob: I believe the ChipShop's Chris Sell said "crazy Scots," not "lazy." Is "crazy" better than "lazy"? Take your pick.
Adam Kuban at 10:17PM on 11/07/06
Baws to Jo and Rob. You can get battered deep fried pizza in Glasgow, which just happens to be in Scotland. It all depends on the establishment whether they serve their deep fried pizza battered or not.
Slice Mad Scotsman at 5:45PM on 11/08/06
I really wish I lived in brooklyn or even somewhere nearby just so I could try it. unfortunetly I live in wisconsin.
Slice nicole at 6:27PM on 11/09/06
This isn't new. I'm from Philly and we've been eating inside out pizzas filled with peperoni and cheese or steak and cheese or whatever for a very, very, long time. Years. The place is called Florida Style Pizza in South Philly.
Slice Darren Mims at 7:20PM on 11/09/06
I think I am fatter just by seeing this website! *drool*
Slice Professor Kaos at 8:02PM on 11/09/06
Yummy bring it to Kansas
Slice Vincent at 8:18PM on 11/09/06
I've seen both battered and unbattered fried pizza in Scotland. However, the real difference between the Scots and NY version is, every time I've had it in Scotland, you fold and fry the entire thing, rather than doing it one dipped slice at a time.
Slice Richard at 8:29PM on 11/09/06
It looks like the pizza was already cooked before it was fried because the side view doesn't show any absorbsion into the bread as would likely be the case if it was uncooked. I think you should try this method as it would give the pizza a true deep-fried taste.
Slice Dianne at 9:56PM on 11/09/06
how many calories are in a slice of this deep fried pizza?
Slice alw at 10:31PM on 11/09/06