Fry jacks

As tradition built it

Fry jacks

"A deeply embedded part of national food culture" by Belizean independence in 1981 (Belizean press)

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening fat, a little

Method

1. Work the flour, water, salt and a little fat into a simple dough.
2. Shape into triangles or rounds.
3. Deep-fry.
4. Eat savoury, with beans, cheese or eggs, or sweet, with honey or jam.

Notes

Even locally, the dish's own name's origin is reported as unclear.

What a modern chef changes

A longer rest, steadier oil

Method

1. Rest the dough longer than a rushed home version allows, at least an hour, covered, at cool room temperature, so the gluten relaxes fully before frying, the single variable that decides whether the finished fry jack puffs evenly or fights back at the rolling pin.
2. Fry in a heavy pot on a Big Green Egg run hot and stable, rather than on a domestic hob, for steadier oil temperature through multiple batches, since a wavering fry temperature is the most common reason a home fry jack turns greasy rather than crisp.
3. Clarify the butter served alongside through a chinois, for a cleaner, longer-keeping finishing fat than whole butter.