Fry jacks

As tradition built it

Fry jacks

Serves 3. About 1 hour.

Ingredients

• 450g flour
• 2 packets baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp vegetable shortening
• 240ml water
• 240ml vegetable oil, for frying

Method

1. Mix the dry ingredients well in a bowl and add the shortening.
2. Add the water a little at a time, kneading, until it forms a smooth dough.
3. Cut it into 8 to 10 pieces and roll them into balls.
4. Flatten each with a rolling pin and cut it into halves or quarters.
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan on a high heat.
6. Fry the pieces about a minute a side, until lightly browned.

Notes

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

The recipe is GraceKennedy Belize's, the company's Belizean arm; its packet of baking powder is not given a weight.

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.