Fischbrötchen mit Backfisch

Fischbrötchen belongs to the northern water: Hamburg harbour, Kiel, Bremerhaven, the North Sea bude, the Baltic stall after a walk in the wind. Most are cold, Matjes, Bismarckhering, Krabben, but Backfisch is the hot one, the weeknight one if you keep the pan honest. A crisp roll, fried fish, raw onion, pickle, remoulade. That's enough.

Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. On the coast the fish goes into bread and gets eaten standing up; further south, Backfisch is more often a plate with potato salad. Some stalls use cod, others saithe or pollock. Some want mustard in the sauce, some want capers. I don't mind the argument. I mind a soft crust and sauce from a squeeze bottle. Nicht aus dem Glas.

The technique is simple and unforgiving: the fish must be dry, the batter must be cold, and the oil must be hot enough that the coating sets before the fish overcooks. Wet fish loosens the batter. Warm batter drinks oil. Cool oil gives you a greasy blanket instead of a crust. Fry to order, lay it straight into the roll, and eat before the bread thinks about surrendering.