It’s pizza, it’s battered and it’s deep fried. It’s Scotland’s famous chip-shop style pizza crunch!
“Deep fry your pizza, we’re gonnae deep fry your pizza” sang the tartan army of Scottish football fans in a match vs Italy. It’s funny because it’s true. When it comes to food, we’ll always be happy to take things up a notch. In this case, that means dipping pizza in batter and deep frying it, chip-shop style.
You can find deep fried pizza and its battered sibling, ‘pizza crunch,’ on the menu of most chip shops in Scotland.
Ingredients For Pizza Crunch
Surprisingly, chip shops use pizzas for fried pizza and pizza crunch that are actually made to be deep fried. If you’re interested in recreating this dish at home, you can use inexpensive supermarket pizzas to good effect. You don’t need to use gourmet pizza for a chip shop style pizza crunch. Instead, just a basic pizza like the one pictured (typically sold under the supermarket’s ‘value’ range) is perfect. Despite being fried in oil, at the right temperature the result is deliciously crispy batter on the outside and soft, fluffy pizza on the inside.
- Batter Mix: Plain Flour, Cornflour, Bicarbonate of Soda, Sea Salt, Beer or Lager.
- Pizza: Simple ‘value range’ cheese and tomato pizza.
- Oil: Sunflower Oil or Vegetable Oil, for deep frying.
How To Make Chip Shop Style Pizza Crunch
Step 1: Batter
Put two generous tablespoons of the plain flour on a plate. In a bowl, add the remaining plain flour, cornflour, sea salt and bicarbonate of soda. Mix briefly. Add the lager or beer, using more or less as necessary and whisking thoroughly until a smooth batter is formed. The consistency of the batter should be similar to single cream.
Step 2: Fry
Cut the pizza in half and press one piece cheese side down into the plain flour, then into the prepared batter mix, allowing any excess to drip off. Carefully drop into the hot oil, cheese side down so that the cheese is on the top side after flipping when it starts to melt. Fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side, or until the batter is golden and crispy.
Step 3: Serve
Remove the fried pizza crunch from the oil with tongs or a slotted spoon. Drain off any excess oil and set aside on a plate. Finally, serve with your choice of salt, vinegar, and / or brown sauce.
I hope you’ll try this pizza crunch recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments below how it goes!
Chip shop style pizza, dipped in batter and deep fried.
- 100 grams plain flour
- 40 grams corn flour
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- generous pinch bicarbonate of soda
- 150 ml cold lager or beer (I used 0.0% alcohol peroni)
- 1 roughly 100g cheese and tomato pizza
- Oil for deep frying
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Put two generous tablespoons of the plain flour on a plate. In a bowl, add the remaining plain flour, corn flour, sea salt, and bicarbonate of soda. Mix briefly. Slowly add the lager or beer, adding more or less as necessary and whisking thoroughly until a smooth batter is formed. The consistency of the batter should be similar to single cream.
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Heat oil for deep frying to 180C. Cut the pizza into two equal pieces.
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When the oil is hot, press the pizza half cheese side down into the plain flour, then into the prepared batter mix, allowing any excess to drip off. Carefully drop the coated pizza into the hot oil, cheese side down. Fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until the batter is golden and crispy.
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Remove the fried pizza crunch from the oil with tongs or a slotted spoon. Drain off any excess oil and set aside on a plate. Season with salt and vinegar, or salt and sauce, and serve.
Do you like this chip shop style pizza crunch recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make chicken pakora, chow mein, spiced onions and more! You can buy The Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.
