Well, I hate to get all healthy and that, but I love chips fried in olive oil. Anything after that is just second rate, IMHO. Lard clogs the arteries - what you see when it coagulates in a pot is what you get in your arteries.

A couple of tricks to help you:

Chips

Heat the oil on a medium to high heat (hot, but not *very* hot), and when one uncooked chip dropped into the oil floats/stays on the top and sizzles immediately then the oil is just right. This is just at the stage when the oil starts smoking. Don't turn the heat down after putting the chips in.

Put only a portion of the chips in at one time. With the amount of oil I use, I would say a cup & a half of chips is more than enough. You don't want it to bubble over when the chips hit the oil and start fizzing. You need a lot of space in the pan to allow for that. Also try to get the whole portion in at one time - gently, without dropping them in and splattering yourself with oil. They will all cook evenly then.

Someone I once knew who worked in a Fish & Chip shop (here in Oz, the second fish & chip centre of the world, after Britain) said that frying them first on a slightly lower heat and taking them out after a couple of minutes (before they turn brown or start to colour) and then re-frying them on higher heat makes them crisper. This helps too with getting the full load cooked quickly because, on the second frying, the first batch hardly has time to cool before the last batch is ready.

Another health tip: although they don't come out quite as crisp, I dry-steam my uncooked chips for 2-3 minutes in a bowl in the microwave. The theory is that they don't take up as much fat as they do when fried. Then I fry them once on the medium to high heat.

I just use a deep and reasonably large saucepan with about 2-3 inches of oil.

I also have a wire mesh splatter guard contraption to cover the top of the pan in case the whole lot sizzles up too much and bubbles over. Just quickly whack the splatter guard onto the pan, as you carefully lift the pan away from the heat, or turn the gas down.

Safety: Never, ever leave a pan of cooking chips or boiling oil. Most common cause of minor and major kitchen fires. Scary. We even had an ad campaign on tv over a decade ago: "Oh my goodness, the chips!"

Take the chips out when they are golden brown - not too light, not too dark, and my Mum used to say not to turn the heat off until you get all the chips out otherwise they go soggy. I drain them on a plate with a couple of layers of kitchen paper.

My hubby (whose Dad owned a fruit & veg shop) says that old, drier, floury potatoes are better than the moist, crunchy ones like pontiacs and desires.

My favourite accompaniment is lightly seasoned guacamole.

As for fish, I don't do it very often, but beer batter is the best, and I like crumbed fish as well.

Beer batter is fairly simple, basically replacing water with beer. The beer has yeast in it and makes the batter crisp on the outside. I once stayed at a licensed club which had a motel attached. The restaurant had the loveliest beer batter fish I have ever tasted. Obviously they had unlimited access to beer for the batter. Most Aussies have a real crisis of conflict over whether it is worth wasting good beer on making batter, but I think it is worth it.

For example, this recipe
http://www.kavenga.com.au/rec/rec%20beerbat.htm

Aussie Beer Batter Fish

4 fish fillets
cornflour
2 cups plain flour (note: I think I heard a tv chef say that self raising flour is better for seafood batters)
salt and pepper
310ml (10½ fl oz) beer
oil for deep-frying

Dust fish fillets with cornflour. Mix flour, salt and
pepper, add beer gradually, stirring well until
smooth.
Dip the fish fillets into batter. Cook in hot oil until
golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
Serve with lemon wedges, tartare sauce and hot chips.
Serves 4

You are probably fairly close with the crumbing technique, but I won't try to make any suggestions there.

Helen

P.S. Stop it, you are making me hungry!