Crispy Beer Battered Fish
Ingredients
- 2 lbs white fish halibut, cod, or tilapia
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Canola oil for frying
Beer Batter
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch or rice flour
- 1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1/2 Tablespoon paprika optional
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or less depending on salt preference
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper optional
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 1/3 cups beer very cold, light colored
Instructions
- Add Canola oil to a large, heavy bottomed pot, about 3 inches deep. Heat oil to 375 degrees F. Or use a deep fryer, and heat to 375 degrees F.
- While oil heats, prepare fish. Cut into pieces about 1 inch wide and 3 inches long.
- Pat fish dry with paper towels until completely dry, as this will help the batter adhere better. Then season with salt and pepper on all sides.
- Make the beer batter by whisking the flour, corn starch garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and black and red pepper together, then stir in the lightly beaten egg.
- When oil is ready, and you are about to start dipping for frying, gradually whisk cold beer into the batter until it is no longer lumpy. You want the consistency to be slightly thick, so reduce amount of beer as needed to achieve a batter similar to thick heavy cream, and slightly less thick than pancake batter.
- Dip the dry fish one piece at a time into the cold batter, then place in the hot oil.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the fish is a nice golden brown. Remove from oil, and place on a wire rack to let the excess oil drip off.
- Enjoy while hot with tartar sauce.
Notes
Dry fish: To help the batter adhere to the fish well, you want to make sure the fish is very dry, you can salt it before patting it dry to draw out additional moisture, then pat dry.
Cold Beer: Make sure the beer is very cold when you mix it into the batter. The cold beer/batter will create a crispier crust when it hits the hot oil.
You will likely have excess batter: This is not a recipe error, you want to make sure you have enough to dredge all the fish. Just toss the excess. Or try tempura veggies!
Pick your favorite fish: White fish fillet is best, cod is what is typically used for fish and chips. I like halibut personally.
Use the cornstarch: If you only use all-purpose flour it will not stay as crispy. You want to make sure to add rice flour or corn starch to the mixture.
Can you taste the beer? When you use a light colored beer you will not really taste it in the batter. But if you use a stout or dark ale you will.
Non alcoholic sub for beer: If you really do not want to use beer, you can substitute it with soda water and baking powder to get similar results. Use the equivalent amount of soda water and ¼ tsp baking powder.
Batter thickness: Add more or less beer to get the batter consistency right. You want a slightly thinner batter to get a crispier end result. Think heavy cream. Do not over mix the batter, as this will activate the gluten in your flour, and make your batter thicker and chewier instead of light and crispy.