Learn to make delicious fish and chips with this easy beer batter recipe, perfect for Meatless Monday or Fish Friday! It takes only 30 minutes and makes an affordable 30-minute meal idea that everyone will love!
This batter is light and airy and stays crispy thanks to baking powder. Select a light-colored beer such as pilsner, lager or hefeweizen that’s extremely cold for this dish.
Ingredients
If you love fish and chips, these super crispy Beer Battered Fish will delight your tastebuds just like they’d find them served at British fish and chip shops! The batter is created using beer instead of water to produce an airy and light coating that remains crunchy for longer – thanks to yeast and carbonation in beer aerating the batter for a delicate and light coating that’s far superior to regular fish batter.
Rice flour can help the batter remain crisp for Asian fried recipes such as Honey Chicken. Be sure to serve it ice cold, as this will also add crispiness, with something about the shock of the cold batter hitting hot oil creating extra crunchiness. Refrigerating between frying also keeps it cold.
When it comes to choosing the fish for this recipe, any easily available white fish fillet such as cod, halibut, plaice, tilapia or haddock will do. When salting, make sure you pat the fish dry with paper towels after applying salt; this will draw out excess moisture so your coating stays crisp and crunchy. I like to sprinkle an additional bit of salt prior to battering for extra flavor enhancement.
Preparation
As opposed to the watery batter found in traditional fish fry recipes, this beer batter recipe creates a light and airy coating similar to what can be found at quality fish and chip shops. Thanks to yeast carbonation combined with baking powder for lifting, this super crispy coating keeps its crunch even after being left sitting for hours on end!
To avoid sogginess in the coating, fish must be thoroughly dried before being dredged in batter, and that ice-cold batter hits hot oil. A 50/50 mixture of flour and cornstarch works great when it comes to coating other fried foods, as this allows the coating to brown better.
Cod or halibut fillets are especially ideal for this recipe due to their flaky interiors, which complement well with the batter. For optimal results, I recommend using potatoes with high starch content (such as Yukon Gold potatoes).
Before frying potatoes, I also suggest boiling them first to reduce some of the moisture that makes fried foods soggy and produce crispier chips. Don’t forget the tartar sauce! Pairing freshly made tartar sauce with crispy fish and chips is the perfect way to celebrate British classics like fish ‘n chips.
Cooking
Fish and chips is a year-round classic dish for anyone who appreciates crisp, deep-fried food. Here’s a recipe featuring perfectly battered cod served alongside classic British chips – exactly how it would look in one of Britain’s many fish and chip shops!
The use of beer in battering is easy and creates a much lighter coating than using just plain flour alone. The alcohol helps activate yeast for fermentation to start a light and airy mixture which retains crispiness when fried.
Lightness makes beer batter easier to coat fried foods in golden hues, though carbonated water or soda may also work well as alternatives.
One way you can ensure both the fish and batter remain crispier is to season the fillets before dredging with salt, which will draw out some of their moisture and help your batter adhere more easily.
For this recipe, the ideal fish is mild white fish like cod, halibut or tilapia, and it will hold up well against high oil temperatures while providing a perfect texture suitable for deep frying.
Serving
Fish and chips are an ever-popular comforting meal, particularly when served alongside a cold pint of beer. While most batter recipes use water, there are numerous beers with carbonation bubbles which aerate and lighten the batter, producing crispier results than would otherwise be achieved using only water as a battering agent.
While this recipe uses lager beer, any low-alcohol beer should work equally as well. The key is finding one with subtle malt flavors without bitter IPAs or heavy stouts being bitter or intensely malty.
If you would rather skip beer altogether, non-alcoholic alternatives such as apple juice, milk or chicken stock may be used instead without altering the end result. This won’t alter its composition, either!
Step one in creating a crispy coating is making sure the fish is patted dry with paper towels before seasoning and dredging it in flour, which will ensure its coating sticks to it tightly and stays intact.
Once the fish has been coated, it should be placed into a pan of bubbling hot oil for approximately one minute to allow the coating to puff up and become golden. Regular flipping during frying ensures that every side of each piece of fish receives equal treatment and cooks evenly.
Conclusion:
In wrapping up our culinary journey, this easy fish and chips recipe proves that delicious meals can be simple to prepare. Dive into the world of flavors with this quick and satisfying dish!