It's summer--or close enough, and here in the greatland that means that it's time to use up the old fish in the freezer to make room in anticipation for the new. One well loved method of using up said fish is ye ole beer batter and fry. I have been searching high and low for a beer batter recipe that sticks to the fish and fries up that lovely golden brown color, and stays crisp even if you have to hold it in a warm oven while you fry up a giant batch, you know what I mean?
Well...I found it.
This is really, really good beer batter.
And it's really easy.
So easy, in fact that it only contains 2 ingredients
(well, 3 if you count salt)
(well, 3 if you count salt)
Mix together:
approximately 3 cups of flour
20 oz beer
(that's like a beer and a half. You can polish off the other half as you cook)
Use a good, flavorful beer. I used AK amber.
add a dash of salt.
leave it on the counter covered with a tea towel for a few hours before cooking your fish.
I think this is what makes the batter thick and wonderfully sticky to adhere to the fish.
Season your fish with the delicious spices of your choice before dipping in the beer batter and frying.
plain old salt'n'peppa works fine, but feel free to get fancy if the spirit moves.
fry.
(we always fry in peanut oil because it is stable at high temps--
coconut oil would be good too--but expensive)
don't burn.
keep warm in a 200 degree oven until all the fish is done.
use up the extra batter to make some amazing onion rings.
soooooooo good.
serve with the dipping condiment of your choice.
You might want to schedule some time to go for a hike after you eat this...
but you won't be sorry you tried it.
this looks so good! We tried a beer batter last year and it didn't turn out nearly as well, I cant wait to try this one. I love frying pickles too so thats perfect for the leftover batter. thanks!
ReplyDeleteI am going to try this! I am always looking for batter that will stick to the fish. Thanks for the good tips! Now I just need to find time to cook :)
ReplyDeleteWas looking for something to do with the pound of cod I bought on sale at the local Freddie's when Google found your site. The one time I tried frying, the fry bread came out like hockey pucks. Any advice on what burner setting to use for a good oil temp? Do I need to use oil deep enough to submerge the fish? And about how large do you cut the pieces of fish? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey Elizabeth-- sorry I just saw your comment. Bummer the breading turned out so bad. This recipe is peculiar in that it really needs several hours of rest time for the batter to leaven... Is that even a real word? I tried it once without letting it sit and the results were not so stellar. The other possible problems could be oil temp or too long cooking time. I've never taken the actual temp of my frying oil. I usually just flick a SMALL amount of water in and if it sizzles it's ready. I cut my fish small, 1 1/2-2 inch cubes. If its too big you end up with the overlooked breading and raw in the middle fish. You really should fry in enough oil to submerge the fish. I always fry in small batches in a smaller pot so I can use less oil if that makes sense. Hope your next fish fry goes better!
ReplyDeleteHey Elizabeth-- sorry I just saw your comment. Bummer the breading turned out so bad. This recipe is peculiar in that it really needs several hours of rest time for the batter to leaven... Is that even a real word? I tried it once without letting it sit and the results were not so stellar. The other possible problems could be oil temp or too long cooking time. I've never taken the actual temp of my frying oil. I usually just flick a SMALL amount of water in and if it sizzles it's ready. I cut my fish small, 1 1/2-2 inch cubes. If its too big you end up with the overlooked breading and raw in the middle fish. You really should fry in enough oil to submerge the fish. I always fry in small batches in a smaller pot so I can use less oil if that makes sense. Hope your next fish fry goes better!
ReplyDelete