Beer Battered Fish and Chips
Beer Battered Fish and Chips
by Jennifer Carlisle
If you are looking for a delicious and easy fish and chips recipe then you have come to the right place. When I first made this fish I wanted to try two different techniques to cook it. They both turned out very delicious and like fish I have had in restaurants, but they were both very different in flavor and texture. One had a more beer flavor with a thinner breading, and the other had less of a beer flavor with a thicker breading. I will include both techniques with this recipe because it really just is one extra step that makes a really big difference. The other great thing about this recipe is it only requires one pot for both the fish and the chips (less dishes! yay!). I hope you enjoy this recipe and make it a part of your fish fry Friday or any day of the week.
*This recipe serves up to 6 people- with about 2 pieces of fish per person.
Heat oil in pan with thermometer. Here I have vegetable oil and vegetable shortening.
Slicing potatoes- I have 3 potatoes here.
Beer Batter- Beer, Flour and Seasonings
Flour to dredge fish in. I took the picture before I added the seasonings. So the flour should have seasoning with it. And this is only 1/2 a cup since I only used 1 lb of fish. This recipe is for 2 lbs of fish and 1 cup of dredging flour.
About 1 lb of Alaskan Cod. This recipe uses 2 lbs. 2 lbs will make about 10-12 pieces of fish. Half the recipe if you'd like.
Fish dredged in flour the first time. Waiting to take a beer bath.
Start the potatoes frying first cause we will fry them twice. Once before we cook the fish and once after we cook the fish.
1st batch- Remove potatoes after 5 minutes of frying. They are not done, we will finish them with the 2nd frying.
1st and 2nd batch half way cooked. Now we start on the fish.
Fish dredged in flour mix ready to take beer bath. If making the thicker breading you will dredge fish in flour, batter, then flour again. If thinner breading you will dredge fish in flour then batter.
Fried fish with double flour coating.
Fried fish with single flour coating. Do you see the difference? Take your pick on which way you'd like to make it. Both are very good.
Can you tell the difference between the two? The 3 in the back double dredged, the 2 in the front single dredged.
After fish is done fry the potatoes a 2nd time for 3-5 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
Fish and Chips- season with salt, ready to serve. This picture only shows 1 lb of fish and 3 potatoes. This recipe should serve up to 6 allowing about two pieces of fish for each person.
Fish and Chips
Ingredients:
Fish
-1 1/2-2 lbs Alaskan Cod in large chunks
-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour; divided 1 1/2 cups and 1 cup
-1 1/2 cups or 1- 12oz. bottle of your favorite beer (I used Guiness)
-1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder combined and divided in half
-1 1/2 quarts of vegetable oil or melted vegetable shortening
Chips
-4 potatoes cleaned and sliced (or 1 potato per person. Leave skins on.)
-salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
In a large pot ( I used a 5 quart stock pot) heat oil or shortening. I used about 1/2 and 1/2 vegetable oil and vegetable shortening. Heat oil to 375 degrees, use a candy thermometer to help maintain heat. In a medium bowl add 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1- 12 oz. bottle of beer, and 1/2 tsp of salt, pepper and garlic powder mixture; stir well. On a plate add the other 1 cup of flour and 1/2 tsp of seasonings, combine well. Coat fish with flour and seasonings then let sit till ready to place in the oil. Slice potatoes and place in hot oil. I had to do the fries in 2 batches. Place half of the potatoes in the oil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove fries and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Allow oil to come back up to temp. 375, then add the second batch of potatoes. Cook for 5 min. Remove and place on paper towel lined plate. Do this for all the batches you need to make the fries. The potatoes will not be fully cooked and that is ok because we will do another round of frying after we cook the fish. The key to a good crispy fry with a soft center is to double fry them. I also should tell you that when cooking with oil the temperature can fluctuate quite a bit. So you may need to increase the heat to help maintain the temperature or a temperature that is pretty close to it. I stay within 350 and 380 degrees. Don't let it get too hot though. If it starts to seem like it's getting too hot, turn off the heat source and carefully slide pot over till it comes down to temp. Bring oil back up to 375 degree range and take flour dredged fish and dip in the beer batter, shake off excess batter and place fish back into the same flour and seasoning mixture we first coated it with. Yes, I want you to coat it with flour, batter, then flour- place in the hot oil and cook for 5-6 minutes turning once. Outside should be golden brown and crispy and fish fully cooked. I noticed when I was cooking the fish the oil increased in heat very quickly, so keep an eye on the thermometer. Do this in batches until there is no more. Remove fish and place on a paper towel lined plate and season with salt. Keep oil heated as now we will add the potatoes back in to finish them. Place potatoes back in hot oil and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove and season with salt. Serve with your favorite sauce and a nice cold beer.
The recipe above is more the traditional beer battered fish I am used to from restaurants and is very good. It has a lighter beer taste with a thicker breading. If you would like to make my other version that has more of a beer flavor and thinner breading, when you dredge the fish in flour, then batter, skip the second coating of flour, then place in the oil. It's very simple, but makes a big difference in flavor.
by Jennifer Carlisle
If you are looking for a delicious and easy fish and chips recipe then you have come to the right place. When I first made this fish I wanted to try two different techniques to cook it. They both turned out very delicious and like fish I have had in restaurants, but they were both very different in flavor and texture. One had a more beer flavor with a thinner breading, and the other had less of a beer flavor with a thicker breading. I will include both techniques with this recipe because it really just is one extra step that makes a really big difference. The other great thing about this recipe is it only requires one pot for both the fish and the chips (less dishes! yay!). I hope you enjoy this recipe and make it a part of your fish fry Friday or any day of the week.
*This recipe serves up to 6 people- with about 2 pieces of fish per person.
Fish and Chips
Ingredients:
Fish
-1 1/2-2 lbs Alaskan Cod in large chunks
-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour; divided 1 1/2 cups and 1 cup
-1 1/2 cups or 1- 12oz. bottle of your favorite beer (I used Guiness)
-1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder combined and divided in half
-1 1/2 quarts of vegetable oil or melted vegetable shortening
Chips
-4 potatoes cleaned and sliced (or 1 potato per person. Leave skins on.)
-salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
In a large pot ( I used a 5 quart stock pot) heat oil or shortening. I used about 1/2 and 1/2 vegetable oil and vegetable shortening. Heat oil to 375 degrees, use a candy thermometer to help maintain heat. In a medium bowl add 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1- 12 oz. bottle of beer, and 1/2 tsp of salt, pepper and garlic powder mixture; stir well. On a plate add the other 1 cup of flour and 1/2 tsp of seasonings, combine well. Coat fish with flour and seasonings then let sit till ready to place in the oil. Slice potatoes and place in hot oil. I had to do the fries in 2 batches. Place half of the potatoes in the oil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove fries and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Allow oil to come back up to temp. 375, then add the second batch of potatoes. Cook for 5 min. Remove and place on paper towel lined plate. Do this for all the batches you need to make the fries. The potatoes will not be fully cooked and that is ok because we will do another round of frying after we cook the fish. The key to a good crispy fry with a soft center is to double fry them. I also should tell you that when cooking with oil the temperature can fluctuate quite a bit. So you may need to increase the heat to help maintain the temperature or a temperature that is pretty close to it. I stay within 350 and 380 degrees. Don't let it get too hot though. If it starts to seem like it's getting too hot, turn off the heat source and carefully slide pot over till it comes down to temp. Bring oil back up to 375 degree range and take flour dredged fish and dip in the beer batter, shake off excess batter and place fish back into the same flour and seasoning mixture we first coated it with. Yes, I want you to coat it with flour, batter, then flour- place in the hot oil and cook for 5-6 minutes turning once. Outside should be golden brown and crispy and fish fully cooked. I noticed when I was cooking the fish the oil increased in heat very quickly, so keep an eye on the thermometer. Do this in batches until there is no more. Remove fish and place on a paper towel lined plate and season with salt. Keep oil heated as now we will add the potatoes back in to finish them. Place potatoes back in hot oil and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove and season with salt. Serve with your favorite sauce and a nice cold beer.
The recipe above is more the traditional beer battered fish I am used to from restaurants and is very good. It has a lighter beer taste with a thicker breading. If you would like to make my other version that has more of a beer flavor and thinner breading, when you dredge the fish in flour, then batter, skip the second coating of flour, then place in the oil. It's very simple, but makes a big difference in flavor.
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