"Indulge in the crunchiest catch of the day with our Crispy Beer Battered Fish! 🐟🍺 Dive into flavor perfection with every bite. #CrispyCatch #BeerBatteredGoodness"
For the lightest, crispiest fried fish, you can’t beat Beer Battered Fish. The yeast and carbonation in beer makes the fish batter delicate and puffy, like at good fish ‘n chip shops. Meanwhile the shock of ice-cold batter hitting hot oil makes it super-crispy – and what’s more, it stays crispy for ages.
FISH:
700g/ 1.4lb white fish fillets
DUSTING:
¼ cup rice flour (Note 2)
CRISPY FISH BATTER:
¾ cup plain/all purpose flour
¼ cup rice flour
1¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup very cold beer , anything other than dark beers like stout, porter etc (Note 3)
COOKING:
4 – 5 cups peanut oil (or vegetable, canola or cottonseed oil)
SERVING:
Tartare Sauce
Lemon Wedges
Homemade Crispy French fries
Instructions
Dry & cut fish: Pat fish dry using paper towels or a tea towel. Cut into 7 x 3cm / 3 x 1¼" batons, or larger fillets if you prefer. If you have very thick fillets, cut in half horizontally (Note 1)
Dusting bowl: Place ¼ cup rice flour in a shallow bowl.
Heat oil: Heat 6cm / 2" – 3" oil in a large heavy based pot over medium high heat to 190°C/375°F.
Salt & dust: While oil is heating, sprinkle 3 or 4 pieces of fish with a pinch of salt, then coat in rice flour and shake off excess. You can leave them like this for up to 10 minutes.
Cold batter: Just before cooking, whisk together the flour, rice flour, baking powder and salt. Add very cold beer into the batter and whisk just until incorporated evenly into the flour. Do not over-mix, do not worry about flour lumps (Note 4). It should be a fairly thin batter but fully coat the back of a spoon. If too thick, add beer 1 tsp at a time.
Dredge fish: Dunk a piece of fish in the batter, the let the excess drip off very briefly.
Fry 3 minutes: Carefully lower into oil, dropping it in away from you, one piece at a time. Don't crowd the pot; fry in batches. Fry for 3 minutes, flipping after about 2 minutes, until deep golden.
Drain: Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining fish. Serve hot! However it will stay crisp for 15 – 20 minutes. (Note 5 for larger batch cooking).
Serve with Tartare Sauce, lemon wedges and a leafy green salad on the side dressed with a classic vinaigrette. Serve with Crispy French Fries or oven baked wedges!