Beer Battered Fish

Light and crunchy Beer Battered Fish prepared the traditional way! To make the batter ultra-crispy, the water is replaced with beer for better texture and flavor. Serve it with fluffy chips and tartar sauce, and you’ll end up with a British feast just like what you’d have in Britain!

Ingredients
For The Fish:
1 ½ pounds (650 g) fish fillets
Oil for frying

For Dredging:
½ cup (60 g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

For The Batter:
1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt divided
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup (240 ml) beer, cold

For Serving:
tartar sauce
chips or fries
lemon wedges

Instructions:
If using frozen fish, thaw completely. Season the fish with salt, and let it sit for at least 20-30 minutes (up to 1 hour) on a wire rack or paper towels in the fridge. This will help to extract the moisture from the fish and make it firmer for crispy fish.
Make the dredging flour. Combine flour with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk the flour with baking powder, salt, pepper, and cold beer. The consistency of the batter must be the same as heavy/double cream (add more liquid or flour if needed to achieve this). Make sure not to over mix the batter.
Dredge the fish in seasoned flour and shake off any excess flour. It’s important to get rid of any excess flour to get the right texture.
Heat the oil in a cast-iron pot with a kitchen thermometer, or in a deep fryer until it reaches 300°F (150°C).
Dip the fish in batter, take it out shaking any excess batter off. And lower down into the oil very slowly.
Deep fry for 6-7 minutes turning halfway through.
Remove from oil, and place on a wire rack for the extra oil to drip and for the fish to stay crunchy (it will stay crispy for 15-20 minutes, so best served hot).
Serve with chips, tartar sauce, and lemon juice or malt vinegar.

Top Tips:
Go for white and firm fish.
The fish must be super fresh to cook perfectly. If using frozen, then thaw in the fridge overnight.
Season the fish with salt prior to cooking, and let it sit for at least 20-30 minutes (up to 1 hour). This will help to extract the moisture from the fish and make it firmer for crispy fish sticks.
The batter must be thick similar to a heavy cream consistency.
The batter can be made ahead and sit in the fridge overnight, in fact, the fish turns out crispier when it’s dipped in a batter that was made on the day before.
Use fresh oil.
Soggy greasy fish happens because oil is not hot enough, so controlling the temperature of the oil is very important.
If you have leftovers on the next day, I recommend reheating in an Air Fryer or a fan oven and the fish will crisp up again.
Serve with homemade tartar sauce, it’s much healthier than store-bought, cheaper, and always tastes better!

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