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–+ servings
Beer battered fish

Crispy Beer Battered Fish With Tartare Sauce

Prep : 10 minutes
Cook : 13 minutes
Author : Anna Lee
Cuisine : western
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Serving : 5
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Crispy Beer Battered Fish is umami and juicy fish in a wrap with a crispy and fluffy beer batter without being greasy. The tip to keep the fish stay crispy and puffy is to use low-gluten flour, and dark beer and deep fry it at a high temperature the second time. It's so easy to make your mouth water, and if you eat it with tartar sauce, you won't be able to stop.

Ingredients

  • 800 g /1.7lb white fish fillets, eg: snapper, Bass, cod, ling. (skinless, boneless, Note 1)
  • 1 cup low-gluten flour, 1/4 cup for dusting (Note 2)
  • 200 ml dark beer, (Note 3)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • salt & pepper for seasoning

COOKING

  • 4~5 cups canola oil, or vegetable, peanut oil.

TARTARE SAUCE

  • 1 cup / 220g mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon gherkin/Pickled cucumber, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon capers
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 boiled egg

Instructions

  • Cut the fish – Cut the fish against the grain into 10×3 cm thick 4 "x1 1/4" or any other size you like, but the thickness shouldn't be too thick or it won't cook well. (Note 4)
  • Marinate the fish – Place the fish in a container and pour milk over it to soak the fish for 5 to 10 minutes. (Note 5)
  • Low-gluten flour to coating – Put low-gluten flour on a plate and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Mix them well. Set aside.
  • Meanwhile, heat the oil to a temperature of 160°C/320°F.
  • Season the fish – Pour off the milk. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the fish.
  • Batter – Prepare a large bowl. Put in low-gluten flour, egg, a little salt and pepper. Mix them well. Then pour in the dark beer in batches. Stir the batter minimally, don't look for lumps, but make sure the beer mixes evenly with the flour. (Note 6)
  • Coating – Dust the fish with low-gluten flour and shake off the excess. This is extra insurance for crispiness, soaking up any residual moisture in the fish.
  • Dredge fish – Hold the fish and dip it into the batter. The batter should completely cover the fish. If you like a thick batter. You can coat and dip the fish twice to get a nice thick batter.
  • 1st Fry – When the oil temperature is around160°C/320°F (Note 7). Put the fish in the pot one by one from the side. And do it in such a way that no oil is spilled. Don't fill the pot too full or the fish will stick together.
    Fry them for 4 to 6 minutes or until they have a golden color. If the oil bubbles less when frying, it's cooked.
  • Drain well on paper towels or a wire rack and repeat with the remaining fish.
  • 2nd Fry – This keeps the fish crispy for a long time and doesn't make it greasy. Increase the oil temperature to 200ºC/392°F (Note 8). Fry the fish in batches.
    Fry them for only 2 to 3 minutes, or when the batter turns a golden brown color and the bubbling becomes less. You can put them on a cooling rack.
  • Seasoning – Drain well on paper towels or a wire rack and repeat with the remaining fish. Season with a little salt and pepper to add more flavor.
  • Serve- the fish with tartar sauce and potato wedges for a perfect meal.

TARTARE SAUCE

  • Prepare a bowl, put mayonnaise, chopped pickled cucumber, capers, Dijon mustard and two peeled boiled eggs.
  • Use a hand blender to mix all the ingredients together. If you like it grainy, blend it not too fine so you can still eat some grains.
  • Ready to serve.

Video

Tips & Notes:

  1. Below you’ll find white fish information for preparing crispy beer-battered fish. You can choose your favorite and most suitable fish for this dish.
  • Less expensive white fish – snapper, Bass, tilapia, catfish and ling.
  • More expensive white fish – flounder, cod, halibut, grouper, haddock, whiting and plaice.
  • Unsuitable fish for this dish – mackerel, sardine, tuna and salmon. They’re either too dry or too oily after frying.
 
2. Low-gluten flour, which has the lowest water content among other flours. This is one of the most important tips to keep battered stay crispy after frying.
3. Use dark beer (I learned this from a chef), whose wheat flavor is more prominent and makes the beer-battered fish more aromatic. The bubbles in the dark beer are relatively finer than in the white beer, which makes the battered fish light and fluffy. The yeast and carbonation make battered crispy and thin, rather than thick and greasy.
4. If you cut the fish against the grain, you’ll get a better texture. This is how you get the texture of sashimi.
5. The fish is soaked in milk to bring out the umami and sweetness of the fish. This only takes 5-10 minutes and is enough.
6. How do you know if the consistency of the batter is right? Take the whisk out of the batter. The batter will flow down normally. If it flows down too quickly, it's too thin. If it's too thin, the batter will be too thin and not crisp. If it's too thick, the batter will be too thick and not fluffy.
7. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can use this method. When the oil temperature is ready for frying (160°C/320°F), put a drop of batter in the oil pan. The batter floats immediately, which means the oil temperature is ready for frying.
8. When the oil temperature is high, the oil appears in lines, which means that the oil has a very high temperature. You can fry for the second time.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 100g Calories: 18150kcal (908%) Carbohydrates: 25g (8%) Protein: 37g (74%) Fat: 2023g (3112%) Saturated Fat: 151g (944%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 568g Monounsaturated Fat: 1278g Trans Fat: 8g Cholesterol: 113mg (38%) Sodium: 530mg (23%) Potassium: 565mg (16%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 2g (2%) Vitamin A: 48IU (1%) Calcium: 139mg (14%) Iron: 3mg (17%)
Keyword: beer battered fish,crispy fish batter,fry batter for fish
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