*Beer Batter for Fish

This is a good recipe to use for the popular British Fish 'n' Chips, deep fried fish served with thick French fries. The quintessential firm, white fish, Atlantic cod was historically used for most of the fish in fish-and-chips. It has a mild flavor and extremely tender meat that goes well with salt and vinegar. If you like a big contrast between the crunchy outer shell and delicate white fish inside, cod is the one for you. Malt vinegar is the traditional accompaniment for sprinkling on both the fish and the chips.

Haddock is often the fish that chefs prefer for fish and chips. The texture isn’t as flaky or tender as cod but the meat has more flavor. Haddock has a slight sweetness that pairs well with the buttery flavor of the batter.

Any good firm-fleshed whitefish or seafood can be battered and fried: cod, haddock, catfish, shrimp, scallops. The Friday night fish fry in Wisconsin is traditionally deep fried perch or walleye, although beer battered perch is most popular.

Brian and I tried deep frying pollock once and were not fond of the texture. Pollock is a softer flesh fish, better for making a more delicate dish - more like flounder. Pollack is the fish often used for frozen fish sticks and McDonald’s uses it for their Fillet-O-Fish meal. I don't find Tilapia the best fish for deep-frying either. It's flesh is not as firm as cod or haddock, although we have deep fried it and it works when nothing else is available.

We have also tried beer battering French fries to great success. They were great!

2 quarts vegetable oil for deep-frying
4 8-ounce cod fillets (2 lbs.), or haddock fillets (preferred by some chefs)
salt and pepper to taste
Lemon wedges for serving

Batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 12-ounce can or bottle of beer

  1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Heat the oven to 200 degrees and line a large shallow pan with paper towels (for keeping fish warm).
  2. Rinse fish and pat dry; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Combine flour, garlic powder, paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons pepper. Stir egg into dry ingredients. Gradually mix in beer until a thin batter is formed. You should be able to see the fish through the batter after it has been dipped.
  4. Drop filets into the batter. Cook one at a time, turning once, until both sides are golden brown, then transfer to the pan and place in the oven to keep warm while the other filets are being cooked.
  5. Serve with lemon wedges. Great with cole slaw, french fries and/or hushpuppies.

Cornmeal Beer Batter - I have not tried this recipe

12-16 panfish fillets, about 1/4 lb ea.
3 cups extra fine ground corn meal
3 cups self rising flour (like bisquick)
2-3 eggs
1-6 bottles of dark beer (Important-use dark beer)
2 tsp. savory
2 tsp. pepper
3-4 Tablespoons Dill Weed (Important)
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. salt (to taste)
3 Tbls. onion powder
2 Tbls. garlic powder
1 Large mixing bowl
1 deep fryer with oil heated to 350
Fish can be any panfish, Salmon/Trout/Bass/Catfish Fillets cut 5-6 in. long, 2-3 in. wide and up to an inch thick

In mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients(including seasonings). Add eggs, open 2 bottles of beer, stir in until dry ingredients make a moderatly thick batter. Add/open more bottles of beer as needed. Batter should be thick enough to support fillets(float them).
Dip 2 fillets at once in batter, then remove, allowing some of the extra batter to drip off while holding above batter bowl with a fork.
IMPORTANT....FOR YOUR SAFETY
Place fillets in deep frying basket and lower gently into hot oil.
NEVER DROP THE FILLETS DIRECTLY INTO THE OIL-THE HOT OIL MAY SPLASH
AND BURN YOU!!!
Deep fry the fillets for 3-5 min. until golden brown. Place on cookie sheet in oven to keep warm until the rest of the fillets are done.
Serves 4+ hungry people.
Cooking time may vary with thickness of fish.
You can halve the batter for fewer fillets.
You may drink unused beer!! Enjoy!