Description
This Crispy Beer Battered Fish recipe delivers golden, crunchy, and perfectly cooked white fish fillets with a light, delicate batter made crispy by cold beer and rice flour. Perfect for a comforting meal served with tartare sauce, lemon wedges, and crispy fries or baked potato wedges, this traditional Western main is quick to prepare and brings classic fish and chips vibes to your table.
Ingredients
Scale
Fish:
- 700g white fish fillets (skinless, boneless, such as flathead, snapper, whiting, cod, tilapia)
Dusting:
- ¼ cup rice flour
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 (pale ale or lager preferred)
Cooking:
- 4–5 cups peanut oil (or vegetable, canola, or cottonseed oil)
Serving:
- Tartare sauce
- Lemon wedges
- Homemade crispy French fries
- Baked potato wedges
Instructions
- Dry & cut fish: Pat the fish dry using paper towels or a tea towel. Cut into 7 x 3cm batons or larger fillets if preferred. For thick fillets (over 3cm), slice horizontally in half to ensure even cooking.
- Dusting bowl: Place ¼ cup rice flour in a shallow bowl for dusting the fish pieces before battering.
- Heat oil: Heat 6cm (2 to 3 inch) depth of oil in a heavy-based large pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 190°C (375°F).
- Salt & dust fish: Sprinkle salt on 3 or 4 pieces of fish, then coat each in rice flour and shake off excess. Let them rest up to 10 minutes while heating oil.
- Prepare batter: Just before frying, whisk together plain flour, rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add very cold beer while whisking gently until the mixture is evenly combined with some lumps remaining. Batter should be fairly thin but coat the back of a spoon. Add more beer teaspoon by teaspoon if too thick.
- Dredge fish in batter: Dunk each fish piece into the batter and let excess drip off briefly.
- Fry fish: Carefully lower battered fish into the hot oil one piece at a time, avoiding overcrowding. Fry each batch for 3 minutes, flipping after about 2 minutes, until deep golden and crispy.
- Drain fish: Remove fish with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat frying with remaining fish pieces.
- Serve immediately: Serve hot with tartare sauce, lemon wedges, and a leafy green salad dressed with vinaigrette. Accompany with crispy French fries or oven-baked potato wedges for a classic meal.
Notes
- Keep the batter cold, especially in warm climates, by refrigerating between batches to maintain crispiness.
- Rice flour is key for a durable crispy batter; substitute with cornflour or potato starch if necessary, though crispiness may reduce.
- Use white fish fillets suitable for frying like flathead, snapper, whiting, cod, or tilapia; avoid oily, delicate, or meaty fish like salmon, tuna, swordfish, flounder, or sole.
- Batter consistency matters: thinner batter yields a lighter, crisp crust typical of fish and chip shops; overmixing can thicken the batter and make it chewier.
- For large batches, consider double frying: first fry until light golden, drain, then fry again at a higher temperature (200°C/390°F) for 1 minute to crisp and reheat, reducing greasiness.
- Oil can be strained and reused up to two more times for savory frying.
- This recipe is adapted from Chef John of Food Wishes with added tips for best results.
- Fried fish is best eaten fresh; reheating tends to make it soggy and is not recommended.
- Nutrition estimates account for 1/3 cup oil consumption; actual oil intake is likely lower as much batter and oil is discarded.
