Crispy Beer Battered Fish

This beer battered fish is made delightfully light and crispy with the use of a light-colored beer and baking powder. Moist, tender cod on the inside with crispy, crunchy, batter on the outside!

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Why You’ll Love This

Beer battered fish is easier to make at home than you think. Stay in, make your own, and save some money.  What could be better than that?

No need to settle for frozen pre-battered fish filets!

Some of our other favorite seafood recipes to make are Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Slaw, Shrimp Po Boy, Shrimp Piccata, and Crispy Bang Bang Shrimp.

Ingredients Needed

• White fish – Such as cod, tilapia, or halibut. Choose a fish that has an ocean-like smell, if it smells fishy it’s old and you don’t want to use old fish.
• All-purpose flour, baking powder, and light-colored beer – These create a nice puffy, crispy beer batter. Cold beer is best.
• All-purpose flour, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. – These are the dry ingredients for the seasoned dredge and seasoning of the fish for the best flavor.
• Vegetable oil – Peanut oil or canola oil for frying can also be used.

How to Make Crispy Beer Battered Fish

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and beer until smooth thin batter forms. It should be thinner than a pancake batter but slightly thicker than a crepe batter.

Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Cut the fish into long strips about 6 inches.  Pat the fish dry with paper towels.

Heat your oil to 375 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with paper bags or paper towels, place a wire rack on the towels, and set it aside.

Mix together in a small bowl, the garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Season the fish fillets on both sides, reserving half the seasoning mix for the dredging flour mixture.

In a shallow dish whisk together the reserved seasoning mix and 1 cup of flour.

Working with one piece of fish at a time, dip the fish into the seasoned flour, and coat evenly on both sides. Then dip the fish into the beer batter, completely dunking it until it is fully submerged. Drain the excess batter and carefully drop the battered fish into the hot oil.

In batches cook the fish for about 4 to 6 minutes on the first side, turn it over, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown.  It depends on the thickness of the strips.  Some of mine were thinner and cooked more quicker than others.

Place on the prepared pan while frying the remaining fish. Season with salt if desired.

Frying fish does not need to be intimidating. This recipe lends perfect crispy and fluffy battered fish right in your own kitchen!

What to Serve with Fried Fish

This fish is so tasty you only need to garnish it with lemon wedges, malt vinegar, or tartar sauce.

Or serve with french fries for Fish and chips.

Yes, this is a great recipe for fish and chips, or try our favorite Jalapeno Hushpuppies.

Try making this fish into fish tacos with tortillas and a cilantro slaw!

Tips

• Plan ahead, it’s best to make the batter at least 30 minutes before dipping the fish. The resting time allows the carbonation in the cold beer to activate the baking powder for a lighter, crispier batter.
• You can make the batter up to 24 hours ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Oil Temperature – When deep frying if the oil is not hot enough, the coating will absorb too much grease and become soggy. If the oil is too hot, it will cook the coating too fast leaving the fish underdone.
• Don’t overcrowd the pan or deep fryer. Cook just a few pieces at a time to avoid dropping the temperature of the oil.
• Fish is done when the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F.
• Heat the oven to about 250 degrees F while you are frying. Place the cooked and drained pieces in the oven to stay warm
• Drain the fish on a wire rack. This will keep the crispy coating from becoming soggy.

FAQs

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Crispy Beer Battered Fish Recipe

Crispy, light, and moist beer battered fish.

4.75 from 16 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner, Entree, Fish, Main Course

Cuisine: American, English

Prep Time: 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 523kcal

Author: Don’t Sweat The Recipe

Ingredients

 

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Wet Batter

• 2 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• 12 oz Any light-colored beer (1 bottle)

Seasoning Mix for flour dredge

• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• 1 cup All-purpose flour (this is for dredging)
• 1½ pounds Fresh cod fillets, cut into long strips (6 inches long)
• Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
• Lemon wedges and/or malt vinegar ((for drizzling on the fish)) (for drizzling on the fish)

Instructions

• In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and beer until smooth thin batter forms. It should be thinner than a pancake batter but slightly thicker than a crepe batter. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
  2 cups All-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon Baking powder, 12 oz Any light-colored beer
• Cut the cod fillets into (6-inch) strips. Pat the fish with a paper towel to make sure it is completely dry.
• Mix together in a small bowl, the salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne.
  1 teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Freshly cracked black pepper, 1 teaspoon Garlic powder, ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• Season both sides of the cod with some of the seasoning mix. Reserve half of the seasonings for the dredging flour.
  1½ pounds Fresh cod fillets, cut into long strips (6 inches long)
• In a shallow dish (a pie plate works perfectly), pour the 1 cup of all-purpose flour and the reserved seasoning mix, whisk or stir to combine. (This step makes the beer batter adhere to the fish.)
  1 cup All-purpose flour
• In a large pot, dutch oven or deep fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fill up the pot halfway with oil. Once the oil is heated to 375 degrees, you are ready to fry the fish.
  Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
• Working with one strip at a time, dip the fish into the seasoned flour, coat evenly on both sides. Then dip the fish into the beer batter, completely dunking it until it is fully submerged. Drain excess batter and then carefully drop the battered fish into the oil. Don’t overcrowd the pot, work in batches. Fry for 4 to 6 minutes on the first side. Flip it over and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes on the second side. Only flip the fish once. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Transfer to a cooling rack placed on top of a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining fish. (To keep the fish warm and crispy until ready to eat, place the baking sheet in a 200°F oven.)
• Serve warm with lemon wedges, malt vinegar, and tartar sauce.
  Lemon wedges and/or malt vinegar ((for drizzling on the fish))

Notes

Use any light-colored beer you enjoy drinking.

Fresh cod is best but you can also use tilapia, halibut, haddock, or grouper.

Be sure to not overcrowd the pan when frying you want to keep the oil temperature at 375 degrees F.

Nutrition

Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 680mg | Potassium: 936mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 172IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 5mg

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