Beer Batter Fish and Chips

 

Oh man! Weeks of binge-watching repeats of Master Chef has gotten me in the mood to try all the challenges they throw at the contestants. One I knew I had to try was fish and chips. It’s a little tricky though because the people in my house aren’t really fish eaters… or so I thought.

 

 

I had this idea floating around in my head, but it all really started when I was at Trader Joes and I happened to see a frozen package of cod pieces.  The pieces were about ½ oz to 1 oz; perfect for bite size fried fish, at least that was my thought. It wasn’t that expensive, which made experimenting a little easier to do as well.

 

 

 knew I wanted to make a British style beer batter so I did a little research and found a great recipe. The only downfall was that the fish was a little bland and wet inside the fried batter shell. I did a little more research to perfect the technique to avoid these two problems and came up with an awesome beer batter fish recipe.

 

Of course, the fries are a classic and something I simply dug into my blog recipe book for. Easy peasy, and a great addition to this classic British meal.

 

 

The best part was how well it was received! My family loved it; my son in particular has requested a repeat several times. I love when they love my food like that. Yeah!

 

 

 

Beer Batter Fish and Chips

 

 

1 lb cod pieces (or another firm white fish for frying)

4-5 medium size russet potatoes

1 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp onion powder

1 bottle beer (ale, stout, lager, they all work)

1 large egg

 

Prep the fish. Cut them into pieces about 2in x 3in, give or take, and pat them dry with paper towel. Sprinkle them with coarse salt and set them aside to season.

 

 

 

Peel the potatoes and then chop them into 3/8 inch strips to make fries. Put them in a bowl with cold water in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Heat the oil in your fryer and then pull out the chilled fries and dry them thoroughly with towels. You’ll cook the fries twice to maximize crunchiness. Do the first fry at about 330 degrees F for about 3 minutes. Cook them in batches so they don’t drop the oil temp too much. Let them drain on a paper towel while you work on the fish.

 

Increase the oil temperature to 370F. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Make a hole in the center and drop the egg. With a whisk, begin to blend the egg in with the dry ingredients, and then slowly add the beer. Continue to stir while you do this to avoid lumps in your batter. If the batter seems to runny, add a bit more flour and blend in.

 

Make another bed of flour to dredge the fish pieces. Flour the fish pieces, and then carefully dip them into the batter, coating them completely. Once coated, immediately drop them into the frier, being careful not to splash. Allow them to cook until they’re golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. I also flip them after a couple minutes to get even browning. Once they’re done, pull them out of the oil and place on paper towel to eliminate excess oil.

 

Once all of the fish is cooked, re-fry your French fries. Again, do this in batches so the oil stays hot. Allow them to cook for about 3 minutes again; pull them out when they are a nice golden color. Place them on a paper towel to drain and add salt for flavoring.

 

Serve with a great coleslaw and some tartar sauce. Enjoy!