Make English Fish and Chips With Beer Batter
Fish and chips became popular in the United Kingdom in the second half of the nineteenth century and remain popular in many parts of the world today. The fish (usually cod or haddock) is coated in batter and the chips are slab-cut potatoes, and both are deep-fried. This particular recipe demonstrates how to cook the fish in beer batter. The fish batter is very light and crunchy and is usually wrapped in newspaper and served.
Contents
Ingredients
- 2 fish fillets (cod, haddock, or any other white fish)
- 1 and a ½ litres (6.5 cups) of vegetable oil or ground nut oil
- 140 grams (1 cup 2 tbsp) of flour
- 50 grams (6.25 tbsp) of corn starch
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 egg
- 250 millilitres (about 1 cup) of beer
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Chips/French fries, to serve with the fish
- Cooking the chips is not described in this article.
- Note that traditional chips are thicker and flatter than what is shown in these pictures.
Steps
- Preheat the oil. Begin by pouring all the oil into a large pan. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Using a candy/deep fry thermometer, try to maintain {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} during frying.
- Make the batter. Into a bowl, add the flour, the corn starch, the salt and the baking powder. Mix together, until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Mix the egg and beer together. Place the beer into a bowl, and then add the egg. Whisk it together well until the egg and beer are evenly combined.
- Complete the batter. Pour the beer mixture into the bowl containing the flour mixture. Whisk well for a couple of minutes, to ensure that it combines smoothly, and is free of lumps. You can now prepare your fish.
- Prepare fish. Take a fillet and pat it dry using a piece of paper towel. This will help it fry better; as any excess water will only make the fish less crispy.
- Run your fingers along the fillet's surface to ensure that there are no small bones remaining. This is especially important if you are cooking for little children. Repeat with the other fillet.
- Coat fish with batter. With a large fork, dip one of the fillets into the bowl of batter and coat it completely.
- Before cooking the fish, it's wise to check that the oil is at the correct temperature to fry. Test it by dropping some of the batter into the oil. If it fries immediately, without burning, it's at the correct temperature.
- Carefully place the fillet into the hot oil, taking special care not to burn yourself in the process.
- Turn the fish. Let the fillet fry for roughly 4-7 minutes, depending on its size. Flip it at least once during this time, to ensure that it's cooking evenly. When the batter becomes a light golden brown, remove it from the pan. Transfer it to a tray lined with paper. Repeat exactly the same frying process with the remaining fillet.
- Serve. Your fish in beer batter is now ready to serve. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Tips
- Ketchup/Tomato sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper, and chutney always goes nicely with fish and chips.
- Make sure not to overfill the pan with fish. This will cause the temperature of oil to drop, making the batter less crispy and it can also make the fillets stick together in a lump!
- Fish and chips is nothing without the chips. Smaller pieces can be fried as fish nuggets.
Warnings
- Be very careful around hot oil. Know what to do in case someone gets burned.
- If you fail, please go to your local chip shop.
Things You'll Need
- 1 saucepan
- 2 bowls
- 1 whisk
- 1 slotted spoon
- 1 large fork
- 1 tray
- Kitchen towel
- Candy/deep fry thermometer, optional
Related Articles
Sources and Citations
- VideoJug - the original source of this article. Shared with permission.
