Beer Battered Fish and Chips

Beer Battered Fish and Chips in cardboard containers and garnished with parsley.

Print Recipe

5 from 11 votes

Crispy beer battered fish fillets and french fries made at home!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Soaking Time20

Total Time50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 424kcal

Author: Julie Evink

Ingredients

Fish

6 fish fillet cod, pollock, tilapia, or your choice of white fish
1 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
12 oz beer or milk

Chips

Vegetable oil for frying
4 large Russet potatoes peeled and sliced into large fingers (recommend use mandolin slicer)
Salt to taste

Instructions

Place the potatoes in a bowl of ice water for 20-30 minutes.
When the time for the potatoes is almost done, heat the vegetable oil in a deep heavy skillet, or deep fryer to 330° F.
Drain the potatoes and dry them thoroughly with a kitchen towel.
Carefully, fry the potatoes, about 1 cup at a time, in the hot oil for about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted strainer and drain over paper towels. Repeat until all potatoes have gone through the 1st frying cycle.
Increase the oil temperature to 370°F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Next, add in the ice cold beer or milk. Stir to mix.
Add a little more flour on the fish fillets and toss to coat.
Add the floured fillets to the batter and let the excess batter drip off.
Carefully add the fish to the 370°F oil.
Cook until the fish is golden, 2-3 minutes.
Drain over paper towels.
To finish the chips, fry the pre-cooked potatoes in the 370°F oil.
Fry until they are golden brown, and crisp, about 4 more minutes.
Drain over paper towels.

Notes

OPTIONS FOR THE BATTER

You can make a beer batter or a regular batter if you prefer to avoid alcohol. For the beer, I like to use a lager-style beer which is lighter in color and flavor. There are tons of options, so choose one that you like to drink!

If you opt to leave the beer out, you can use milk in its place. It will give the batter a different flavor and it’s still delicious!

BEST POTATOES FOR THE CHIPS

For the chips (French fries) I like to use russet potatoes. They are starchy and don’t have a lot of moisture which makes them perfect for frying.

You can cut them into French fries with a sharp knife, but using a mandolin makes it really easy to slice them into equal-sized pieces.

BEST OIL FOR DEEP FRYING

I use vegetable oil for deep frying, but you can use several other different high-smoke point oils like canola oil or peanut oil. Avoid using cooking oils with low smoke-points like olive oil.

MORE TIPS

If you are using a skillet, I recommend using a deep-fry thermometer so you know how hot the oil is. Otherwise, you will have to guess which is very difficult to do – oil that is too cool will make your fish and chips greasy. If it’s too hot you risk burning the batter before the fish is done cooking on the inside.

If you want to keep the fried fish warm while you finish the chips, place the fish on a baking sheet and keep it in a warm oven until you are ready to serve them.

Nutrition