Hey people - this recipe would be "great" if you just take a moment to read my suggestion. About 30 years ago, I came across an article in a magazine that had interviewed the owner of a very successful restaurant. Since he was retiring from his business, he was in a generous mood, and decided to share his secrets! (Great guy - wish I had met him!) Anyway, all you have to do to ensure a great beer batter is to do the following: add one can or bottle of beer (12 fluid ounces) to 12 ounces of flour (do the math yourself this morning, please, as I'm kinda tired from work!). Basically, the batter is just a 1:1 ratio of beer to all-purpose flour. Therefore, you can make any amount of batter you choose to - 2 cups beer, to 2 cups flour, and so on. THEN, with a whisk, mix those 2 ingredients well. Cover with a tea towel, and leave it alone! Let it sit for 3 hours, and you're ready to do anything! (A chemical reaction occurs between the beer and the flour during that time period.) Get out your seasoned fish filets, dip it in this mixture, then drop one at a time into hot oil. Don't crowd the cooking vessel, and turn only once, as the author of this recipe suggests! Drain on paper towels, serve hot! If you're feeding a crowd, and want to keep the fish warm while you're cooking the rest, place fried filets in a slow oven (200 degrees F) while you're frying up the rest. This batter also makes the best onion rings!! (The man who shared this recipe owned a steak house.) Enjoy! ~ Lauren
Great! I was having a problem with it being greasy although I drained it on paper bags. Then I switched to 2 egg whites instead of a whole egg and it solved the problem - found out from tv that egg yolks hold the oil.
This recipe is just like you would find at a restaurant. For anyone that has a problem with the beer batter not sticking to the fish, I have a simple trick. Set out a bowl with about a cup of flour, and before you dip the fish in the beer batter, coat the fish in flour. Also- to keep them crispy, make sure to drain the excess oil on a paper bag after frying. You shouldn't have any problems after that! Great recipe!
Well I made this recipe tonight for dinner....and I only have one question. Why hasn't anyone mentioned the OVERWHELMING amount of salt in this batter?!?! This was my first attempt at frying fish and while I did forget to coat the filet's in flour (so the batter mostly fell off), the batter was almost inedible because it was so salty (and I'm a salt lover!). We may try this again making sure to flour the fish and I will reduce the amount of salt by at least half.
I bought two bottles of beer and did one batter with the spices used in this recipe and then I did another batter with the same recipe using only salt and pepper. The spicy batter is GREAT for onion rings and potato cakes and my husband continued to use it for his fish, but I personally liked the plain batter for my fish and prawns. A good quality beer should be used and not light beer.
I had no problems with this batter not sticking, but if it is a problem dip fish into flour first and then the batter before frying. This batter makes a really nice crunchy fish that does NOT get soggy. I don't know how people got soggy fish from this recipe.
Make sure to salt fish or anything fried for that matter after removing it from the fryer. Learned that from Emril. Wonderful fish and will use this batter again and again. Goodbye to the corner Fish-n-Chip shop.
Deep frying 101; always lightly coat with flour to help the batter adhere. Other than adding more seasonings and less salt, this was a great recipe Linda! Thanks so much!
This is another in a collection of probably a hundred beer batter recipes. It's good, but nothing to write home about. I agree with other reviewers...cut down on the salt! Also, if you want a nice crisp finish to fried fish put them on a rack not on paper bags or towels which tend to hold the oil coming off the underside and make the filet gooey. Also, here in Wisconsin you always use 2 bottles of beer. One for the fish, the other for the cook!
This sounds great, I do make my own version but it is almost the same...
What's wrong with you people the recipe does say salt & pepper taste. If it's too salty blame yourselves not the recipe. I really hate when I read reviews and the person feels they need to change everything, that is not a review on the recipe posted that is a review on your recipe only. Make it the way its posted and then rate.
I was very pleasantly surprised. The batter was crispy and light, the best I've made yet. Just a tip, be sure to pat the excess water from the fish before dipping into batter to ensure a nice crispy coating.
