Fish and Chips

An effortless beer-battered fish and chips recipe that is ready in just 20 minutes!

Everybody craves fried food, especially fried fish! Every time I even think about it, I start salivating because it’s so darn good! This fish and chips recipe makes it so perfectly crispy and tender at the same time. And to top that, a super creamy and flavorful tartar sauce with a serving of fries makes this dish heavenly!

Here’s what you need to make this fish and chips recipe: fish, all-purpose flour, lager/light beer, baking powder, red chili powder/paprika and ground black pepper. Choose a fish that’s slightly firm and flavorful. Cod and haddock are great options, I used cod for this recipe.

As for the lager, I went with a classic Molson. You can choose your favorite light beer or lager!

Here’s how to make fish and chips in 4 simple steps!

1. Prepare the batter
2. Dredge the fish
3. Fry
4. Serve

Prepare the batter

Before we begin prepping anything, let’s get the oil heated up. In a large pan, heat oil to 370 F. Use a food thermometer to check if the oil is heated, this recipe requires cooking at a specific temperature to avoid soggy fish.

In a large bowl, add in the dry ingredients first – all-purpose flour, baking powder, red chili powder or paprika, ground black pepper and salt to taste.

Mix this well and then add in the beer, while stirring it in the bowl. Pro tip: Make sure the beer is chilled for best results!

Keep mixing this until you getting a consistency similar to that of pancake batter. That’s it! Your batter is ready to go. You may refrigerate it for now until we get back to it.

Dredge the fish

Now for the messy bit (only slightly, don’t worry!) Firstly, you want to make sure you have about 500g (1lb) of cod for this. Make sure to pat dry the cod with a paper towel before cutting it. Then cut it into evenly sized strips. The reason we want them similarly sized is so that they all take the same amount of time to cook.

Now it’s time to take out the batter from the fridge!

For the dredging, we need a bowl of plain all-purpose flour. Start by dredging the strips of cod in the flour, making sure that it’s completely coated. Then dust off the excess flour and dunk the fish completely in the batter.

Fry

It’s time for the best part! Let’s get frying! Ensure that the oil has reached the desired temperature of ~370F. Take the battered cod and carefully drop it into the hot oil.

Note: Make sure you gently drop the fish away from you.

You don’t want to overcrowd your pan by frying all the pieces at once. It’s okay to fry them in batches. I recommend flipping the fish after 2-3 minutes to ensure that it gets cooked evenly. After a total of about 5 minutes, it should be nice and golden brown and ready to be taken out! You can place the fried fish on a wire rack to let the excess oil drip down.

Tip: Placing the fish on paper towels makes them soggy and they lose their crispiness. Use a wire rack to keep them perfectly crispy!

Make sure the cod is completely cooked by using a food thermometer. It should have an internal temperature of 145 F. It’s okay if you don’t a thermometer. But if you feel you might use it more often, they’re super inexpensive. I use this thermometer and it has served me very well so far!

Prepare the French fries

I just used frozen fries for this recipe since I had them on hand! You could fry the French fries before frying the fish in the same oil. This way, the taste of the fries won’t get affected if you’re particular about it.

Pro tip: Make sure to defrost the frozen fries in the microwave before frying them in hot oil to avoid any minor explosions in your kitchen! 😅

Serve

It’s time to serve your sinfully delicious fish and chips! It pairs brilliantly with my homemade tartar sauce! Or you could try it with this delicious spicy mayo too! Squeeze some lemon over the fish to add a fresh citrus flavor! Dip the fish and chips in the creamy tartar sauce and take a bite! 🤤

Here are some tips to ensure perfect fish and chips every time!

1. Make sure the oil is hot, about 360-375 F. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the fish could turn out greasy and soggy.
2. The batter prepared with the flour, beer and spices should have a thick consistency like pancake batter. This will help in properly coating the fish during the dredging stage.
3. Pat the fish dry with paper towels before you start the dredging process.
4. Don’t overcrowd the pan while frying the fish because it will bring down the temperature of the oil thereby causing it to cook at a far lower temperature. This would also result in greasy and soggy fried fish.
5. Rest the fried fish on a wire rack to drain the excess oil. Using paper towels can make the fish soggy.

You’re all set to enjoy the greatest fish and chips recipe ever!

Good luck!

I hope you enjoy your meal as much as we did! 

Be sure to check out the tartar sauce recipe to serve it with your fish and chips!

If you liked this recipe, please leave your rating and comments below. It’ll motivate me to keep creating and sharing my experiments in the kitchen with you guys!

See you next time!