Beer Battered Fish – game day favorite fresh fish cod dusted and dipped in a well-seasoned flour and beer batter then fried until golden perfection. Light and crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. Serve it during game days, parties or as a quick dinner!
This Beer Battered Fish recipe reminds me of my favorite aunt who’s currently living in the UK. Whenever I go there for a visit, she would always bring me to her favorite (which by the way means a couple of them😉) fish and chips bar(s). I would happily gobble down my warm fried fish served with tartar sauce and chips or fries and a cold glass of lemonade. It was just pure heaven!
And since I’m planning to visit her pretty soon, it’s about time that I make her proud by making fish and chips the “Imma way”.
How To Make Beer Batter?
I tell you, this fish fry batter is seasoned enough to please even the most discerning palates. It starts with seasoning the flour with garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, baking soda, salt, pepper, and beer.
As for the beer, use whatever beer you’d like to drink. But I prefer a lager type of beer (like Heineken for instance) for the fish batter. Cold beer somewhat results in a lighter and crispier batter though, but feel free to use those at room temperature, too. To make the batter, simply add the beer to the bowl of the flour mixture and whisk until fully incorporated. Then that’s it!
Tips for that Crispy Beer Battered Fish
On my first attempt, I made some disappointingly greasy battered fish that loses its crispiness quickly. So I tweaked it a bit after doing some research on how would I achieve that crystal crisp exterior without drying out the fish inside. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
- Adding cornstarch to the flour mixture makes the difference. It makes the end result crispy without being too greasy.
- Watch the oil temperature. If it’s too low, it’ll make the fish greasy, and if it’s too high the outside will cook first before the inside is done – and we don’t want that.
- Just like my Baked Crispy Chicken Legs HERE, it is VERY important that you pat dry the fish fillets first before seasoning it.
- Coat your fish fillet with the dry flour mixture before dipping it in the batter so the batter has something to cling to.
- A quick fix for a runny batter is to whisk all-purpose flour a little bit at a time until you achieve your desired consistency.
- To keep your fried cod warm and crispy as you cook the rest of the beer battered fish, transfer them to a wire rack placed over a baking sheet and into the oven at 200F.
- Aside from cod, you can also use any other white fish like grouper, tilapia, snapper, striped bass, trout OR go for the classics like pollock and haddock.
How Long To Fry Fish?
Fry each fish fillet until brown and crispy – about 3-4 minutes or more on each side depending on the size. You’d be able to tell that the fish is done when it turns in golden brown color and the bubbles on the side of the fish will slow down.
Serve it with Tartar Sauce (which I’ll be sharing SOON) or your favorite dip, some lemon wedges and of course French fries. And don’t forget the ice-cold beer or lemonade to complete the meal! This is just right on time for this coming Super Bowl! Enjoy!
More Fish Recipes You’ll Love
Other Appetizing Recipes to Explore
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Pizza Rolls
- Shish Kebab
- Remoulade Sauce
- Chicken Tenders
- Baked Crispy Potato Wedges
How To Make Beer Battered Fish
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, baking powder, and salt and pepper, to taste. Reserve about ¾ cup of the flour mixture (this is used to dust fish). Set aside until ready to dip the fish.
Pour oil into a cast iron or skillet, enough for deep frying. Preheat oil into about 375 Degrees F. While the oil is preheating, add the beer to the bowl of the flour mixture and whisk until incorporated and batter is smooth. Then dip each fish strip in the dry flour mixture first, shake off any excess flour and dip into beer batter mixture until it’s completely covered. Remove the fish and let the excess batter drip off.
Carefully lower into cast iron, fry a few pieces at a time, moving them around so they don’t stick. Fry until brown and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes or more depending on the size. Remove from the fryer with a slotted spoon place on a cookie or wire rack to ensure crispness. Repeat with the remaining fish strips. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.
Beer Battered Fish
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (4 ounces) cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons (6g) garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon (2g) paprika
- 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon (7.5) salt
- ½ teaspoon (1g) white pepper
- oil , enough for deep frying
- 1 ½ cup (249.38g) beer
- 1 ½ pound (680.39g) skinless cod fillet , about 1 inch thick, cut into strips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, baking powder, and salt and pepper, to taste. Reserve about ¾ cup of the flour mixture (this is used to dust fish). Set aside until ready to dip the fish.
- Pour oil into a cast iron or skillet, enough for deep frying. Preheat oil into about 375 Degrees F.
- While the oil is preheating, add the beer to the bowl of the flour mixture and whisk until incorporated and batter is smooth.
- Then dip each fish strip in the dry flour mixture first, shake off any excess flour and deep into beer batter mixture until it’s completely covered. Remove the fish and let the excess batter drip off.
- Carefully lower into cast iron, fry a few pieces at a time, moving them around so they don't stick. Fry until brown and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes or more depending on the size.
- Remove from the fryer with a slotted spoon place on a cookie or wire rack to ensure crispness. Repeat with the remaining fish strips. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.
Tips & Notes:
- A quick fix for a runny batter is to whisk all-purpose flour a little bit at a time until you achieve your desired consistency.
- To keep your fried cod warm and crispy as you cook the rest of the beer battered fish, transfer them to a wire rack placed over a baking sheet and into the oven at 200F.
- Aside from cod, you can also use any other white fish like grouper, tilapia, snapper, striped bass, trout OR go for the classics like pollock and haddock.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Kenneth Burger says
This recipe is awesome! I didn’t dredge the fish though. I used the shaking bag method and put the remaining flour mixture back into the batter bowl to make the batter a bit thicker. Finally, walleye is the ultimate fish to use with this recipe. This recipe is now bookmarked.
Amina says
Woohoo, great to see your love to just make it a bookmark. Visit the blog regularly and try the latest recipes to have more collections.
Beverly says
The best batter ever
imma africanbites says
Yaaay! Thank you for taking the time to comment. Please stay tuned for more recipes. Have a lovely day!
Sue says
Very light and tasty. I used it with mushrooms and it was delicious!
ImmaculateBites says
Nice to know that! Thank you, Sue!
Yvonne McKimens says
LOVED THIS!!!!❤️
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the feedback.
Traci says
I tried this recipe last night & it was a hit! My son, who is a harsh critic raved about it! Thank you Imma!=)
Cindy says
I used this recipe to make Vidalia Onion Rings, rather than fish. The whole family went crazy for them. “Best rings ever!” Thanks so much for the great recipe — I’m going to try it on zucchini next, and then maybe fish! 😀
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it works well with onion rings and other vegetables . Thanks for sharing!!
Sallie says
Has anyone tried this recipe with flounder?
ImmaculateBites says
flounder works as well.
Victoria says
What kind of oil do you use for frying?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Victoria. I use canola oil.
Marie says
This recipe looks amazing. The last time my husband and I had Beer Battered Fish we want to a restaurant. But these look even better. Do you mind if I ask what brand of beer you used in this recipe?
Rick says
do you have an alternative to the beer?
imma africanbites says
Carbonated water would do. But I’m not sure if you get the same color.
Penny Jo says
You had a recipe for air fryer wings, could you fry this fish in the air fryer too?
imma africanbites says
That’s a good one. I haven’t tried yet though, but I will surely post it here on the blog for more of my air fryer recipes. =)
Jelly B says
No. It’s wet and would get goopy everywhere. It needs to be immersed in hot oil.
Bernice says
This looks great in trying it game day. Yum yum
imma africanbites says
Thank you! Enjoy the game, and of course, the food! 😉
David Polk says
don’t know if its 1 and a quarter cup, or 1 quarter of a cup.
imma africanbites says
Hi, it’s 1 1/4 cup of flour.
David Polk says
OK so it is a quarter of a cup. Got it.
David Polk says
Oh, wait…I see from the recipe that it needs to be a cup and a quarter. I must say that you might want to adjust how you list these measures. Like 1 and 1/4 cup rather than 1 1/4 cup.
Reese says
When you learned about mixed numbers and fractions in school, were you taught that “and” should go between the whole number and the fraction?
Konrad says
Hi Imma
This sounds great, I will soon try your beer battered fish.
Have a great day.
Rigards from France
Konrad
Henrietta Dixon says
Hi Imma, I was wondering if I could use this batter with shrimp ? I really love you’re recipes especially the African and Caribbean ones although I am an American I have always had a taste for those types of cuisine. I am also a great lover of Cajun and Creole cooking and your wonderful site provides all of that and more, so thank you very much.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Henrietta,
You certainly can. Thanks for so much for trying out my recipes and so happy to hear it’s been working out well. Happy Cooking!!!