The BEST Beer Battered Fish Recipe, you HAVE to try this with Salmon! (2024)

FAQs

Is beer battered salmon good? ›

This golden-brown deep-fried salmon is super light, crispy, crunchy, addicting and way better than restaurant fish and chips. It's also easy to make and comes together in about 20 minutes.

Beat in one egg.

Some people leave this step out and just stick to a basic beer-and-flour batter, which is perfectly effective. But, beating in an egg helps to add a little body and golden richness to the batter, helping it to crisp up a little more nicely.

Best Oil to Fry Fish. Thanks to its neutral flavor, affordable price, and high smoke point, canola oil is the most popular oil for frying fish. Peanut, cottonseed, and coconut oil are also great fish frying oils.

If the wet batter is too thick (in consistency) your cooked batter will be thick (in depth) around the fish and tends to soak up too much oil. Too watery on the other hand and it won't coat the fish properly, and will go soggy quickly. Aim for a batter that runs but fully coats the back of a spoon – see video.

Milk: The proteins in milk help the batter adhere to the fish and promote browning. Water: Use very cold water for the crispiest results. Baking powder: Baking powder ensures a light and crispy exterior.

Some beer batter recipes will say to add ice or place the beer batter in the fridge to 'rest' for 30 minutes. Forget it! Adding ice will water down your batter and refrigerating the beer batter just takes time. Simply start with a cold beer and you'll be one step ahead.

Beer amps up the flavor of the marinade and helps to keep the fish moist while on the grill. A few more simple ingredients add salt, sweetness, and a bit of tang to the flavor.

The vodka isn't added for flavor; it's added because alcohol evaporates far more easily than water, which helps our beer batter cook much faster in the fryer. This means you get a crisp coating of batter before the fish inside has been overcooked.

That same carbonation and the slight acidity of the beer also helps create a batter that's very tender and flaky. You can get these same results with bubbly water or a NA beer. Don't use sugary sodas or other drinks, though—they are too sweet for this fish recipe.

Should beer be flat for beer batter? ›

Using beer in the batter for onion rings or fritters helps break down the gluten in the flour, resulting in a light, crisp, fried coating with good color. If you need flat beer for a recipe, open a fresh bottle or can and let it stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

It's best to save your craft beers for drinking, and use a simple light beer. Anything from very light (PBR) to a mild British ale (like Newcastle Brown Ale) will work well.

The use of beer is recommended as the fizz in the beer is what lends the batter its light, airy texture. If you really must substitute for a non-alcoholic version, use soda water or carbonated drinks such as Sprite instead. Combination of 75% plain flour + 25% rice flour to keep batter crispy!

So, all in all, if you deep fry for larger groups several times a summer, you want a light American lager. Little flavor, plenty of carbonation, enough alcohol, and cheap to boot. I use Budweiser. The beer batter works because of the alcohol and the CO2 in beer.

Haddock is the fish that most chefs prefer for fish and chips. The texture isn't as flaky or tender as cod but the meat has more flavor. Haddock has a slight sweetness that pairs well with the buttery flavor of the batter.

Still, around a third of survey respondents preferred breaded fish over battered, saying breading the fish results in lighter coating and reduced grease. And though frying battered fish is faster, breading has some benefits to chefs, too.

Alcohol evaporates faster than water, so a beer batter doesn't have to cook as long as one made only with water or milk. The faster the batter dries, the lower the risk of overcooking the food. If the chef works fast enough, he can create a beautiful lacework in the coating that yields that classic beer-batter crunch.

The alcohol in beer evaporates faster than water, meaning the batter doesn't have to spend nearly as long cooking. Because of this, you're free to prioritize the filling instead of worrying about whether the batter is done.