Beer Batter Fish Fry

I pretty much love deep-fried-anything but had never attempted it at home. So on Sunday afternoon when I really couldn't face another dinner of plain, baked fish (something we do very frequently because the girls like things pretty plain) I did some quick research.

I had never really thought about making my own batter fried fish because I just assumed it was too difficult, and maybe required a deep fryer. Turns out it's surprisingly easy and no fryer needed.

Be sure to have a lemon wedge and tartar sauce on the side. "Chips" are a likely accompaniment, however, we opted for some baked asparagus and a sliced heirloom tomato with feta instead.

Beer Batter Fish Fry
Serves 4

For the batter:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. All-Seasons Salt or Old Bay Seasoning
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup beer

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless, firm, white fish cut into pieces
salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

Combine the dry batter ingredients in a large bowl and gradually whisk in the beer until well combined.

Fill a large, deep skillet with about 1/2-1 inch of oil. Heat to 350 degrees (I did not use a thermometer so depending on your instincts you might feel comfortable without one too...I would actually like to try this with a thermometer to see what kind of difference it might make).

Working in batches dip the fish into the batter and let the excess drip back into the bowl. Place in the oil and cook for about 3 minutes on each side.

Transfer cooked fish to a plate lined with paper towels and quickly sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired.

Afterthoughts...
Some thoughts on choosing fish for this recipe. Because I had purchased my fish before deciding how I would be cooking it I used wild Ocean Perch. It was available from a local source for just $5.99/pound.

I wasn't sure if it would work well for frying because it still had skin on it. It would have been very difficult to remove the skin prior to cooking so I decided to leave it. The perch also had some bones but I still really wanted to try frying it.

It ended up working pretty well. It tasted great but we did have to worry about the bones and I ended up separating the skin-side on some of mine (it mostly sort of stuck to the crust).

Next time I would choose something skinless and boneless. Perhaps cod or halibut. I also wonder how a flakier fish would work. I worry that it would fall apart but I'm curious to know if the batter might help hold it together.

The girls really enjoyed this too. They loved the crispy pieces of batter and the fish. It would also be fun to make smaller nugget sized pieces for them next time.

Oh yes, there will be a next time!