Beer Battered Fish

Our beer-battered fish recipe is everything fried fish should be: crispy and golden on the outside with tender and flaky fish in every bite. The beer adds depth and flavor to the batter, while its ice-cold carbonation creates an impossibly light and airy coating. Cornstarch works its magic, giving each bite an extra boost of crunchiness that holds up long after the fish

This recipe brings your favorite pub-style fish and chips right to your kitchen, served with our favorite air-fryer French fries and homemade tartar sauce for a meal ready in 20 minutes.

Beer Battered Fish Origins

Fish and chips (battered, fried fish and French fries) are a signature dish in the UK, with historians believing the idea came to England in the 17th century with a group of Sephardic Jewish immigrants. Battered fish was often made with hot water, with the first use of beer occurring at some untraceable point afterwards. Beer’s bubbly addition to batter helps it cook faster and lighter, and may have been first discovered as an experiment or as a necessary replacement for often contaminated water during the 1850s cholera outbreaks.

However it first came about, beer is one of our favorite ways to add plenty of flavor and the most perfect light and crispy texture to battered fish!

How to Make Beer Battered Fish

Ingredients

Process

1. Preheat oil to 350˚F in a wide skillet with tall sides. Season cod pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Place flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper together in a mixing bowl and whisk together.

3. Add beer to flour mixture and whisk together until smooth.
4. Dip fish into batter until fully submerged, a couple of pieces at a time. Shake excess batter off each piece and carefully drop them into the hot oil.

5. Fry fish for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place onto a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. Season with salt and pepper.

Best Types of Fish for Beer Battered Fish

Cod is a popular fish used for beer-battered fish thanks to its mild flavor and flaky texture that holds up well when drenched in batter and fried. Other firm, white fish that won’t fall apart in the batter or while frying include haddock, pollock, halibut, and tilapia. You can use either fresh fish or previously frozen fish that has been thawed.

Tips for the BEST Beer Battered Fish

Keep the batter as cold as possible for the crispiest version. Cold batter slows down gluten formation as the batter cooks, absorbing less oil and creating a crispier, lighter layer.

Cook the fish in batches to avoid crowding the pan. If fish are touching, the batter will stick together, and the oil’s temperature may drop too much, resulting in soggier fish.

Use a wire rack over a baking sheet to cool the fish on. Paper towels can make the bottoms of the fish soggy, but with the airflow from a rack, each bite will stay crispy.

Don’t skimp on the cornstarch— this is an essential ingredient! Cornstarch gives this batter a lighter, crispier texture than just flour alone, which can create too much gluten. It also helps the batter stay crispy, even after it has cooled.

Ingredient Substitutions and Variations

The type of beer you choose can change the flavor of this batter quite a bit. We often use a light lager or pilsner, but you can experiment with darker beers, ales, or even an IPA for a more robust flavor.

While most of the alcohol evaporates from the beer during deep frying, you can easily substitute an alcoholic beer with a non-alcoholic beer or even seltzer water for a completely alcohol-free option that provides the same, light and airy results.

For gluten-free beer-battered fish, swap the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour substitute or even rice flour. Cornstarch is naturally gluten-free, so the combination of rice flour and cornstarch can help give you that light, crispy texture you’re after.

Give this fried fish a spicy kick by including a pinch of cayenne pepper in the flour mixture. Garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, or cumin can also be used for a fun flavor addition.

What to Serve with Beer Battered Fish

To play off the classic fish and chips pairing, serve this fish with french fries, polenta fries, mini hasselback potatoes, or bacon and garlic smashed potatoes.

Keep it simple with a slaw mix, lemon wedge, and tartar sauce.

Add a bit of freshness with a simple green salad, wedge salad, or Caesar salad.

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