Ingredients:
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1 egg
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1/3 cup milk
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1/3 + ¼ cup Guinness
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¼ tsp salt
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½ tbs cornstarch
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½ tbs baking powder
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1 cup flour (plus more for dusting)
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1lb cod
I’m not usually one to eat such a heavy meal, but when I do, I prefer to make it myself (usually). If I’m going to eat something like this, I want to know what’s in it! For some reason, I was craving some good fish and chips on this balmy summer night, and I’m so glad I was! This recipe is super easy, comes together relatively quickly, and is way better than any fish and chips you’ll get in a grimy diner or pub. I will acknowledge that I totally cheated on the chips part, and opted for some organic frozen waffle fries which I toasted in the oven, but the Guinness beer battered fish was 100% from scratch. Note, it’s only 1 pound of cod, but the beer batter makes it much more filling so this will easily serve 4 people.
I noticed a lot of fish and chip recipes called for wheat beer, but I wanted to use something a little more robust, and the Guinness stout added fantastic flavor. Start by patting the fish dry and cutting it into whatever size pieces you like, I usually go for 2-3 inch squares. DO NOT forget to check for bones. Those suckers are nasty! Season the fish with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Next make the batter. Mix all wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately, then mix the wet into the dry to get a smooth batter. Mixing wet ingredients into dry reduces chances of lumps. (Thanks for the tip Chef Michael Symon!)
Star heating a heavy bottom pan of vegetable oil. You’ll want to have about 2-3 inches of oil in the pan for this shallow fry. Make sure you use a thermometer to heat the oil to 360 degrees. Now you’ll want to dust the fish with flour. I find the best way to do this is to put about 1/3 of a cup of flour on a cookie sheet, and pat each piece of fish in the flour, shaking off the extra.
Once the oil is ready, thoroughly coat each piece of fish with the batter, and gently place in the oil. There’s no real “cooking time” but you’ll want to flip them when the bottom is golden brown. About 2 minutes. Make sure the second size browns as well, then transfer to a wire rack over a baking pan. Season with salt right after they come out of the oil. Serve with chips of your choice and a fresh salad for an incredible summer time treat!