Beer Battered Fish

Have you heard of a young Irish chef by the name of Donal Skehan? If not, follow that link before you go any further, he’s brilliant at lifting simple home cooking into something special.

We try to have fish at least once per week and this is a recipe I’ve done before, I know it’s quick, I know it’s simple and I know how well it goes with Hasselback potatoes – yum!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless and boneless fish fillets, cut into goujon sized pieces
• 125g of plain flour
• 280ml of cold beer
• 3-4 tablespoons of plain flour, to coat the fish
• Sea salt and ground black pepper
• Sunflower or rapeseed oil to fry
• A few lemon wedges to serve

A Lovely Coating

Method of Preparation:

1. Make the batter just before you’re ready to cook.
2. Fill a high-sided frying with about 1-2 inches of oil and place over a high heat. It needs to be very hot when you start to fry.
3. Coat the fish in flour, shake off the excess and set aside.
4. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl, make a well in the middle of it and pour in a little beer and mix through, keep adding the beer and mixing until you have a smooth batter.
5. Season with a little black pepper and then drop a little of the batter into the hot oil, if it floats and puffs up, it’s ready.
6. Working beside the pan, dip the fish goujons in the batter one at a time and then into the hot oil.
7. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan as this will reduce the heat.
8. Cook for about 4 minutes until golden brown, turning halfway through the cooking time.
9. Remove the goujons from the pan using a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with some kitchen paper.
10. Season with a generous sprinkle of sea salt, some lemon wedges and a good helping of crispy hasselback potatoes.

A pressure point is in mixing the batter. Take your time, try and keep it as smooth as possible at all times and reduce the amount of lumps you get in it.

Golden & Crunchy

What you’re left with are crunchy, golden and delicious fish portions that are juicy and fresh to taste. It is really important to have your oil temp high or you’re going to overcook the fish before the batter is properly set. That’s about it, start to finish you can have this done in under 15 minutes – result! Here they are, as suggested, served with some lovely Hasselback potatoes and lemon wedges.

A great meal…