Fry

IPA-Battered Fish and Chips

July 30, 2012
3.6
5 Ratings
Photo by Joseph DeLeo
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

London Calling. Crisy, golden fried cod, with homemade "twice-fried" fries. —tideandthyme

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: This is Laura Davis' very first FOOD52 recipe!
WHAT: Fish and chips that will transport you directly to foggy London.
HOW: White fish takes a dip in a quick beer batter before being fried along with the potatoes. A one-pot dish!
WHY WE LOVE IT: There's nothing like thickly battered fish accompanying freshly made, twice-fried french fries to transport us to the other side of the pond.
—The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pound cod, or other white flaky fish
  • 5 large Russet potatoes
  • 1 cup India Pale Ale (IPA)
  • 1.25 cups All-Purpose flour
  • 2.5 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 4 cups warm water
  • vegetable oil, for frying
Directions
  1. Combine warm water and 2 tablespoons kosher salt in large bowl. Mix to dissolve salt. Set aside.
  2. To prepare the potatoes, peel the sides of the potato with a vegetable peeler, leaving some skin at the top and bottom. Slice potatoes length-wise, in 1/2? slices. Then, slice 1/4? inch strips from those slices. A mandoline or french fry cutter is very handy here! Place cut potatoes in the bowl of saltwater and soak for 15 minutes. Remove from water and place the potatoes on a clean kitchen towel to dry for a few minutes. Dry well to avoid splattering when frying.
  3. Fill a dutch oven with vegetable oil, so that oil comes up a little less than halfway up the pot. Place over low heat and heat to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, prepare your beer batter by combining the beer, 1 cup of flour, and a teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Place remainder of flour in a resealable bag and set aside with the beer batter.
  4. Once oil is up to temperature, fry the potatoes in batches, taking care not to overcrowd. Fry until edges are starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel lined cookie sheet. Repeat process with remaining potatoes. Once all potatoes have been fried, bring the oil back up to 375 degrees, and refry them. The “twice-fry” is the key to a crispy french fry. Just another minute or two in the hot oil is all you need. Place them on a cooling rack on a cookie sheet and keep warm in an oven while fish is frying.
  5. To fry the fish, place filets in the bag of flour to lightly coat, then dip into beer batter, and add to the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning fish occasionally, about 6-9 minutes depending on the size of the filets. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel-lined plate for a minute before plating. Serve fried fish over a generous portion of french fries with wedges of lemon for garnish. Tartar sauce and malt vinegar on the side.
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • amanda russell
    amanda russell
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  • Virginia Murrell
    Virginia Murrell
  • Hector Lahera
    Hector Lahera
  • ECMotherwell
    ECMotherwell

30 Reviews

amanda R. September 11, 2019
Super easy recipe! I added garlic powder and paprika to the batter, used whatever IPA was in the fridge. I also added a bit of baking soda, in the hopes of making it even lighter and crispier. It turned out great! I mixed up a vinegary honey mustard on the side.
 
Gormenghastly May 11, 2019
So boring. I wonder when and where someone decided "beer batter" was a British thing? It isn't. You could have a beer on the side if you like, but dandelion & burdock pop would be more appropriate.
 
Patty J. December 30, 2017
Wow! First time I made fish and chips. Easy and amazing. I used the Lagunitas IPA, The twice fried chips were delicious! I don't usually make fried food but this was a nice treat!
 
Virginia M. October 19, 2015
I've never had fish and chips like we had in England years ago. I've tried and tried to make them with no success. I'm going to try this recipe. Sounds so good!
 
Hector L. September 30, 2015
Does anyone have a good tip on how to de-flavor, keep, reuse, or dispose of the used oil, please? For non-habitual fryers, the cost or disposal of the oil is a consideration.
 
linklau April 18, 2015
My husband asked for fish & chips for dinner, so I decided to give this a try. I have never deep fried anything in my life, but I'll certainly be doing so again. The potatoes were divine & the fish... I haven't had any decent fried fish in ages. Delicious!
 
Banana#5 August 2, 2013
My sons Boss came home with fresh cod from a fishing trip, so I used it for this recipe and my whole family loved it!!!
 
beejay45 July 22, 2013
Fish and Chips with Malt Vinegar! OMG! I haven't had this in years. Now that I've gotten over my fear of frying, I will have to try this. Thank you!

My tartar sauce recipe is very simple: mayo, capers, thinly sliced green onions -- I like the bottled capers for this and thin the sauce a bit with some of the brine. If I want it zippy, I add some finely chopped red (hot) jalapenos.
 
Nick K. April 25, 2013
Excellent recipe! This was my first time frying, and I used a large cast iron skillet. Worked very well. All I had on hand were swai filets. They worked well and my dinner came out looking very close to the picture from above and tasting very delicious! Mine were not quite as crispy, but I would definitely make these again. I paired them with carrot fries from another recipe on the site.
 
ECMotherwell February 15, 2013
This was our fun/delicious Valentine's dinner. I tossed in a little garlic powder and a dash of cayenne pepper to the beer batter, and holy cow, the fish was delish. The chips were wonderful too! Thank you so much for a wonderful, apparently fail-safe pub classic!!!
 
ginampen September 25, 2012
I made this last night and it was fabulous! Looked exactly like the photo and the texture of the fish and fries was perfect! Thanks for the great recipe.
 
thefoodpoet August 26, 2012
Hi, I'd appreciate it so much if all your recipes would have metric measurements, at least in brackets. The recipe looks beautiful!
 
leslie3733 August 26, 2012
Looking forward to having proper fish and chips at home! A few questions:
-- How many pieces of fish do you want from that pound of cod to serve 4?
-- A whole filet is both thick and thin. Which section/thickness do you recommend for this dish?

Thanks for the good answers.
 
tideandthyme August 28, 2012
I usually cut the filets in half, vertically. I'd get 3 filets to serve 4.
 
greenchilemaven August 22, 2012
Seems a perfect recipe except this leaves me dying for a legitimate contender in the tartar sauce category. Think I will prepare something right away to submit soon I hope because I definitely need that tartar sauce to go with. Thanks for great prep instructions on the fish and chips.
 
tideandthyme August 22, 2012
I usually do about 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp lemon juice, and 2 tbsp sweet pickle relish. I hate sweet pickles under any other circumstance, but I actually like the hint of sweet in the tartar sauce!
 
EmilyC August 21, 2012
Congrats -- such a classic! I lived in Ireland for awhile and definitely ate my fair share of fish and chips. I don't think a lot of chippers double fry their chips, but they should!
 
NBrush August 21, 2012
Twice frying fries is smart--doing so does make them crisp. Congratulations on being a finalist.
 
tideandthyme August 22, 2012
Thanks so much!
 
texasblu August 20, 2012
my husband has been in AA for 15 years so you can see i can't use beer/ale, can anyone offer any substitutes?
 
tideandthyme August 22, 2012
Club soda could be substituted.
 
enthous August 28, 2012
Or non-alcoholic beer.
 
viblanco August 19, 2012
Congratulations! I'm going to make this with my Roasted Slap Fries. :))
 
tideandthyme August 22, 2012
I'm dying to make that Sriracha mayo! Thanks so much.
 
tideandthyme August 16, 2012
So honored to be selected as a finalist. Thanks so much!
 
lorigoldsby August 17, 2012
Congrats on being a finalist! Beautiful batter!
 
fiveandspice August 16, 2012
Congrats on being a finalist. These look worth dragging out a pot of oil for!
 
afoodie August 17, 2012
For certain, thanks so much!