Our favourite beer battered fish & chips recipe!

This is our take on classic beer-battered fish and chips. There’s an option to add fresh dill for a herby version too. Batter from scratch is great, but alternatively you can use a pre-mix one (we stock Granny Fay’s and they’re awesome). Some additional tartare sauce and a salad on the side wouldn’t go astray either!

Serves: a family of four easily (bulk up on the chips if you’re serving four hungry adults).

Use: firm white fish. Blue Cod, Elephant, Moki, Ling, Gurnard or Monkfish are all great options.

INGREDIENTS

500g Fresh Fish Fillets
1kg Makikihi Fries (or preferred oven chips)
1.5 cups Self-Raising Flour
1 Egg
1 300ml bottle of Cold Beer (cold is essential)
Handful of Dill, freshly chopped (optional – for a herby batter)
½ cup Flour (for dusting the fish)
Flaky Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Lemon
1.5L Cooking Oil (for deep frying)

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven as per your chip instructions. If you’re using Makikihi fries you’ll need it at 230 degrees Celsius.
Bring your fish up to room temperature. Portion into equal sized pieces. Set aside.
Place your chips onto an oven tray, make sure they aren’t crowded, and cook as per the instructions until golden and crunchy. Makikihi fries take 20-25 minutes.
Fill a deep heavy bottom pan with 1.5 litres of cooking oil and bring up to 180 degrees Celsius. It’s best to use a thermometer to check the temperature if you have one to hand.
While the oil heats, whisk together the self-raising flour, egg and beer to form the batter. The batter should not be lumpy. If you want a herby batter, add your dill now and mix through. Set aside.
Place half a cup of flour onto a plate or tray and season with salt and pepper.
Dust each piece of fish in the flour ensuring it’s evenly coated. The flour is essential to stick the batter to the fish.
Test the temperature of your batter by dropping a drip of batter into the oil. If it crisps up immediately it’s ready.
It may be necessary to cook fish in batches depending on the size of your pot. Do not overcrowd the pot it will cause the temperature of the oil to fluctuate, the fish will absorb the oil and become greasy and soggy.
Holding a piece of fish on one end, dip it into the batter. Allow some of the excess batter to drip off once dipped.
Place the fish into the hot oil by laying it away from you, to avoid oil splashes.
Repeat quickly with remaining fish pieces.
Cook each piece of fish for 4-5 minutes. After 2 minutes of cooking, using a set of tongs, carefully turn the fish over to cook the other side. It may be necessary to rotate the fish in the oil to ensure even cooking.
When the fish is cooked it should be firm and not translucent and the batter golden brown.
Remove from the pot and place onto paper towels to remove any excess oil.
Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon, hot chips from the oven & tomato sauce. Enjoy!