Pub-Inspired Beer-Battered Fish Sandwich Recipe

Beer-battered fish sandwiches are a delicious pub staple, and with fresh fish and a crunchy, greasy coating, they certainly rival their fast food counterparts. Beer batter fries up light, airy, and perfectly crispy on the outside, thanks to the carbonation and foaming properties of beer. The beer itself gives the finished dish an extra level of flavor, which you'll notice if you try to substitute something like club soda. When used to coat white fish before frying, it keeps the fish extra tender and moist. If that sounds too complicated to achieve at home, think again. You don't have to visit a pub to taste a delicious, high-quality beer-battered fish sandwich when you really want one, because it's easy to make a quick batter and get familiar with a basic deep-frying technique.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for a pub-inspired beer-battered fish sandwich that's easy enough to make on a weeknight. Cod fillets are dredged in flour and cornstarch before being dipped in a spiced beer batter and fried to crispy perfection. Served on a bun with lettuce and a generous spread of homemade tartar sauce, these sandwiches will transport you to your favorite pub garden on a sunny day. The tender, flaky cod is cooked just the right amount and goes perfectly with the crispy breading, and the creamy sauce enhances each bite.

For this recipe, you will first make tartar sauce with mayonnaise, dill pickles, lemon juice, Dijon, dill, salt, and black pepper. For the beer batter, you will need all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, baking powder, garlic powder, sweet paprika, and your favorite beer. The recipe calls for cod fillets, which are a good choice because cod is a white fish that fries well and has a substantial and flaky bite. You'll need all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper as well to dredge the fillets before breading them. Finally, gather a high-heat oil for frying, as well as buns and lettuce or an equivalent amount of other greens like spring mix for serving.

Place the mayonnaise, pickles, lemon juice, Dijon, dill, salt, and pepper in a bowl and stir well to mix. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Place ½ cup flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and the baking powder, garlic powder, and paprika in a bowl. Whisk well to combine.

Slowly pour in the beer while whisking until smooth. Set the batter aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Place 3 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Pat the cod fillets dry and place them in the bowl with the dry seasoned flour and cornstarch. Turn them until evenly coated and set aside.

Pour enough oil into a medium heavy-bottomed pan to cover the fillets and heat to 375 F.

Remove the beer batter from the refrigerator and dip the fillets in the batter, holding them up to drip off excess batter.

Carefully place the fillets in the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness, until they are golden and start to float. Work in batches, only frying as many as will fit in the pot in a single layer at one time.

Remove the fillets and place them on a paper towel-covered dish to absorb excess oil.

Place the fried fish on buns with lettuce beneath them and tartar sauce spread on top.

Serve immediately.

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There's not just one option when choosing the best oil for frying fish, but it's important to keep the smoke point of the oil in mind, as oils with high smoke points are safer for frying. The smoke point refers to the temperature at which an oil will produce visible smoke. Reaching the smoke point can give your food a burnt flavor but, more seriously, is associated with carcinogens forming in the oil. Safflower, sunflower, and peanut oils have a smoke point of 450 F, and canola oil has a smoke point of 400 F. You can fry fish in any of them, but many people prefer canola oil because it's nearer the 350-375 F temperature that's perfect for frying fish.

Avocado oil has a very high smoke point of 520 F, but it's also expensive, making canola oil within reach of more people. Olive oil is not recommended for frying, especially deep frying. Like avocado oil, it's expensive, and it only has a smoke point of 375 F. Reserve the special flavor of olive oil, in particular extra virgin olive oil, for salads and for dressing foods that are already cooked.

An added bonus of canola oil is that it absorbs minimal flavor from the food that is fried in it. Frying oil can be strained and reused several times, which is more economical and reduces waste, but not many people want everything they fry to smell or taste like fish.

Beer batter's main ingredients are flour and beer, which combine to form a thick and bubbly mixture that gives fried foods like fish and vegetables a light and crispy outer layer. Not everyone consumes or cooks with alcohol, though, so many people wonder if it's possible to make a nonalcoholic version of beer batter for fish or other foods.

First, let's look at what role beer plays in beer batter. The bubbles in beer keep the batter light and airy, so it doesn't get hard and heavy as it cooks. But that's not the whole story. Beer's proteins function like foaming agents, helping to make the batter even lighter because they trap the carbon dioxide bubbles. Finally, the alcohol in the beer batter cooks faster than non-alcoholic liquids, keeping the inside of the food moist and tender. Beer also contributes a flavor many people like.

There's no easy substitute quite like regular beer, but if that beverage is off the table, nonalcoholic beer can work well in batter. It provides carbonation and a beer flavor, but it doesn't produce as much foam so the batter doesn't won't be quite as light. For a nonalcoholic batter, you can substitute club soda, a carbonated nonalcoholic mixer, and still end up with a somewhat light batter, although it will be lighter on taste.

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