Crispy, golden, and perfectly flaky—this Beer-Battered Fish and Chips brings a taste of the UK right to your kitchen! Served with homemade “chips”, aka fries, and classic mushy peas or tartar sauce for the ultimate comfort meal.
I’ve decided to say farewell to our old European companions with a traditional dish of theirs: the famous Fish and Chips. More precisely, a Brown Ale Beer-battered Fish and Chips. Since Brexit is bitter for many, why not use their “bitter beer” to make the batter? Plus, it’s served with two sensational traditional dips of homemade mushy sweet peas and tartar.
Fun Facts about Fish and Chips
Here are a few fun facts about this beloved dish!
- They were served in cone-shaped newspapers until the 80s to absorb the fat; they’ve stopped using them because of the hazardous ink contact with food.
- The word batter comes from the French word battre, which means to whisk together, in this case, the flour and beer.
- Traditional Fish and Chips were served with salt and malt vinegar.
- The Jews brought the idea of fried fish from Spain/Portugal in the 16th century, while Chips (Fries) came a bit later from Belgium.
- National Fish & Chip Day is traditionally celebrated on the first Friday of June each year.
Fish and Chips Around the World
This crispy classic has travelled far beyond the UK! In Australia, it’s all about tartar sauce, while Denmark loves a marmalade dip. Scotland enjoys it with brown sauce; in Belgium, it’s served with mayonnaise. Curry sauce, mushy peas, and ketchup are now popular additions, and last but not least, they even sprinkle sugar on their fish and chips in China.
The Dips
For this particular bitter Fish and Chips, I thought a sweet side dish would do magic to counter the bitterness. The popular mushy pea dip on the side, eaten with fries/chips, is healthy and easy to make fresh. As for the white sauce, it’s a homemade tartar sauce, capers, gherkins (pickles), and mayonnaise. Typically, the dish is served on a newspaper sheet, which would have been ideal here, with the headline about Brexit. I’ll have to prepare better next time I do a theme dish.
Other Fish Dishes
Beer-battered Fish and Chips
Ingredients
- 4 Hake Fillets (Cod or Haddock)
Batter
- 150 g flour
- 275 ml bitter English beer
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 egg white
- 1 tsp baking soda
- salt and pepper
The Chips (aka Fries)
- 4 long potato
- 1 L peanut oil (or any frying oil)
- salt and pepper
Mushy Pea
- 100 g frozen sweet pea
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime (or lemon)
- salt and pepper
Tartar Sauce
- 5 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 small gherkin (pickle)
- 1/2 onion
- 1 handful parsley
Instructions
Fish
- Whisk all the batter ingredients in a large bowl until homogeneous. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Chips (aka Fries)
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into thick 1 cm sticks. Add them to cold water and rest for 10 minutes to release some starch.
Deep Frying
- Pat dry the chips (fries) with a paper towel. Depending on the quantity and size of the oil pot, make small batches at a time, starting at 130°C (250°F) for 8-10 minutes to cook through. Then let the chips rest on a paper towel until the second fry.
- Give the chips a second dip at 180°C (350°F) to create a golden crust. Let it rest again on a paper towel to absorb the oil.
Baked
- Add the chips in a big bowl with 1 tbsp of oil (sunflower, peanut, olive) and salt and mix.
- Add the raw Chips to a parchment-covered oven tray and cook in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for 40 minutes or until golden.
Mushy peas
- Boil about a cup or two of water with salt in a saucepan. Add the frozen peas, and cook for 2-3 minutes until bright green.
- Drain and rinse in cold water.
- Blend all the ingredients with an immersion blender until you have a mushy texture.
Tartar Sauce
- Blend the gherkin/pickle, capers, parsley, and onion in the small food processor.
- In a small bowl, add the blended mix to the mayonnaise and mix it up.
Frying the Fish
- In a wok or deep frying machine, bring the oil to 190°C (375°F).
- Rinse, pat dry, and salt and pepper the fish fillets.
- On a plate, add flour and cover each fish fillet with flour.
- Dip the fillet in the batter.
- Add the battered fish carefully to the hot oil. Cook for about 4 minutes, turning it mid-time, until light brown and crunchy.
- When done, rest the fish fillets on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
Notes
Nutrition
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