Beer battered flathead
Fish and chips is the perfect takeway when you are by the seaside but finding a great fish and chip shop is no easy task. The fish should be fresh, the batter to be light and crispy and the chips to be thick and crunchy.
To make sure you get what your after, making this at home is not as hard as it looks, all you need is fresh fish, flour and cold, cold beer. I love to use flathead fillets but you can use snapper, bream, whiting or morwong or really what ever you have caught or bought would be great to batter. Enjoy!
Beer battered flathead and chips with tartare sauce
serves 4
4 medium Desiree potatoes (Desiree), unpeeled cut into wedges
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs chopped rosemary
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups cold beer
Vegetable or canola oil, to deep-fry
8 small flathead fillets (or other boneless white fish)
Lemon wedges, to serve
Green salad leaves, to serve
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place potato on tray. Drizzle with olive oil sprinkle with rosemary leaves and season with salt and pepper. Cook in oven, turning occasionally, for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, when the wedges are halfway through cooking, place the flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Make a well in the centre of the flour and gradually add the cold beer. Gradually whisk in the beer until batter is smooth being careful not to overmix.
Heat oil in a deep saucepan or wok to 190°C over high heat (when oil is ready a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 10 seconds or use the handle of a wooden spoon – see tips).
Pat fish fillets dry and coat fish with beer batter, drain off excess and cook in batches in hot oil for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat with remaining fish and batter, reheating oil between batches.
Divide fish and wedges among serving plates. Season with sea salt flakes.
If you want that take away feeling wrap them up in butcher paper and serve with tartare sauce, salad and lemon wedges and of course a nice cold beer.
Tips
- If you don’t have a deep fryer, a wide, shallow wok is ideal for deep-frying.
- don’t overcrowd your pan, make sure it is the right temperature. Place the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil and if bubbles appear immediately around the handle its ready.
- This recipe’s batter is also good with other seafood, such as prawns, or vegies such as zucchini flowers. For variety,sprinkle the szechuan mix from the salt and pepper squid recipe over the cooked fish. Yum!
- Cooled leftover deep-frying oil can be strained through a fine sieve and reused a further 1 to 2 times. Store in the cool part of your pantry.
