Beer Battered Fish

It's bathing suit season, so what better time to supply you with tons of recipes for fried foods?!  Every week in June I will be bringing you a recipe for something fried and oh-so-delicious.  Delicious in a way only fried foods can be.  Also, they will be stinky in a way only fried foods can be.  For those who have ever fried anything at home, you know that you could never get away with secretly frying something and hoping your roommate wouldn't know.  They will always know, because your house smells, well, fried for about 24 hours.  Luckily fried food is worth the smell and the calories.  So let's get to frying, shall we?

John and I absolutely adore fish and chips, and John especially orders it about half the time it pops up on a menu.  I'm not quite so brave, because a bad fish and chips is pretty bad.  Blechmania.

After making beer battered fish at home and realizing it was a) incredibly easy and b) the best fried fish I've ever had, I may not ever order it at a restaurant again.  I'm becoming a bad restaurant patron.  The more things I learn how to make, the more annoyed I am that places can't figure out how to make it properly when I use a simple recipe and get it right on the first try.  I'm not talking rocket science, obviously.

The crust on this fish is everything you hope for in beer battered fish, crispy, thick, and fried to perfection.  I used a Paula Deen recipe, because I think we all know she would know how to fry up some fish.  Well guess what, you can now know how to try up some fish too, and you will be amazed at how picture perfect it comes out!  It's worth stinkin' up your house for this amazing fried fish!

Beer Battered Fish
From Paula Deen

1 bottle of beer
2 cups flour, divided
Shake of kosher salt
Small shake of black pepper
Shake of garlic powder
1 1/2 pounds cod fillets (without skin or bones), cut into 1 inch wide diagonal strips

Preheat canola oil in dutch oven to 375 degrees.  Depending on the size of your pot, you will need varying amounts of oil, but make sure the oil is at least 2 inches high.

In a large bowl, pour 1 bottle of beer.  Sift in 1 1/2 cups of flour and whisk gently until combined.  Add one large shake of kosher salt, a small shake of black pepper, and a shake of garlic powder and whisk to combine.  Cut cod into 1 inch-wide diagonal strips and pat dry.  Season with salt and pepper on both sides.  Dredge the fish pieces in the remaining 1/2 cup flour and dip in beer batter.  Add several pieces of battered fish to the oil at one time, but not so many that the oil is overcrowded or the fish will stick together.  Make sure to mix the oil after adding the fish so the pieces don't stick.  Turn the fish frequently and cook until cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and season with salt immediately.  Keep warm in a 225 degree oven while cooking the rest of the fish.  Serve hot with tartar sauce, recipe follows.

Tartar sauce

3 large spoonfuls of mayonnaise
1 forkful of sweet pickle relish
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Lots of kosher salt and black pepper

Whisk together all ingredients and serve with fried fish.  Use more mayonnaise if you want it thicker.