Beer Battered Fish & Chips with Homemade Tartar Sauce

This dish has three components but they are all fairly simple to execute and it is definitely worth it in the end! I used fresh cod, although you can use any white fish you prefer and you can also opt to use frozen fish as well. I made the tartar sauce first and put it in the refrigerator until the dish was completely ready to serve. This fed two adults and one child with plenty to spare. Yum!

Main Ingredients

1 lb of fresh cod

2 russet potatoes

1 cup of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

Vegetable Oil for frying (enough to submerge fish fillets completely)

Optional fish topping: Malt Vinegar

Optional seasonings for chips: Salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley

Beer Batter Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

7 tablespoons milk

½ tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon water

Pinch of salt

6 tablespoons of beer or seltzer water (I used an IPA- you can use any beer you prefer.)

Tartar Sauce Ingredients

6 Gherkins- chopped very small (Pickles)

1 shallot- chopped very small

1 tablespoon capers

1 cup sour cream (can substitute plain Greek yogurt if preferred)

1 lemon

2 tablespoons mayo

2 teaspoons mustard (I used horseradish mustard)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

*Make tartar sauce first so it can be refrigerated while preparing everything else.*

Chop gherkins, shallot and capers up very small.
Add juice of 1 lemon, mayo, mustard and sour cream.
Stir to combine and add salt/pepper to taste.
Optional step: I blended mine to make it a little more creamy before refrigerating.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

*Chips- I used an oven method but you could also fry these if you preferred.*

Preheat oven to 450. Boil a pot of salted water. Put foil on a baking sheet.
Peel and slice russet potatoes into fry shaped pieces, about an inch thick.
Once water is boiling, add all fry shaped pieces of potatoes- slow boil for 8 minutes.
Strain potatoes and toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. I also used my delicious French Fry Salt (pictured) from local spice company Spicin’ and Dicin. Highly recommend!
Add a bit more olive oil to foil on baking sheet and throw the potatoes on.
Put into oven and set timer for 10 minutes.

*Finally the Fish!*

While “chips” are baking in the oven, prepare the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and then the beer batter recipe in a separate dish.
For beer batter recipe, whisk all ingredients together EXCEPT for the beer.
I don’t have a fryer so I filled a big pot with vegetable oil and heated on stove. While oil is heating up, add beer to batter and stir in. It should be the consistency of heavy whipping cream or yogurt.
When 10 minutes are up on your “chips”, flip them and set the timer for another 10 minutes. This should be enough time for them to get crispy and golden brown.
Use thermometer to check temperature of oil. Once it is 350 degrees, dredge your fish fillets (I did two at a time) in the flour/salt/pepper mixture and shake off the excess.
Submerge fish fillets in the batter and then slowly drop in the oil. They should immediately start to simmer.
Fry fish for about 7 minutes- the fillets should be crispy and golden brown before taking out of oil and resting on paper towels to drain excess oil.
When all fillets are crispy, serve with your chips and homemade tartar sauce.
I used both malt vinegar and the tartar on the fish and it was delicious. Enjoy!