English Style Fish (Cod, Halibut and Haddock)
Ingredients
- – 2 lbs Fresh fish-Cod is preferred, Halibut and Haddock will work.
- -Salt as needed for the fish.
- -Pepper as needed for the fish.
- -Old Bay seasoning as needed.
- – Oil as needed. I prefer peanut or high smoke point vegetable oil.
- -1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour.
- -1 cup of rice flour.
- -1/2 cup cornstarch.
- -1 can of beer ice cold
- -4 oz. vodka ( yes Vodka it evaporates quicker than water and makes your batter crispier).
- -1 heaping tbsp. of baking powder.
- 1 tsp kosher salt.
- 1 tsp pepper.
- 1tbsp Old Bay seasoning.
- -1 cup of seasoned flour to dredge fish before frying
Instructions
Prep :Season your fish, pre set your oil to 315 degrees in a deep fryer or large cast iron Dutch Oven. Use a candy thermometer to get the perfect temperature of the oil if using a Dutch Oven.
In a large bowl combine all your dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Add your Beer and Vodka to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Batter should not be overly thick, if its like pancake batter its too thick and add more beer.
- Notice the bubbles in the batter this a good sign of a light crispy batter.
Let your batter rest for 15 min this lets the baking powder and beer and vodka react
Dip fish in flour dredge then into the batter , grab the fish with a set of tongs if you are not comfortable using your finger to place the fish in the hot oil. Don’t drop it, slowly immerse the fish in the oil. The fish will start cooking and not drop to the bottom of the deep fryer. Cook your fish for about 5 min or till lightly brown. We will be using a 2 step method to cook the fish. An initial blanch, then a finish cook and crisp at a higher oil temperature. Once fish is lightly browned , remove from hot oil and place in a dish with paper towel.
Heat your oil to 365 degrees . Once the oil has reached its temperature, drop the blanched fish back in the hot oil. Cook to the fish floats in the oil and is a golden brown. Remove from the oil and place in a serving dish lined with paper towel, can be served with chips or homemade fries.
Final thoughts
English Style Fish is a great meal, I have been fortune enough to do some big fish fries for family reunions and for friends. Couple of pointers, always use fresh fish when you can. If you are using frozen fish, it needs top be completely thawed out and all the moisture removed from the fish. Always season your fish. And always use fresh oil when possible, it produces the lightest tastiest fish.
