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This post is all about how to make the best fish and chips that will stay crispy for hours after you make them. You’ll love these halibut fish and chips because they are perfectly seasoned and dunked in a thick beer batter and fried until puffy and crunchy.
Have you been looking for the best fish and chips recipe? One that you could count on to be perfectly seasoned with an ultra-crispy beer-battered crunch that stays crisp for hours?
Look no further, these authentic British pub style fish and chips may just be the best you’ve ever had! These tender halibut fish and chips are flaky and tender on the inside with a crunchy beer-infused batter that puffs up and leaves a lasting crunch.
Included in this post is a recipe for my incredible homemade tartar sauce and ultra-crispy oven fries. As much as we love tartar sauce, there is one other surprising condiment that pairs perfectly with fish and chips…
This post is all about how to make the best fish and chips with a puffy beer-batter that stay crispy for hours!
What Makes These Fish and Chips The Best?
Stay-Crisp Crunchy Puffy Batter – that literally stays crispy for hours. The baking powder and beer are imperative in creating the absolute crave worthy crispy crunch that puffs up, just like you’d get at a British pub.
Perfectly Seasoned – not only does the beer add a depth of flavor, but the added seasonings provide balanced out flavorful fish strips. Where most recipes just call for salt and pepper, this has a variety of seasonings that pack a punch.
Homemade Tartar Sauce – ok, if this is not the best tartar sauce you’ve ever had I’ll be stunned! It’ s creamy, fresh and tangy. Fresh dill, minced pickles, mayo, a dash of sugar and lemon juice make this a addictive dip for these fish and chips!
Ponzu Sauce – this is an unexpected condiment to dip your fried fish in. Introduced to me by my parents favorite restaurant, Avanti in West Linn. The ponzu sauce is the perfect dip for enjoying your fish and chips. You can also use malt vinegar, but give Ponzu sauce a try and it may just be your new favorite dip-dip!
How to Make The Best Fish and Chips:
There are a few important steps that make these puffy battered fish strips PERFECT every time!
- Cornstarch – we use corn starch twice in this recipe. First, in the dusting step and again in the batter.
- Beer – ice cold pale ale beer must be added to the batter immediately before you drop the fish into the oil. If you make the batter too far ahead or mix it too much, you will rid the batter of the bubbles that make this so light and crispy.
- Perfect oil temp: if the oil isn’t hot enough, you’ll get soggy and oily breading. If it’s too hot, the outside with darken rapidly before the inside batter cooks, resulting in mushy breading when you bite or the fish simply won’t be cooked before the breading is cooked.
- Landing station: do not place the freshly fried fish pieces onto paper towels. They trap moisture against the breading and will turn soggy in minutes. Instead, place these directly onto a cooling rack, allowing them to breath and the excess oil to drip away.
- Proper reheating – if you are working in batches, use the oven set to warm to keep the finished pieces warm and toasty. To reheat the fish from room temperature or refrigerated, place them in the oven at 400 degrees to return them to crispy.
Let’s Talk About the “Chips” (Fries):
The ultra-crispy homemade fries are made in the oven with a fail-proof method that is so simple. It doesn’t require par-boiling nor will it require frying. I prefer oven fries when frying other foods because we all know that frying in batches can be time consuming. And your fried fish is best enjoyed immediately. So in this recipe, we bake the fries simultaneously as the fish fries.
You can also use frozen fries if you’re looking to skip steps or if you prefer to fry them you can do that as well.
I learned this oven fry recipe from the geniuses at America’s Test Kitchen. These oven fries use a very unique method, created by Lan Lam.
Here is how to make these ultra-crispy fries
Step 1: Heat up a mixture of cornstarch and water until it turns to a pudding-like texture and coat the fries
Step 2: Spray a pan with non-stick spray and add oil to coat. Place coated fries and cover in foil.
Step 3: Bake covered for 15 minutes at 425 so the potatoes bake.
Step 4: Remove foil and bake for another 15 mins. Flip fries and bake again ensuring they are crispy on both sides.
Step 5: Toss the potatoes in a paper towel lined bowl to remove excess grease and sprinkle with sea salt.
Tools I Use For The Best Fish and Chips
Dutch Oven in 6-8 Quart Size
I love using dutch ovens for frying. Not only do they maintain and distribute heat evenly but they provide me with a better sense of security than a standard pot. If you own a dutch oven, you’ll know these ceramic pots are massively heavy. So that makes them less prone to accidents in the kitchen. For clumsy cooks like me who tend to multi-task in the kitchen, these are perfect! I knock stuff over and have gotten my shirt sleeve caught on a pan handle (yes this has happened!). Reducing the likelihood that I will create a terrible and potentially detrimental accident in my kitchen is my #1 priority. So I always reach for heavy pots like cast iron or ceramic when frying.
Taylor Candy Thermometer for Frying
Thermometers are imperative to accurate frying and safety. You’d be surprised how fast temperatures can spike without warning and no matter how experienced I have gotten in the kitchen. There is no way to master oil temperatures without a thermometer.
Full Sheet Baking Pan
Most of us have half-sheets which are the standard pan you find at Target or home stores. But a full-sheet pan is the width of a standard oven and allows so much more room for baking. It’s perfect for these oven fries so you can bake up enough fries for the whole family or to ensure leftovers.
Pyrex Glass Bowls
Pyrex bowls are used in almost all of my recipes and in this case, I use them for the batter and they are microwave safe for cornstarch batter for the fries. What I love the most is that these nesting bowls allow easy storage when not in use.
Looking for more craveable recipes?
Blackened Salmon BLT Sliders. Firecracker Cajun Salmon Fried Chicken Tacos with Street Corn
Meat Lover’s Pizza Dip Brisket Street Corn Tacos
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I hope you enjoy this these incredible fish and chips as much as we did. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback! If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
The Best Fish and Chips That Stay Crispy
Ingredients
Beer-Battered Fish
- 1.5 lbs halibut, skinless and boneless or similar white fish fillets: sea bass, cod, snapper, etc.
- 5 cups peanut oil for frying or vegetable oil
- Ponzu sauce or malt vinegar for serving
- lemon wedges for serving
- Flaky finishing salt for sprinkling
Cornstarch Dusting
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Ultra-Crispy Beer Batter
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 cup very cold beer IPA/pale ale or similar. Avoid dark beers
Tartar Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup dill pickles, finely chopped and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped OR 1 tsp horseradish optional
Crispy Thick-Cut Oven Fries
- vegetable oil non-stick cooking spray
- 4-5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed clean, skin left on about 4-5 large potoates. I prefer the long and flatter ones to get straight fries rather than wedges
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2/3 cup water
- sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
Prepping
- Prepare fish by cutting to your desired size, I do a variety of long pieces and shorter square pieces: 5" by 1.5" and some 3" x 2.5".
- In a medium bowl whisk together: flour, cornstarch, baking powder and seasonings. Set aside until oil is heated. DO NOT add beer at this step.
Dust Fish & Prepare Oil
- In a shallow dish, add the 1/2 cup of cornstarch for dusting the fish.
- Prepare frying station by heating oil to 375 degrees in a fry-safe pot, with thermometer attached. Place a wire rack nearby for draining. **See notes for when to start your oven fries.
- While oil is heating, coat the fish pieces in cornstarch on all sides to dust them.
Beer Batter
- Remove beer from the fridge and whisk into the flour mixture slowly until just combined but still a little clumpy. Do no overmix. The batter should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but not too thick and not runny. Add beer a splash as a time to get the batter just right. Use immediately!
- Working in batches of 3-4 pieces at a time, dunk fish pieces into the batter, fully coating them. Allow excess to drip off and then place into the hot oil. Keep an eye on the oil temp as it usually drops once fish is added. Adjust as needed to keep it at 375 degrees.
- Fry for a total of 3-4 minutes, flipping half way through. They should be a deep golden brown.
- Place finished pieces on cooling rack with paper towels placed under the rack to catch falling oil. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Oven-Fries
- Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425°F. Generously spray rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Pour oil into prepared sheet and tilt until surface is evenly coated with oil.
- Trim off the rounded edges on all four sides to creat a flatter potato. Halve potatoes lengthwise and turn halves cut sides down on cutting board. Cut into fries to your desired thickness; about 1/4-1/2" thick slices.
- Whisk together water and cornstarch in large bowl, making sure no lumps of cornstarch remain on bottom of bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds, until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from microwave and continue to stir until mixture thickens to the ideal pudding-like consistency. Add 1-2 tbsp of water if it gets too thick.
- Transfer potatoes to bowl with cornstarch mixture and toss until each plank is evenly coated. Arrange planks on prepared sheet, leaving small gaps between planks. Cover sheet tightly with lightly greased aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove foil from sheet and bake until bottom of each fry is golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Use a metal spatula to carefully flip each fry, rotatoe pan and continue to bake until second sides are golden brown, 10-15 minutes longer.
- When fries are perfectly golden crispy on both sides, remove from oven and add to a large paper towel lined bowl. Toss fries around, patting them with paper towels to remove excess oil and sprinkle fries with salt.
Tartar Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust if needed to your liking. Refrigerate until ready to use. Lasts in the fridge for about 5-7 days.
I THINK THIS FISH CHIPS RECIPE IS GREAT.I LOVE IT AND I ALSO THINK EVERY BODY SHOULD TRY THIS,AND I ALSO LIKE TO QOUTE THAT SHE EXPLAINED THE RECIPE
wow amazing recipe is this. I just love this recipe. Mind-blowing recipe.