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Shore thing: Beer-battered fish and chips

Recipes from 'The Summer Shack Cookbook'

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Shore thing: Fish & chips
May 21: Break out the tartar sauce! Chef Jasper White shows TODAY's Al Roker a tasty summer seafood recipe from his cookbook.

Today Show Kitchen

TODAY
updated 2:09 p.m. ET May 25, 2007

You don't have to visit the shore to have great fish and chips.

Seafood chef Jasper White shows you how to make this classic summer dish from start to finish.

Here are the recipes from "The Summer Shack Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Shore Food."

Beer-Battered Fish
"The Summer Shack Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Shore Food" by Jasper White

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

About 6 cups peanut, canola, or other vegetable oil for deep-frying
1-1/2 pounds (or a little more) skinless fish fillets (large flounder and fluke, haddock, hake cod, Pollock, ocean perch, or tautog), cut into 4 thin (less than 3/4 inch) slices
About 3 tablespoons Spiced Seafood Salt (page 168), or salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-cup all-purpose flour

For the batter

1 cup of cornstarch
One 12-ounce can beer or ale
1 large egg
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

For the tarter sauce

3 cups Hellmann's mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 large lemon (2 tablespoons)
1/2 onion, minced (1/3 cup)
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
4 medium dill pickle spears, minced (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Recipe continues below ↓
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DIRECTIONS

The batter can be made several hours in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.

1.    To make the batter: Combine the flour, cornstarch, beer, egg, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk well. The batter will be very light-slightly thinner than a regular pancake batter. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or up to 3 hours. 

2.    Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 F in a 4-to-5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat or in a deep fryer. 

3.    While the oil is heating, dry the fish fillets between several thicknesses of paper towels. Season with the spiced salt (or salt and pepper). Drop the fillets into the batter and toss with tongs to coat evenly.

4.    When the oil is hot, lift the fillets one by one from the batter with the tongs, letting excess batter drip back into the bowl, and lower them into the oil, holding each fillet suspended in the oil for a few seconds to set the batter and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. The temperature of the oil will drop when the fish is added, but you overheated the oil, to 375 F, to compensate for this. Don't let the oil come back over 350 F once it recovers. Fry the fillets until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer them to the paper towel-lined baking sheet with tongs. Serve the fish hot with the French Fries, coleslaw, tartar sauce, lemon wedges, and malt vinegar.

For the tarter sauce:

1.    Combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, onion, parsley, pickles, capers, and eggs in a large bowl and whisk well to combine.  Transfer to a bowl or another container; cover tightly, and refrigerate until ready to use.   Tartar sauce keeps refrigerated for up to one week.

TIPS

Serve with Boardwalk French Fries for a great summer meal.

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