Beer Battered Halibut Bites

Name: Beer Battered Halibut Bites
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1½ lb halibut, skinless, thawed if frozen; Kosher salt; 2 quarts neutral oil for frying (canola, vegetable or peanut); DREDGE: ½ cup all-purpose flour + ¼ cup cornstarch + 1 tsp kosher salt; BATTER: 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup cornstarch, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp paprika; 12 oz cold lager (one can or bottle), straight from the fridge; Flaky salt and lemon wedges, to finish

Halibut cut into one-inch bites, pressed dry, dredged in seasoned flour and dropped through a cold lager batter into 365°F oil, three or four minutes until the shell is blond-gold and shatters. The fish inside stays white and flakes in big pieces. Pub fish and chips made into bar food, built to be dunked in two sauces.

Total time

40 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

play_circle Watch episode 291 push_pin Save

As seen on Episode 291

The pantry

kitchen

Essentials · serves 4

1½ lb halibut, skinless, thawed if frozen Kosher salt 2 quarts neutral oil for frying (canola, vegetable or peanut) DREDGE: ½ cup all-purpose flour + ¼ cup cornstarch + 1 tsp kosher salt BATTER: 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup cornstarch, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp paprika 12 oz cold lager (one can or bottle), straight from the fridge Flaky salt and lemon wedges, to finish

·

smart_display Watch the episode

The preparation

8 steps, about 40 minutes start to finish.

01
1. PRESS THE FISH DRY. Lay the halibut on a double layer of paper towels, top with more towels, press firmly. Change the towels and do it again. Cut into 1-inch pieces (a 1½ lb fillet gives about 30). Salt lightly and set on a plate in the fridge, uncovered, until the oil is ready.
02
2. HEAT THE OIL. 2 quarts in a Dutch oven or fry pot, no more than halfway up the sides, over medium-high to 365°F. Clip a thermometer to the pot. Set a wire rack over a sheet pan next to the stove.
03
3. THE DREDGE: stir the ½ cup flour, ¼ cup cornstarch and 1 tsp salt together in a shallow bowl.
04
4. THE BATTER, made last: whisk the 1 cup flour, ½ cup cornstarch, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika in a bowl. Pour in the cold beer and whisk just until it comes together. Lumps are fine. It should run off the whisk in a thick ribbon; a splash more beer if it is paste.
05
5. BATCH ONE: toss 6 or 7 pieces in the dredge, shake off the extra, drop them through the batter with a fork, let the excess drip for a second, and lower each one into the oil away from you. Do not crowd the pot.
06
6. FRY 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the shell is deep blond-gold and the pieces float high. Lift to the rack with a spider. Flaky salt immediately.
07
7. Let the oil come back to 365°F, then the next batch. Four or five batches for the whole fillet.
08
8. Lemon wedges, both sauces, eat them while they crackle.

lightbulb The chef's notes

“Dry fish and cold batter are the two things that decide the whole plate, and both are free. The dredge is the glue: it gives the batter something to hold that is not wet fish. If the shell is pale and soft, the oil was under 340; if it is dark before the fish is done, the pieces were too big. Fried fish does not keep, so make the batch you will eat and fry the rest tomorrow from the dredge, with a fresh beer.”