30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: Beer Battered Fish

I don't do a lot of cooking with fish at home, which is a shame since living close to the ocean, we have access lots of great fresh fish and seafood. When my sister in law Margaret told me that she had recently made beer battered fish for dinner and that it was really yummy, I decided to add it to my list of 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30. 

Let's take a look at how I am doing on my list:

1. Cornish Hens [Check!]

2. Homemade Salsa [Check!]

3. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

4.  Noodles from scratch (Recipe from Jody)

5. Cheese Souffle 

6. Blueberry Pie

7. Homemade Marshmallows

8. She Crab Soup (Famous in the area where we live!)

9. Beef Pot Roast [Check!]

10. Julia Childs' Bearnaise Sauce [Check!]

11. Monkey Bread 

12. Yeast Bread

13. Sweet Potato Soup [Check!]

14. Julia Childs' Poulet au Porto [Check!]
15. Homemade Pretzels with Homemade Mustard Dip [Check!]

16. Scones

17. Beer battered fish [Check!]

18. Homemade Granola [Check!]

19. Rack of lamb (Thanks Cheryl)

20. Pasties (Recipe from A. Chris)  [Check!]
21. Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Rolls
22. Lasanga [Check!]
23. Eggplant Parmesean
24. Fettucine Alfredo (Recipe from Mary)
25. English Muffins
26. German Potato Salad
27. Giada De Laurentiis's Mushroom Pesto Sauce
28. Rib Eye Steak with Pan Jus
29. Chicken Braised in Red Wine
30. Bean Burgers (Recipe from Margaret) [Check!]

So I have completed 12 of the 30 recipes. My 30th birthday is in March, so I have 10 months to complete the remainder of the 18 recipes. I need to get crackin'!

I found this recipe for beer battered fish on Tasty Kitchen. Once I saw that the recipe called for Yeungling, one of our favorite beers, I was sold. We used cod because it was fresh at the fish counter and the fish lady recommended it, but the original recipe calls for haddock or pollock. The cod tasted really great, but was super flaky and didn't transition well from the frying pan to the paper towel to our plate. Overall this was a great recipe and very fun to make.

Beer Battered Fish

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

6 pieces of haddock or your choice of white fish (approximately 24 ounces)

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup mild

12 ounces of beer

1 1/2 cups oil for frying (canola or vegetable)

Directions

Rinse fish well under cold water and pat dry. Begin heating cast iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed frying pan and proceed with batter.

Measure flour and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Add milk and about 1/4 of the beer, stirring until blended. Add more beer in small amounts, incorporating it into the batter until reach a pancake batter consistency.

When the oil has reached 325 degrees (place a dollop of the batter in the oil and if it sizzles immediately, you are ready to fry), coat one piece of fish with batter on both sides and lay carefully in the hot oil. 

Fry fish for approximately 3 minutes until the underside has turned a medium golden brown. Turn the fish to cook the other side, approximately 2 minutes or until it reaches that same golden color. Remove cooked fish to a bed of paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining fish pieces. Serve with homemade tartar sauce and more beer!!