This Crispy Beer Batter Fish Recipe is made with basic ingredients and creates a crunchy coating around flaky, tender white fish! Fried fish is great with homemade Tartar Sauce or used to make crispy fish tacos!
We’ve been on a mission to clear out our freezer, so when I came across some fish that my husband had caught last year I knew exactly what I wanted to make!
Gone are the days of boring, soggy fish sticks, these crispy coated fish are flaky, crunchy and perfectly seasoned!
How To Make Beer Batter Fish Fry
I’ll be honest, I am NOT a drinker, so while I don’t ever have beer in my fridge, that won’t stop me from buying it specifically for this recipe. The beer gives the batter that light airy texture, creating a thin, yet crispy coating that’s totally crave-able.
Here’s what you’ll need for the beer batter:
- All Purpose Flour
- Garlic Powder – adds great flavor to the batter
- Paprika – gives the batter a nice flavor, while also helping give a nice golden brown color
- Seasoned Salt – feel free to adjust salt levels to taste
- Egg – helps to create a nice texture and bind things together
- Beer – the type of beer doesn’t really matter, I like to use a dark amber beer like Dos Equis
*There’s no need to be concerned with alcohol consumption and this recipe, as the alcohol will get cooked off when the fish is fried in oil.
What Type of Fish is Best For Frying?
I have tested a few types of fried fish and I’ve had the best results with white fish, namely using an Alaskan COD FISH. The cod fish had the best flake and texture in my opinion. Here are some other types of fish that would work great:
- Alaskan Cod
- Tilapia
- Halibut – also one of my favorites, but can be a bit pricy
- Striped Bass
- Shrimp – use raw shrimp, not precooked
How To Get Crispy Fried Fish Every Time
There are a few things to watch out for in order to get perfectly crisp and flaky fried fish. Don’t worry, it’s actually super easy and results in success every time!
- Dry and Season – Pat down the fish with paper towels and then season each piece of fish with salt and pepper prior to being dipped in the batter.
- Oil Temperature – If your oil is not hot enough, you could end up with an oversaturated coating that is soggy and unappetizing. If your oil is too hot, you’ll end up burning the outside of the fish coating, not giving the fish inside enough time to get cooked and flaky.
- If your fryer doesn’t keep track of the temperature for you, invest in a cooking thermometer to keep your oil at a constant temperature of 375 degrees F.
- Don’t Over Crowd – Placing too many pieces of fish into the fryer at a time will quickly drop the temperature of your oil, which is no good. Start with just a few pieces of fish at a time, giving them ample time to fry and get nice and crispy.
- Use a Cooling Rack – You worked hard (ok, not too hard) to get that crispy fish coating, don’t lose it by setting the fish on paper towels or newspapers to drain. This action will cause steam to form between the fish and the coating, making your fried fish quickly lose that crisp coating. Use a cooling rack to keep that coating nice and crisp!
Can you just hear that crunchy coating? Oh man, this fried fish is seriously so delicious!
What to Serve with Fried Fish
- Homemade Tartar Sauce – seriously the best!
- Make your own french fries or use the frozen kind and toss in the oil with the fish.
- We love wrapping the fish up in flour or corn tortillas and serving with coleslaw and pickled onions for a quick crispy fish taco!
- Creamy Corn Salad or Classic Macaroni Salad would pair perfectly with this fish too.
Are you ready to get your fish fry on?! This Crispy Beer Batter Fish recipe will blow you away! Hope you enjoy it!
PS – I also have an incredible Fried Chicken Recipe that I’m sure you’ll love!
Crispy Beer Batter Fish Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. white fish, like cod or tilapia
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp seasoned salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 1/3 cups beer
- Canola oil for frying
Instructions
- Add oil to a large, heavy bottomed pot or deep fryer till it's about 2 to 3 inches deep. Heat oil to 375 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, cut fish into stick shapes, about 1 inch wide and 3 inches long. Pat dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- To make the beer batter, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, paprika and seasoned salt. Stir in the lightly beaten egg, then gradually whisk in the beer until the batter forms and is no longer lumpy.
- Quickly dip the fish one piece at a time into the batter, then place in the hot oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the fish is a nice golden brown. Drain on a wire rack and enjoy while hot!
Easy Tartar Sauce Recipe
Allen
Pat dry, Dredge then battered not crispy at all! Oil temp was right on. Good flavor but was expecting a crispy Cod!
Darlene
First try at this recipe. I used tilapia and a dark extra stout. Wonderful flavor, but the crust was a little thin. Its better thin than gloppy, though. Next time, it’s less beer for the batter – more for me. Thank you, Shawn!
WyndDancer
First time I ever made beer battered fish – no less my favorite fish, talapia. This recipe was quick and easy. Easy go to though it sounds like it takes a lot of time {which is why I have avoided it for 67 yrs}
GE
Recipe is great but the ammount of ads and pop-ups on the page.make it next to impossible to get to the actual recipe
Cheryl
I have tried many, many other recipes for beer batter and this one is by far one of the best if not the best. I followed her instructions to the letter, especially the drying of the fish. The fish came out perfectly crisp and seasoned. I’m a seasoned cook who when trying a recipe that is new to me follows the new recipe to the letter. After the first try if I liked it, I’ll put my “spin” on it. This recipe will not require a “spin”. Thank you!
Amy
Batter was very tasty! The hubs and I both liked it. I didn’t have seasoned salt on hand, so I subbed Tony Cachere’s creole seasoning. (I probably would’ve used the creole seasoning anyway because I put it in everything!) I had some temperature issues, but when the oil was good and hot, the fish cooked up golden and crispy.
Nigel
Tried this recipe twice to the exact and both times turned out soggy! Yes the oil temp was at 375f or greater and still no good. Very disappointed:(
Shawn
I’m sorry you had difficulty with the recipe Nigel. I don’t understand how your coating was soggy if you followed the directions. Did you lay the fish on paper towels or newspaper after cooking? It’s best to use a cooling rack so the steam inside doesn’t create a soggy breading.
Serena W
Giving 4 stars because it is a good recipe but 1 TBSP of paprika seemed like a lot to me so I did half of that…and glad I did. (Of course, that could just be my preference)
My fish, as well, came out soggy. I discovered the key is to dredge your fish pieces in flour first BEFORE, putting them in the batter. Home run! Made all the difference in the world.
Delicious! Thank you for your recipe.
mister chevious
mine was soggy also. just awful. is it possible the fish has too much moisture? i drained and seasoned but did not pat it dry.
Shawn
The best thing is to pat the fish dry before adding to the batter. If it’s too moist the fish will steam after it’s been fried and it will lose the crisp coating.
greg
best to pat filets dry then lightly dredge in flour before submerging in batter. the flour acts as a barrier between moist fish and wet batter, also it will chemically bond with moist surface of fish to protect outer layer from becoming soggy – though eventually fish will become soggy if you don’t eat it soon after frying!
Shawn
Thank you for your tips Greg! Appreciate it!
MaryRose Williams
I NO U ON POINT U RIGHT..
JD
Good recipe but I use half the season salt and add half and half flour and corn meal. Works great!
Rachel
I’ve made this for my family twice because we all love it, and I used an oatmeal stout as my beer for the prep.
TheAmazingMrFixit
Love this fish batter! Had a fish fry this past weekend and cooked up 7lbs of bass from Lake Lanier. The fish came out a beautiful golden brown, crispy, flaky and delicious. I followed the recipe. No dredging in flour before the batter. I expect that salting the fillets eliminates the need for that. Anyway, thanks so much! This batter was quick, easy and amazing!
Meaghan
Amazing fried fish recipe! It was my first time deep frying but I used a big dutch oven, a candy thermometer and heated it slowly and it worked out great! There was some temperature fluctuation with this method but the fish didn’t turn out soggy at all and it never went below 350F. I also didn’t realize I had run out of eggs so I used a tbsp of mayo and while I would like to try again with a whole egg, mayo worked great. I used a pilsner and it was delicious. Can you taste the difference in a beer batter depending on the beer? Thanks for a great recipe!
Chris
do you have to use beer for this recipe? thanks 🙂
NLA72
This has now become a staple part of our fish taco dinners. Amazing batter!
Shawn
So glad you are enjoying the recipe! Thank you for your comment!
Red
I really wanted to like this – I’m on a quest for the perfect fish and chips. It WAS was very tasty, but the batter went soggy REALLY quickly. I also used the batter on some butterflied shrimp, that was the biggest hit, but it was still a bit lackluster on the crunchiness. I’m not gonna give up, I’ll try again in my real deep fat fryer when I get home.
I think what could have went wrong was the fact that I was using a pot of oil with a candy thermometer, and anyone who’s fried that old skool way, knows how annoying it is to keep a consistent temp.
Shawn
Hey Red, based on your comment, I’m going to say the lack of crunch had a lot to do with the temperature of your oil. You don’t want to overcrowd your pot or it’ll drop the temperature and if it’s not at the right temperature your batter will just absorb a lot of that oil… creating that soggy texture. I would try again, and make sure to place the cooked fish on a wire rack to cool, not on paper towels. Hope that helps!
mister chevious
it’s not the oil temp
Mari
I use the “double fry” method and it was super crispy. I fried it at 350F until golden brown, let it cool on a wire rack (the steam will soften the coating some). When cool, I turn up the heat to 400F and put all the pieces back in (it’s okay to crowd during second fry) and fry for another 3-5 minutes until crispy. Hope that helps 🙂
Rick S.
A quick dusting with rice flour before dipping in batter (if you have it available) will help the batter stay crunchy longer after it is cooked. This batter is perfect the way it is (Thanks Shawn!), but if you will be cooking for a big faily ad the fish pieces will be sitting for a bit on the wire rack, the rice flour definitely makes a difference! Hope that helps, and HAPPY MUNCHIN’ !
Rick S.
I am SO sorry, I meant five-star this one !
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Rick!
Jeff
the batter has to be super cold. super cold beer and put it in the fridge for 15 minutes
Lorraine
Absolutely worth putting this recipe in family favourites. Crispy, easy and covers well. The only thing I would change is the spices. I like oregano, chili, and/or lemon herb.
Shawn
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe Lorraine!
Emily
I am shocked by the poor reviews. This was perfection. I can never get my husband to eat fish. He said he wants this once a week. Lol.
Thank you!
Lynn M LaMar
I have been a chef for many years, now retired. This is one of the BEST batters I’ve ever made. Light, airy, crispy…I was out of Paprika so I used cayenne paper which tasted quite spicy in the raw batter but cooked out with only deep flavor left behind on the fry. We never used eggs in our commercial Friday fish fry batter due to obvious safety (and cost) reasons but I will never make batter without that egg again! Outstanding!!! If you’re rackless, or you’re feeding an army, an ungreased sheet pan in a 200* oven will hold those early batches quite well.
Elysha
Excellent recipe! The ONLY changes I made: no paprika, instead put a tablespoon of onion powder in the dry mixture, everything else the same. I also only added a little over a cup of beer as I preferred the batter a little thicker. PHENOMENAL! My entire family loved it! Thanks!
Marianne Hawkes
Can this be made in an air fryer?
Ana
Made this batter for mushrooms and also for green beans, it was a hit! Very nice consistency! Also season the Pleurotus mushrooms and green beans with garlic and salt and patted them with flour before dipping them in the batter. Really good batter recipe!
Teresa Hellman
Best fish fry at home ever! I have not had much luck frying fish at home, but this was a breeze and it tasted soo good. Batter was not heavy and thick, but light and crispy once it was done. Draining the cooked fish also worked out well – even though I did not have a rack, so I used a metal colander – and it worked fine. I make the homemade tartar sauce as well and loved that… not sure I can go back to store bought again. Will definitely make this my “go to” recipe when frying fish.
Heather
Love the metal colander- you earned honorary girl scout of the day!
Elizabeth Heindell
I made this recipe exactly as written. Only difference was I used a dish towel to dry as I don’t do paper towel.
Holy moly!!! It was amazing! I had so extra batter so I fried some mushrooms and pickles and they were also amazing. Thank you !!!
Dan C.
Mushrooms and Pickles with leftover batter…… that’s a darn good idea, Elizabeth!!!!!!
Shawn, I am going to try this recipe as written, then if need be adjust the spices etc. That’s how we get what individually pleases us. I’ve noticed one guy doesn’t realize that LOL.
Lisa
this came out crispy! I only added enough beer to make the batter pancake consistency.
so the breading was pretty yummy. Thanks for the recipe.
Mark A. Trickett
I love good fish ‘n’ chips so like to make each batter as it is published. This one didn’t meet expectations for a number of reasons, including:
* Over-spiced (too much salt, why paprika?, way too much garlic);
* The egg doesn’t seem to do anything other than add
* Poor adhesion of the batter to the fish.
The over result was a too salty batter that was thin around the fish and, despite it being a thick batter, a really thin coating that broke around the fish exposing it to the oil and making the entire fish slimy.
As the comment of Stephen Gascoine, you definitely need to dredge in flour before putting it into the batter. This improves the adhesion issue.
Before making the batter, sprinkle some salt and pepper over the fillets and put them in the fridge for 10-20 minutes. The salt will draw more of the moisture out of the fish than just patting it down with a paper tower. This makes it easier to dredge and put through the batter.
Cut out all of the spices but sub back in a teaspoon of garlic powder and onion powder. If you want, some cayenne pepper. I would throw in some corn starch, too, and then add a dark beer (preferably a stout) until the mixture is the consistency of double cream (heavy cream, but a little thicker).
Despite being a thinner batter, the better adhesion produces a much better batter.
Shawn
Thanks for your input on the recipe Mark. To get the batter to adhere to the fish, you’ll want to make sure your fish is patted dry before dipping into the batter. If it’s still a little wet, it wont stick as well. It’s all about a light and airy batter with this recipe. The egg helps to make it puff up and give it that texture. If you’re concerned about the salt, please adjust to your taste preference.
Sharry
I used 1/2 recipe as I was only doing half a bag of cheese curds. I thought it was awesome. Dredged the curds in flour first, had no problems with it being too salty and it adhered to them great. Can’t wait to use it again A++
Veronica Moody
I made this, full of hope and it was dreadful. Soft and thin on the fish. I’ll stick to my own recipe in future
Shawn
It sounds like your oil wasn’t hot enough if the coating didn’t puff up and get crispy. I would try again and make sure your oil is at 375 degrees. Also make sure to pat your fish dry before coating with the batter!
Jerome
Not crispy at all, taste was terrible. Everyone in the group ended up tearing off the batter. Why you are adding garlic and paprika I have no idea. Look for something simpler it will allow the taste of the fish to come out.
Shawn
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the fish Jerome. Sounds like your oil wasn’t hot enough if your batter didn’t crisp up. If it’s not hot enough you’ll end up with a soggy coating that tastes more like oil than anything else. I recommend trying again and making sure your oil is at the right temperature. Don’t over crowd your pan either, this will drop the temperature of the oil as well.
Jeanette
Made the beer battered fish today and it was Damn perfect..crispy and tender!!!
Darc
Followed the recipe exact, minus some of the cooking oil because i wasnt sure if i had enough fish. Tried it on fresh caught walleye. BEAUTIFUL! Probably the best fish I’ve had in a long time. Definitely gonna check out your other recipes. Thanks!
Em
I followed the recipe exactly and it was fabulous. I wish I could submit a picture because mine turned out as pretty as the author’s.
For those experiencing soggy batter, it’s likely not the the batter but some details in the cooking method. Here are some tips (and most apply to all hot food):
1. Chill the batter first. Cold batter + hot oil = crispy coating.
2. Pat your fish dry until the last paper towel you use is almost dry.
3. Dredge fish in flour, then coat with batter (I didn’t do this for this recipe, but it can help).
4. Make sure your oil really is hot. Look for rapid swirls in the oil if you don’t have a thermometer. There is a sweet spot with the temp: not hot enough and the fish has to cook longer, soaking up more oil, making it soggy. Too hot and the batter will burn and the center of the fish will be raw.
5. Work in batches! When adding food to hot oil, the oil cools and gets back up to temp as you cook. Adding too much at once reduces the overall temp and food can also stick together, resulting in uneven cooking.
6. Preheat oven to 300 and place a cookie sheet with a wire rack to preheat, too. This allows air to circulate and moisture (esp oil) to drip rather than soaking into the batter. There’s a reason McDonald’s don’t drain their fries on paper towels!
7. Usually, floating food is fully cooked (it’s not fail safe, but it’s a good indicator). Flip the fish one last time if necessary and put on the rack.
I had batter left over and used these for onion rings, too. This is a versatile recipe.
Angela
Batter is light and crispy! Perfect.
Ron Forte
I had the same problem with the batter being too runny and not staying on the fish. Obviously you can add less liquid or more flour. What I did was add corn meal to it. SO MUCH BETTER! I used it to make chicken tenders and honestly I don’t think I’ve had better fried chicken ever! Also used it to make onion rings and they were better than what I’ve been served in most restaurants.
Lisa
This recipe was runny and didn’t stick to the fish.
Shawn
You’ll want to make sure your fish is patted dry before adding it to the batter. If you still think the batter is too thin, try whisking in a little more flour. But keep in mind that the batter will look thin, and should puff up when fried. Hope that helps!
Kellie
Great flavour and a great batter, it is true that the batter can come out a little thin, but it still makes a nice crunchy coating when cooked regardless. If you are having a tough time getting it to stick make sure your fish is dry, give it a little pat down with some paper towel and it’ll help it stick better. The drying rack will absolutely keep it crisper longer.
Chris Kunze
If you can’t have beer then move along. It is literally called “Beer Battered Fish”. He would be like going into a chat room about guns and being avert to shooting……And don’t change everything about it, then say it was great. I made it per the instructions and it came out perfect.
Nancy
Can this be done in an airfryer? For the person re: the beer, cant she use non alchoholic.beer?
DB
This recipe was disgusting. The batter was watery and thin. I decided to go with it because I usually like beer batter.
The batter was soggy 30 seconds after taking it from the pan and the flavour was bland. I wasted some really nice barramundi fillets on this recipe. Just terrible…
Rose Waldron
Batter was too thin. Use less beer next time
Steve Grant
Cooked fresh salmon. Added old bay and 2 tbsp corn meal. It was perfect. Can’t wait to try it for the big game. GO DAWGS!
R
The recipe is crap… the batter was too watery and fell off the fish 🙁 dinner ruined
DAY
You can always put less beer
Shawn
I’m sorry you didn’t have great results with the recipe. I would make sure you didn’t miss something when making it. Sounds like you might have left out an ingredient?
Phil
The batter was way too thin and didn’t stick to the fillets. And yes, I followed the recipe exactly as printed. The batter that did stick was way too garlicky which covered the delicate taste of the fish. I ruined 2lbs of fresh caught rock cod.
Shawn
I’m sorry you didn’t have great results. As you can see there are several reviews with great results, so I’m not sure where you went wrong? I’ve never had an issue with this recipe.
Detmike
Why would you not fry 1 or 2 small pieces for sampling, then adjust batter accordingly. Wasting 2 lbs. of fish is YOUR fault!
Chris
You didn’t dry your fish. Trust me, if it worked for me? You did it wrong.
Asia
I absolutely loved making this on yesterday. The crust was perfect on the outside, very crunchy and paired well with the cod. Thank you for this recipe, I can’t wait to share my batches with family and friends.
Shawn
Fantastic! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Asia!
Andrew C Hsu
Not sure what other reviewers are taking about. My rock cod came out perfect. The trick is to make sure fish is patted dry with lots of paper towels. Also, oil must be kept at 375 which is really hard if you are not using a lot of oil – temp will drop dramatically once you put fish in, so keep an insta-read thermometer handy to monitor the oil temp.
One additional tip is to let battet sit for about 10 minutes so the carbonation in the beer can do it’s magic with the batter…
David Carere
I decided to follow this recipe to a T. I cut up the fish, used a thermometer on the oil to 375, cookie rack for the cooked fish, seasoned the fish with salt and pepper. etc. It all added up.
Best battered fished I have ever eaten and I have eaten a lot ! You were right, I was blown away!
The battered turned out so crispy, light and tasty.
Thank you for this recipe.
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe David!
Paul H
It is an urban myth that alcohol burns off during cooking. It would literally take hours to burn off all the alcohol at 375. Please do not propagate this myth.
I entertain for many people in recovery, so have had to research this information. It is equally important for people on medications that react with alcohol.
Please see this USDA study. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fnic_uploads/Alcohol-Retention.pdf&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjT8PqO5ujzAhXCXc0KHTKyDiYQFnoECAoQAg&usg=AOvVaw1oNsQtu4-j14S-VlkUgSq1
Shawn
Interesting! Thanks for the information. I truly appreciate it!
Chris
Lol! That must be a blast! Why are you looking up beer recipes Dry out.
Dan
Then don’t make it or eat it! Problem solved!
Smokey
I have never cared for batter fried fish. I would always pick the breading off and eat the fish. With the runnyness of this recipe it came out with a thin crispy coating with great flavor! Definitely going to try with chicken wings next. I suggest using saflour oil. It tends to NOT soak in as much as regular vegetable oil. Kudos!
Camille Bosch
She clearly states canola oil, not vegetable oil.
Bob
I didn’t see anything in the study that would support alcohol retention when frying in oil at 375F. In my experience, I can never recall getting a buzz from beer battered fish but maybe I am not cooking it correctly.
Camille
Yeah, you actually have to drink a few beers while prepping and cooking! Cheers!
Kim
People in recovery for alcohol addiction should not eat ANY food that have been cooked with alcohol. That is not the same thing as someone who is worried about becoming impaired from eating food containing trace amounts of alcohol.
Samantha Drennan
This is fantastic. But I have also made batter with club soda instead of beer and it’s crispy also, just an idea!
Shawn
Great to know Samantha, Thank you!
V
This recipe was DELICIOUS. I made it with haddock and my boyfriend munched it down so fast. I also had a lot of leftover batter so I fried up some Roma tomatoes as well which equally came out so good! Highly recommend the cooling rack really made a difference in crispiness. Excited to make this again soon.
Stephen Gascoine
Hi folks, a few words of advice from little ol England, the main thing you are missing is first dredge the fish in flour, shake off excess. The batter should just stick to a wooden spoon, so add the liquid accordingly, the egg is optional.
Good luck!