Crispiest Fish Batter
This is truly the crispiest fish batter you have ever tried. There are a couple of secrets to getting that crunchy exterior and the soft, tender inside.
This is a copycat recipe of Long John Silver’s restaurant chain’s crispy fish batter. It has a remarkably crunchy crust, and the fish stays perfectly tender and juicy. The best fish and chips can be made at home!
Why Make it?
- Texture: It’s all about the crunch. But in contrast with the crunch is the silky texture of the fish.
- Flavor: Making it at home is faster and easier than takeout, and there is no comparison for the flavors. Plus, when you get the takeout home, the bottom of the crust will be soggy.
- Ease: All you have to do is measure and mix the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients. Then, dip and cook the fish. You can have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes!
- A crowd pleaser: Everyone who tries this battered fish will love it. Even the pickiest of eaters will gobble this fish up.
What You Need
- Fish: Any white fish will work. Haddock, cod, perch, bass, crappie, pike, tilapia, catfish, halibut, and more. Unless your fish is freshly caught, buy frozen fish. It is the freshest you can get since it is frozen almost immediately after catching the fish.
- Flour: Any flour will work.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is one of the secret ingredients that makes the most crispy fried foods.
- Garlic: Use garlic powder or granulated garlic.
- Onion: Onion powder adds an earthy, slightly spicy flavor.
- Paprika: Paprika is made from ground, dried red peppers, so it adds a bit of spice. If you want the fish to be spicy, add chili powder, too.
- Baking Powder: Powder helps that batter rise, so it gets puffy around the fish.
- Baking Soda: Soda will aid in helping the batter rise but adds a bit of the crunch, too.
- Salt: Be sure to season the fish and the batter with salt for the best flavor.
- Pepper: Again, season both the fish and the batter.
- Carbonated beverage: Instead of using water, use a carbonated beverage like beer (a lager or amber, not a stout), plain club soda, or seltzer. It will give the batter more body.
How to Make it
Step One:
Measure the dry ingredients. Add them to a bowl.
Step Two:
Mix the spices well.
Step Three:
Pour in your choice of beverage. The batter will be on the runny side. You don’t want it thick or the batter to fish ratio will be off.
Whisk the batter just until it is mixed. Don’t overmix it or you’ll lose crispness.
Step Four:
Season the fillets with salt and pepper before dipping them in the batter.
You can see the texture of the batter here. It should flow like the photo but also coat the back of a spoon. Dip the fish and let the excess drip back into the bowl for a minute.
Step Five:
Fry the fish in oil until browned on the first side, carefully turn, and continue to cook. Fry the fish until the batter is golden brown and the fish is flaky.
Carefully remove the fish from the hot oil. Drain on a cooling rack set over paper towels to catch the oil. To keep the fish hot a crunchy when doing multiple batches, place the rack over a rimmed baking sheet and put the fish in the oven at 200°F.
Serve the fish with lemon or malt vinegar on the side to enhance the flavor of the fish.
Acid was served with fish hundreds of years ago because people thought the acidity from the lemon would dissolve a bone if swallowed.
What side dishes to serve with battered fish?
- Spicy coleslaw
- French fries
- Macaroni salad
- Cocktail sauce
- Tartar sauce
- Chipotle aioli
- Comeback sauce
- Lemon wedges
Frequently Asked Questions
Peanut oil is the best choice. If you don’t have peanut oil, substitute vegetable oil.
No. It is best to discard any leftover batter since the raw fish was dipped in it.
No. You can fry the fish in a heavy bottom skillet, like cast iron. Ensure the oil is deep enough to come at least halfway up the fish.
No. You can use plain water and it works just as well. We just feel that the club soda adds a bit of puffiness.
It is best to make the batter immediately before you are ready to fry your fish so that the beer or club soda doesn’t lose all of its fizz.
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Crispy Fish Batter
Ingredients
- ½ Cup all-purpose flour
- ½ Cup cornstarch
- ½ Teaspoon garlic
- ½ Teaspoon onion
- ½ Teaspoon paprika
- ½ Teaspoon baking soda
- ½ Teaspoon baking powder
- ½ Teaspoon salt
- ¼ Teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Cup club soda or beer
- 1½ Pounds fish
- peanut or canola oil
Instructions
- Measure and whisk the dry ingredients together.½ Cup all-purpose flour, ½ Cup cornstarch, ½ Teaspoon garlic, ½ Teaspoon onion, ½ Teaspoon paprika, ½ Teaspoon baking soda, ½ Teaspoon baking powder, ½ Teaspoon salt, ¼ Teaspoon black pepper
- Add most of the club soda. Whisk the batter just a few times. Test the thickness. It should be fluid but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add more soda, if needed. Or less soda or beer, if it is getting too thin. If it gets too thin, thicken it with a bit more flour.1 Cup club soda or beer
- Dip the thawed fillets in the batter. Let the excess drip off for a few seconds. Carefully place the fillet in very hot oil, fry until it is golden brown on the first side.1½ Pounds fish, peanut or canola oil
- Flip and fry the other side until golden brown.
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!Notes
- Spicy coleslaw
- French fries
- Macaroni salad
- Cocktail sauce
- Tartar sauce
- Chipotle aioli
- Comeback sauce
- Lemon wedges
This is by far the best crispy fish batter I have tried. I used seasoning salt in the batter and seasoned the fish with it also instead of regular salt.
We’e so glad that you liked it Sheila! Thanks for letting us know!
Great fish batter recipe, even the kids loved it. Easy to follow and delicous.
Thank you so much Sally! We’re so glad you liked it!
I’ve always fried my fish in batter, but wanted to see how others do it. I looked at several recipes but when I saw this one I knew it was the one. Great recipe. The starch adds some great crunch and the flavor profile is pretty darn good. Thank you for this, I will use it over and over!
Thanks Patrick! We’re so glad that you like it!
Hi! Just a quick question: is there a reason stout beer isn’t advised? I always use Guinness extra stout in my batters because it imparts the strongest beer flavor, more than light beers, at least. I love beer-tasting foods but don’t like/won’t drink beer! Would appreciate your take on that.
If there’s not enough fish to use all the batter, I usually dip some medium (raw) broccoli or cauliflower stalks in it and fry those after the fish. They end up cooking up just fine and have a nice crispy “shell” around them. Not the healthiest, but at least it’s a vegetable and it uses up all the batter.
You can absolutely use beer. Whatever you have is great! I use Guinness stout for several other recipes, but I haven’t used it for fish batter. I also love your take on veggie sides, lol!
Very nice
Thanks so much! We’re so glad that you liked it VJ!
What is “black powder” in the “Crispiest fish batter” recipe? Do you really eat gun powder?
Lol! That’s funny! Bit of a typo there…. Thanks for pointing that out Ray.
we had fresh halibut and nice yellow onions
the batter didn`t work at all
very disappointed
Can you tell me what didn’t work? Was the batter too thin or too thick?
Sorry, but there were so many popup ads I couldn’t focus on the recipe.
I apologize for that. There is only one popup and it has an x on the top right side to close it. There shouldn’t be any others.