Beer Batter Fish 'n Chips

Light, crispy, beer battered fish with herby preserved-lemon tartar sauce + the best chips, courtesy of Kenji López-Alt who has them down to a science

The perfect beer-battered fish fry and chips

I spent a relaxing and much-needed four nights at Sea Ranch this past week with 7 friends, some of whom I’ve known going on 50 years since meeting in grade school, and others “newer” to the group that I met in high school. The trip put me a little behind in recipe testing, but what I lacked in time, I made up for in a decisive zeal and laser focus on the one thing I knew from the minute I hit Route 1 in West Marin: fish ‘n chips! Once at Sea Ranch, I cooked and cooked, played games (Bananagrams is my jam), saw a whale, hiked, and talked with old friends to the wee hours. And thought about fish ‘n chips.

My favorite place to be is anywhere near water, so I guess it’s to be expected that fish ‘n chips have shown up throughout my life: Martha’s Vineyard (where I waited tables at the “Brass Bass” and served lots of fish ‘n chips), so many east coast fish shacks, the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska where I had what is still to this day the most incredible battered and fried halibut I’ve ever had, and of course, London, the birthplace of this perfect dish where I hunted down all the gluten-free chippy shops I could find.

Although you might not want to deep fry something on a hot summer day, it’s such a classic summertime meal, and the fish fry up in less than 6 minutes, so it’s a pretty minimal amount of time in the kitchen.

I tried batters with flat water, sparkling water, and beer, and they rank as ‘ok’, ‘better’, and ‘best’ in that order. Beer is hands down winner for flavor and color, but if you don’t like the flavor of beer batter, the sparkling water does very well.

I almost didn’t even include the chips. There are so many ways to make them, and I normally put a lot of time into comparing various methods for best results. Also—I just really wanted the battered, fried fish with tartar. THEN I found Kenji López-Alt’s method and after testing it, realized I didn’t have to go any further; it’s perfect and brilliant. The link to his recipe is here, and it’s also printed below, with his blessing. I highlighted the crucial steps so you can read through quickly (but make sure you read the whole thing; there’s even more information on the link).

As for the tartar, a sauce I love above most other sauces and equally love it with fries because it’s all the good things: salty, creamy, cold, crunchy, pickle-y, and herby. I wanted to add more of a lemon component though, since tartar can be a bit rich. Preserved lemon adds that, plus a deeper, savory flavor that only preserved lemons have. I didn’t have any on hand, but I devised a way to make a quick one that works perfectly for adding to this tartar.

If you aren’t a mayo-sauce type of person, serve the fish with some good malt vinegar (a gluten-free brand, of course), as one does.

Happy summer fish fry!

A few key things to keep in mind for battered fish:

• make sure your beer is ice cold—it really makes a difference

• dusting the fish first helps the batter adhere, but just a fine dusting

• make sure your oil is at the right temperature before frying each batch

Perfect Thin and Crispy French Fries Recipe, by Kenji López-Alt

Cook75 mins

Active40 mins

Cooling Time30 mins

Total105 mins

Serves4 servings

• 2 pounds russet potatoes (900g; about 4 large potatoes), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch fries (keep raw potato sticks submerged in a bowl of water after cutting)

• 2 tablespoons (30ml) distilled white vinegar

• Kosher salt

• 2 quarts (1.9L) peanut oil

Directions

1. Place potatoes and vinegar in a saucepan and add 2 quarts (1.9L) water and 2 tablespoons (24g) salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes. Potatoes should be fully tender, but not falling apart. Drain and spread on a paper towel–lined rimmed baking sheet. Allow to dry for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or large wok over high heat to 400°F (204°C). Add one-third of fries to oil; oil temperature should drop to around 360°F (182°C). Cook for 50 seconds, agitating occasionally with a wire mesh spider, then remove to a second paper towel–lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potatoes (working in 2 more batches), allowing oil to return to 400°F after each addition. Allow potatoes to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Continue with step 3, or, for best results, freeze potatoes at least overnight or up to 2 months.

3. Return oil to 400°F over high heat. Fry half of potatoes until crisp and light golden brown, about 3 1/2 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain a temperature of around 360°F. Drain in a bowl lined with paper towels and season immediately with kosher salt. Cooked fries can be kept hot and crisp on a wire rack set in a sheet tray in a 200°F (90°C) oven while second batch is cooked. Serve immediately.