Beer batter fish, keeping the breading from peeling right off while eating?
A few months back I made beer-batter fish. I don't remember the exact recipe I used but I think I got it from foodnetwork.com. I fried in vegetable oil at 350. Everything came out OK, but the breading seemed to peel clean off of the fish while eating rather than sticking to it. Are there any tricks for prep/cook to prevent this from happening?
Best Answer
I usually dredge the fish in plain flour first and then the beer batter. I actually made beer battered fish tacos for dinner last night and the batter stuck perfectly.
It probably also depends on your batter consistency. The recipe I use says the batter should be slightly more liquid than pancake batter.
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How do you stop breading from falling off fish?
Fill one with a thick layer of cornstarch. Fill the second about one-third full of milk or milk substitute. Beat an egg into the milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Fill the third with a thick layer of flour, breadcrumbs or your coating of choice.Why does the breading fall off my fried fish?
Dry flour doesn't stick to itself very well, so if a too-thick initial dredging creates clump-like layers of flour that aren't well moistened, in the relative violence of the fryer the dry interior of those clump-like layers will separate from each other and your breading will flake off.How do you make batter stick to food?
Once you have all of the food coated, you will want to place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Chilling the breaded food helps the breading really take hold, making the flour stick to the food and the egg wash stick to the flour, and, finally, the breadcrumbs stick to the egg wash.Should you let beer batter sit?
How to Make Crispy Beer Battered Fish. Plan ahead, it's best to make the batter at least 30 minutes before dipping the fish. The resting time allows the carbonation in the beer to activate the baking powder for a lighter, crispier batter.Crispy Beer Batter Fish \u0026 Chips - Food Wishes
More answers regarding beer batter fish, keeping the breading from peeling right off while eating?
Answer 2
Give your fish a light dusting of corn starch before dredging in the batter. Flour works to some extent but without gluten formation flour is working as a drying agent more than anything else. Corn starch is, as its name implies, a starch which will actually act as a weak glue when heated wet. Just don't pile it on. dredge each fillet in the corn starch and tap off the excess until you're left with a thin, uniform layer. Your batter will stick to the corn starch, which will stick to the fish.
Answer 3
If it's English style beer battered fish the batter "shouldn't" stick to the fish otherwise it will be too dry or soggy depending on which way you go rather than light and crisp. To be light and crisp it should not adhere to the surface of the fish too closely.
Breaded fish is a different matter. Take a look at the pic here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7785/golden-beerbattered-fish-with-chips
Answer 4
If you did AB's recipe, you need to lightly dredge the fish in cornstarch as @yock mentioned. You should also make sure that the batter is cold -refrigerate for 15 minutes to an hour at most. It turns out pretty good if you follow that recipe.
Answer 5
Pretty sure that the problem you are having is moisture; here's how I do it.
Take the fillets, pack them with flour and set them on a wire trivet and let them dry a bit and then shake them off then let them dry some more. When the outside of the fish is dry to the touch I dip them carefully in the batter and cook them. This method seals the fish inside the batter 'envelope' holding in the juices for that first delicious bite.
Note that if the batter is too thick the outside of the batter will contract so much faster than the inside that it will crack, allowing fat in and letting the juices out.
While the last of the fish is cooking I will add an egg, some cornmeal and spices etc to the left over batter and make hush puppies in the same pan I cooked the fish in.
Answer 6
Be sure to pat the fish dry as completely as you can. Don't salt the fish beforehand to avoid drawing out any moisture.
Also, like Frankie suggested, dip the fish slowly into the oil. Dipping it slowly allows some of the initial moisture to escape and lets the batter cling to the fish before there's a shell of batter holding in all the moisture.
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