The Beer Necessities

Stunning in its simple pleasure, beer battered foods hold us in their thrall with their golden shell of tangy, yeasty bliss. Cod and onion rings, chicken strips and calamari, fish tacos and mushrooms, are irresistibly coated with equal finesse. Why has this timeless classic evolved into hot new trendsetter? And even more important, can you really get drunk from eating beer-battered fish?  Pour a nice cold one, and we’ll tell all.

Blame it on the bubbles. One of the best plays beer brings to its batter partner is the leavening effect. Getting air into the batter via beer’s carbon dioxide bubbles makes the batter expand, giving it the light, crispy texture that’s caused many a craving.

An art in the motherland. No country has a deeper affection for the twin pleasures of deeply fried cod or Pollock and crispy fries than England, so we went to the country’s leading newspaper, The Guardian for some tips. Food writer Felicity Cloake embraces her proud heritage, writing: “Proper fried fish is a British art form and needs little in the way of embellishments. Beer and raising agents, and good hot fat are all you need for pure, unadulterated happiness. And a piece of fresh fish, of course.” She advises us to chill--refrigerate the beer and freeze the flour for 15 minutes before using to achieve an almost ethereally light result. The batter has to be “seriously cold so that when it hits the fat, the reaction happens.”

Jamie Oliver a friend of US. Foods goes traditional, seasoning the fish fillets on both sides to remove any excess water and make the fish really meaty, and for the batter, whisking flour, beer and baking powder together until shiny. Another leading British chef, Tony Fleming, lets his flour, yeast, beer, sugar and salt mixture stand for two hours in a warm environment to let the yeast ferment before whisking into a smooth batter. And if you’re going to be a true Anglophile, don’t forget the mushy peas!

A science in the States. Across the pond, the chemistry behind the taste has proven particularly intriguing to culinarians. ChefSteps, a high tech cooking company led by Chris Young, award-winning food writer and founding chef of Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen, reveals the two secret ingredients that raise their beer batter above the pack: low-gluten cake flour for a lighter, more delicate crust and a small amount of vodka. Vodka too? It’s added, he explains, because alcohol evaporates far more easily than water, which helps the beer batter cook much faster in the fryer. “This means that you get a crisp batter-coating before the fish inside has been overcooked. If you try it side-by-side with non-vodka batter, there is no mistaking the difference,” assures Young. 

Meanwhile, Smithsonian Magazine was doing some deep dives into its own deep fryer, testing the difference between beer-battered fried foods and those fried in water-based batter with a team from USDA's Southern Regional Research Center. Armed with quantities of wheat flour, long-grain rice flour, pre-gelatinized rice flour, canola oil, Vidalia onions, tilapia filets and beer, they whipped up six equal batches of batter: three with beer and each of the flours, and three with water and each of the flours. With an article titled “beer batter is better, science says so,” you’d be correct in assuming that beer pounded the competition: a 9 to 18 percent greater oil uptake was recorded for beer batters, with softer, crispier tilapia and onion strips the happy result.

So it’s not surprising that Americans love to batter up, with deliciously crispy morsels in every possible permutation: fish fries, chicken strips, onion rings, jalapeno strips, pickles, mushrooms, avocados, tofu, grilled cheese sandwiches, even fritters and doughnuts. It’s even mainstreamed into the fast food world, with Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s February rollout of beer-battered fish sandwiches and tacos made with Redhook ESB (Extra Special Bitter) ale. Capitalizing on the popularity of craft beers and the observation of Lent was the impetus, but it still is an unusual move for a fast-food restaurant to serve alcohol-tinged foods. Not a problem, assures Brad Haley, chief marketing officer at Carl’s and Hardee’s. “There's no actual alcohol remaining in the sandwich or tacos after it's cooked, so anyone can eat or order it. But you can certainly taste the beer flavor in it,” he told USA Today. Taking a menu item that’s trending in casual and fine dining elevates the chains to beyond fast food, according to industry experts, and many sense a hit in the making.

Harbor Banks® Seafood aligned with Alaska’s long-term fishery management and sustainability practices are virtually unparalleled, and when you combine this wild-caught cod with a batter made with Alaskan-brewed white ale, you have a compelling story and a tremendous fish to go with chips, appetizers and more.