Fried Fish With Vodka-and-Beer Batter

Recipe from Heston Blumenthal

Adapted by Harold McGee

Updated April 5, 2022

Fried Fish With Vodka-and-Beer Batter
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
About 45 minutes
Rating
4(351)
Comments
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Heston Blumenthal, the chef at the Fat Duck near London, updated classic British fish and chips in his book "In Search of Perfection" (Bloomsbury, 2006), using a batter that includes beer and vodka. The alcohol dissolves some of the gluten proteins in the wheat flour, so the crust doesn’t get tough and boils off faster than water, so the batter dries out, crisps and browns quickly, before the delicate fish inside overcooks. The coating ends up especially crunchy — with each bite, you crush many thin layers of crust. —Harold McGee

Featured in: What’s a Great Way to Get a Fish Fried? Give It a Shot of Vodka

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1½pounds (about 4 large fillets) turbot, sole or flounder
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1¼cups white rice flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 to 3quarts vegetable oil, for deep-frying
  • 1¼cups all-purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • 1¼cups vodka
  • 1¼cups lager beer
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

1231 calories; 68 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 46 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 74 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 35 grams protein; 1089 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Rinse fish fillets, and dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper, and dust with rice flour, shaking off any extra. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Place a wide, deep pan over medium heat. Add oil to a depth of at least 1½ inches, and bring to 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. In a medium bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, 1¼ cups rice flour, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt. Slowly stir in the vodka and beer to make a batter. (Don’t make batter ahead of time, or the bubbles from the lager will be lost.)

  3. Step 3

    Dip one fillet into batter to coat it completely, then lower into hot oil. Repeat with other fillets, working in batches if needed. When undersides of fillets are golden brown, after 1 or 2 minutes, turn, and brown other sides, a minute or two. Lift from oil, drain and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
351 user ratings
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Comments

abmaxi

I have made this twice now and it is in my opinion the best fried fish recipe. The batter has to be the consistency of a pancake batter. The fish I used was haddock once and cod the next time. Both held up very well.The batter when fried is so light and crunchy and not greasy at all. Will definetely have this again.

Susan

The recipe creates a batter out of 1 1/4 cup white rice flour and 1 1/4 cup of AP flour (plus baking powder and salt. For 2 people, I divided the recipe in half, and I really liked the results—but Darryl is right that the batter is too thin. I like thin, crisp tempura-like coating, but my coating was thinner than that illustrated in the picture. Next time, for 2 I will increase the rice and AP flour by 1 T (1 T for each). Will report results😎

nancy elder

I think this batter must be deep fried. I shallow fried and also got layer of uncooked batter which tasted strongly of vodka; rather unpleasant;

BDavis

I didn’t have vodka or rice flour. Used cake flour and AP flour in equal proportion. Used total of 2 cups flour and tablespoon of baking powder. Added 2 tablespoons of seasoning (old bay). Heated oil while drying and dusting cod. Just as oil was ready, added one 12 ounce bottle of beer. Thick batter. Coated fish ad fried in coconut oil and avocado oil at 375 F.

tiipiloo

Agree that if you don't get the frying exactly right you get a vodka-soaked mess. What a disaster.

Geoff

I reduced the proportion of rice and increased the liquid a bit, which makes it into a cross between traditional batter and the recipe. We prefer this, Heston's recipe was too airy and not at all like a regular fish and chips. Good, but a different thing all together.

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