The Non-Alcoholic Alternative To Beer Batter For Fried Fish - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

The Non-Alcoholic Alternative To Beer Batter For Fried Fish - Tasting Table? ›

Swap the beer for soda

That same carbonation and the slight acidity of the beer also helps create a batter that's very tender and flaky. You can get these same results with bubbly water or a NA beer. Don't use sugary sodas or other drinks, though—they are too sweet for this fish recipe.

Easy Substitutions

You can use chicken broth, ginger ale, white grape juice, or white wine if your recipe calls for a light beer. Use beef broth, chicken broth, mushroom stock, apple juice, apple cider, root beer, or co*ke instead of dark beer.

In these cases, soda is an ideal substitute. It can be used to replace beer in fish batter, or even as a replacement in beer can chicken. Plus, you're way more likely to have extra soda lying around. Beer batter's crispiness is largely due to the drink's carbonation, which creates froth during the cooking process.

The small amount of alcohol in the beer boils off in a very short time under those conditions. There is no alcohol remaining in properly-made beer batter fried food.

Found among the beer and wine, but lacking the alcohol, is the perfect swap for beer battered fish: club soda. Full of bubbles due to its carbonation, club soda can give the same lightness to a batter as beer would.

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.

Ginger ale, with its citrusy, sometimes even sour tang, is a great option if you need something akin to a pale ale. For dark or ruby beers, the molasses-adjacent taste of the sassafras in root beer works really well as an alternative. Of course, there's no reason why you can't use other sodas.

Mix together 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir in enough club soda to make a batter about the consistency of thin pancake batter. You don't want it too thick, just thick enough to nicely coat a spoon. Season the batter to taste if desired with seasoning of your choice.

And if you're willing to go with a three part breading instead of a batter, you can use rice flour, egg, and (rice or corn) cereal crumbs.

Why put soda water in fish batter? ›

The carbonation will help give the batter an airy texture. Slowly add a bit more club soda and continue to mix. Do this until the batter reaches a nice smooth yet thick consistency. Cut the pieces of fish into palm size pieces or any size you like, dry the fish and add to the batter.

What Is Beer Batter? Beer batter is a batter for deep frying that is made by adding beer to a mixture of seasoned flour and (sometimes) eggs. The beer adds flavor, helps ensure a beautiful brown color, and the carbonation creates a crispy crust.

Beat in one egg.

Some people leave this step out and just stick to a basic beer-and-flour batter, which is perfectly effective. But, beating in an egg helps to add a little body and golden richness to the batter, helping it to crisp up a little more nicely.

What do beer battered fish, Bolognese sauce and tiramisu have in common? The answer is their recipes contain alcohol. Most people know that alcohol is not Halal for Muslims to consume.

The stuff is made with flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and a liquid. Using water or milk is common, but when it comes to getting that perfect taste and texture (without burning), beer is king.

For flavor, most recipes using beer do best with a malty, low-bitterness beer, like a marzen, scotch ale, or (maybe) amber ale. Highly-hopped "put hair on your chest" IPAs are a bad idea: you don't want that bitterness. Hefeweizen would be fine.

The alcohol in the beer also plays an important role in moderating the internal temperature and crisping the crust. Alcohol evaporates faster than water, so a beer batter doesn't have to cook as long as one made only with water or milk. The faster the batter dries, the lower the risk of overcooking the food.

Method. Take a large mixing bowl and add the flour and ½ tsp fine salt. Whisk together to incorporate the salt. Add the water and whisk until the batter is completely smooth and the flour is fully combined.