Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs skinless cod fillet, cut into 1 1/2" wide strips
- Salt
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
BEER BATTER
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup potato starch or cornstarch
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 12 oz pilsner or pale lager
- 1 tbsp malt or cider vinegar
TARTAR SAUCE
- 1/4 cup mayonaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh flat parsley, dill or tarragon
- 2 tbsp minced sour pickle
- 1 tbsp minced shallot
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
CHIPS
- British style chips (see recipe)
- Vegetable oil, for deep frying
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat sous vide 122F (50C).
- Season cod strips with salt. Spray or brush oil onto cod.
- Vacuum seal bag.
- Once sous vide bath reaches target temperature, fully submerge sealed bag and cook for 16 minutes. Immediately place in ice bath after 16 minutes.
- Batter: mix flour, starch, baking powder until fully combined. Then whisk in beer and vinegar. This can be prepared up to 3 hours before frying the fish.
- Pour 3 inches of oil into a deep cast iron dutch oven or stainless steel pot. A dutch oven will hold temperature better, but stainless steel works as well. While you can use a shallow skillet for this recipe, it is not my preference and I don’t recommend it.
- Using a high-heat thermometer, turn heat to medium and let temperature come to 350F.
- Remove fish from the bag and place in batter, 1-2 pieces at a time, Do not manhandle the fish, or you won’t have nice even strips. Coat evenly all around in the batter.
- Place 2-3 pieces of fish into the 350F oil. Do not crowd the pot or you won’t get that nice crispy crunchy exterior we’re going for. It’s better to do 2-3 batches. Let the fish cook, untouched, for 4 minutes. Monitor your oil thermometer to make sure it doesn’t go too high or too low. You ideally want to stay within 10 degrees, at most, of 350F.
- After 4 minutes, use a fish turner or tongs to flip the fish, and cook for an additional 2 minutes so that it’s a nice golden brown on both sides.
- Remove fish and place on a wire rack on a sheet pan. This is better than placing on a paper towel, as it’ll help prevent the exterior from getting soft and soggy, which would be a bummer after all the work you just did to get it crispy and crunchy.
- Let rest for 1 minute to cool on the rack, then serve with your choice of sides. Our favorites are french fries, tater tots, baked potatoes and buttered corn on the cob.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!