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Beer Battered Fried Fish

ByJenn Giam Smith

Discover the mouthwatering tradition of Beer Battered Fried Fish in Wisconsin. Dive into a crispy, flavorful dish that pairs perfectly with an ice-cold beer.

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Jump to Recipe· 4 from 3 reviews
Finished beer batter fish on a white platter with homemade tartar sauce

Who doesn’t love a good Fish Fry? For anyone who’s not from Wisconsin, Friday Night Fish Fry is a huge tradition for the entire state. Wisconsin is known for its fish fry (especially beer batter fish) with an ice-cold beer. In case you were wondering… yes, we LOVE our beer too.

Fun Facts… Fish Fry grew huge in Wisconsin due to the large Catholic communities not eating meat on Fridays (to this day, many churches hold Fish Fries on Fridays to offer a non-meat option to the community). Prohibition also created a need for bars to find creative ways to bring in customers. So… they offered cheap fish dinners with alcohol under the table (shhh).

What people are saying

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“Best batter I have found! loved it, followed recipe to a T and turned out perfect.!“
–Rachel Fiemeyer
(via Pinterest)

How this recipe was created

This is a very short explanation of our testing process. Scroll down to get the full recipe and tips and tricks.

This recipe offers all that deliciousness, but now you can enjoy your alcohol onils ow toon ha the table. One Friday night, my husband and I thought it would be fun to create our own beer batter. I mean, we already catch our own fish, so why not?

We cut small pieces from our fish fillets, courtesy of an ice fishing venture (yes that’s right, Wisconsinites and most Midwesterners for that matter, fish ALL YEAR ROUND), and we began our experiment. Carefully adding and tasting all the ingredients until it was exactly how we liked it – at that time. 😉 Then, after a few years I added or took away ingredients, and now… we have our new and improved recipe! I use this batter on shrimp, chicken, cheese curds, and of course fish. We always use the fish we catch, we do live right next to the Mississippi River after all, and my oldest has gotten pretty darn good at it. But if you’re unable to catch your own, buying it from the store is also fine. I do really recommend buying locally if you can. Fresh fish is ALWAYS better.

Tips & Notes

  • You might need more beer than 12oz. It does depend on how you measured the flour that day (it’s the downfall of using cups vs. weighing).
  • Light Colored Ale is a MUST! If you use a darker-colored or strong-flavored beer such as a stout or IPA it will NOT taste good. The beer will get thrown off with the garlic. Unless you really like that competing flavor… then go for it!
  • I like New Glarus® Spotted Cow however, this is ONLY sold in Wisconsin. So another more accessible good one is Blue Moon®. Or course, if you have a favorite, use it!
  • It’s important that your oil is at 400ºF when you start or your fish will soak up all the oil and it will not be crispy.
  • If you do not want to go through the process of pat drying the fish, you can take a 1/4 cup of flour and dredge the fish before putting it in the batter. I don’t do this, but I’ve had a couple of people say the batter wouldn’t stick, only to find they did not dry the fish first. So if you don’t want to dry, dredge. If you skip both, the batter won’t stay on the fish, and I can’t really help that.
  • If you’re buying your fish and have really thick pieces, try cutting them a little smaller, or for something fun… cut them into 1-inch cubes. the Cubes cooked really quickly and my younger kids LOVED having the bite-sized pieces to eat vs. a larger piece.
  • You can mix all the dry ingredients, then store the mixture in an airtight container in your pantry for a quick and easy fish batter at any time.
  • You can also use this beer batter for other things like onion rings, shrimp, and even cheese curds. If you choose to do cheese curds, you need to freeze them for a couple of hours first.

Items to help you succeed

  1. A Deep Fryer (This is NOT required, and you could certainly use a cast iron skillet as well, I personally have found this to be easier.) I use the Presto 05466 Stainless Steel Dual Basket Pro Fry Immersion Element Deep Fryer mainly when I have company over and am making a lot. Otherwise, I usually use a cast iron pan. Check out “What Type of Frying Pan Should I Use?” to get details on the pans I use and love.
  2. A sheet pan and cooling rack for excess oil. A Sheet Pan with Stainless Steel Oven Safe Cooling Rack set is great because the cooling rack fits perfectly inside.
  3. Mixing Bowls. I love these Pyrex glass bowls. In fact, my set is actually a hand-me-down and is almost 20 years old!
  4. Tongs, I know the fryer comes with baskets, but trust me when I say… drop the basket, keep it down and Use tongs!
  5. Whisk, it helps mix the batter better than a spoon.

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How to Make It

You’ll love how this recipe comes together.

Find the full beer batter fried fish recipe below scroll down). Here’s the gist:

  1. Heat your oil to 400°F
  2. Rinse and pat dry your fish.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl put all of your dry ingredients (flour, black pepper, salt, garlic and onion powder, baking powder, and cayenne pepper) in and whisk them all together.
  4. Poor in the beer of your choice (slowly), stirring it in as you go. Start with 1/4 of the bottle/can, and whisk. If it looks too thick slowly add more, whisk, and keep going until it’s where we want it. You’re looking for a thick pancake batter-like consistency.
  5. After that, you take your fish fillets and submerge the entire fish into the batter, let the excess drip off, and drop it into the oil. You can put as many fillets in as you want, but keep it to one floating layer of fish at a time. You will need to rotate them around until they are golden brown.
  6. Once they are golden, take them out and place them on a paper towel to remove any excess oil.
  7. Continue this process until all the fish is fried.
Store bought cod cut into 1-inch size cubes
perch fillets caught by my husband and kids laying on paper towel.
all the dry ingredients in a bowl before mixed together.
the batter after being whisked, showing the thick-pancake batter consistency you want.
Finished beer batter fish on a white platter.
This Fried Fish is fish my husband and kids caught.

What to Serve With it

Here are a few of my favorite dishes that go perfectly with this Beer Batter Fish Fry Recipe

Please let me know how the recipe turns out in the comments.

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Finished beer batter fish on a white platter with homemade tartar sauce

Beer Batter Fried Fish

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4 from 3 reviews

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Description

Experience the lightest and crispiest beer-battered fried fish you’ll ever taste. It’s everything a classic supper club beer batter should be—fluffy, crunchy, satisfying, and utterly delicious.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • 10 oz Light Colored – Ale beer (See NOTES 1 & 2 for details)
  • 4 lbs white fish (We generally use Catfish or Perch. But Walleye and Cod are also a very common Wisconsin choice.)
  • Peanut Oil (for frying. I highly recommend this. It can hold high temp and is much less expensive than others. If you have a peanut allergy use canola or avocado oil instead.)

Instructions

  1. Heat Oil Heat your oil to 400°F (See NOTES 3 for details)
  2. Prep Fish Rinse and pat dry your fish. (See NOTES 4 & 5 for details)
  3. Dry ingredients for batter In a medium-sized bowl put all of your dry ingredients (flour, black pepper, salt, garlic and onion powder, baking powder, and cayenne pepper) in and whisk them all together. (See NOTES 6 for details)
  4. Add beer Poor in the beer of your choice (slowly), stirring it in as you go. Start with 1/4 of the bottle/can, and whisk. If it looks too thick slowly add more, whisk, and keep going until it’s where we want it. You’re looking for a thick pancake batter-like consistency.
  5. batter fish After that, you take your fish fillets and submerge the entire fish into the batter, let the excess drip off, and drop it into the oil. You can put as many fillets in as you want, but keep it to one floating layer of fish at a time. You will need to rotate them around until they are golden brown.
  6. remove excess oil Once they are golden, take them out and place them on a drying rack that is on. a baking sheet or paper towel to remove any excess oil.
  7. Finish Continue this process until all the fish is fried.

Equipment

Notes

  1. You might need more beer than 12oz. It does depend on how you measured the flour that day (it’s the downfall of using cups vs. weighing).
  2. Light Colored Ale is a MUST! If you use a darker-colored or strong-flavored beer such as a stout or IPA it will NOT taste good. The beer will get thrown off with the garlic. Unless you really like that competing flavor… then go for it! I like New Glarus® Spotted Cow however, this is ONLY sold in Wisconsin. So another more accessible good one is Blue Moon®. Or course, if you have a favorite, use it!
  3. Your oil must be at 400ºF before you start frying. Otherwise, your fish will soak up all the oil and will not be crispy.
  4. If you do not want to go through the process of pat drying the fish, you can take a 1/4 cup of flour and dredge the fish before putting it in the batter. I don’t do this, but I’ve had a couple of people say the batter wouldn’t stick, only to find they did not dry the fish first. So if you don’t want to dry, dredge. If you skip both, the batter won’t stay on the fish, and I can’t really help that.
  5. If you’re buying your fish and have really thick pieces, try cutting them a little smaller, or for something fun… cut them into 1-inch cubes. the Cubes cooked really quickly and my younger kids LOVED having the bite-sized pieces to eat vs. a larger piece.
  6. You can mix all the dry ingredients, then store the mixture in an airtight container in your pantry for a quick and easy fish batter at any time. See all the details about this on my Wisconsin Supper Club Beer Batter Mix Blog Post.

Other things you can do with this Beer Batter

You can also use this beer batter for onion rings, shrimp, and even cheese curd. If you choose to do cheese curds, you need to freeze them for a couple of hours first. Check out Beer-Batter Fried Cheese Curds for the full recipe!

Nutrition Info

Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, I recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: American, Wisconsin

Nutrition

  • Calories: 366
  • Sugar: 0.1
  • Sodium: 530
  • Fat: 5
  • Saturated Fat: 2
  • Carbohydrates: 22
  • Fiber: 1
  • Protein: 55
  • Cholesterol: 130

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My name is Jenn, I'm wife to a true blue Wisconsin Man and mom of 5. I'm here sharing my passion for food, craft, family, & life (especially my love of Wisconsin)! I grew up in a food-oriented family. Most of my recipes are a mix of fun and easy (sometimes fast), and when I can... I add a bit of my family's Chinese-American-European roots.

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