Add one can or bottle of beer (12 fluid ounces) to 12 ounces of flour ! Yes...that is it!
Basically, the batter is just a 1:1 ratio of beer to all-purpose flour. Therefore, you can make any amount of batter you choose to - 2 cups beer, to 2 cups flour, and so on. THEN, with a whisk, mix those 2 ingredients well. Cover with a tea towel, and leave it alone! Let it sit for 3 hours, and you're ready to do anything!
A chemical reaction occurs between the beer and the flour during that time period. Get out your seasoned fish fillets(make sure to dredge them in plain flour first for batter to stick stick), dip it in this mixture, then drop one at a time into HOT oil. Don't crowd the cooking vessel, and turn only once.
Drain on a paper bag for best results or paper towels, serve hot!
If you're feeding a crowd, and want to keep the fish warm while you're cooking the rest, place fried fillets in a slow oven (200 degrees F) while you're frying up the rest. This batter also makes the best onion rings and mushrooms!!
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*Special Notes
~For anyone that has a problem with the beer batter not sticking to the fish, I have a simple trick. Set out a bowl with about a cup of flour, and before you dip the fish in the beer batter, coat the fish in flour. Also- to keep them crispy, make sure to drain the excess oil on a paper bag after frying. You shouldn't have any problems after that!
~add a 1/2 tsp of baking powder to the mix if you want to puff up the batter a bit and get it extra crunchy.