I am a bit of a fish and chips "aficionado" , halibut being the only fish I will cook/eat for fish and chips.

Joe's recipe for tempura batter is by far the best batter for halibut that I have ever made. I think that you could easily sub beer for the soda. I think the secret is a cold and bubbly liquid so beer or soda does the same thing.

Tempura Batter - Garden Guru

1 Cup flour*
¼ Cup cornstarch
¼ Tsp salt
½ Tsp sugar
1 Tsp
baking powder
as cold as possible) -- more as needed

Oil for deep-frying (I like 3 parts Wesson "Best blend" oil, 1 part peanut oil, and a good splash of sesame oil)

Sharon's notes: I only use vegetable oil.

Mix flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and baking powder.

Add soda water gradually, stirring with a fork, first to create a paste and then until mixture is like a thick pancake batter.

Sharon's notes: Do as Joe says, add the soda slowly and do not let the batter get thin.

Heat oil for frying to 375 F - 400 F.

Dip prepared veggies/meats/fish in batter, coating completely. Shake off excess.

Fry a few pieces at a time, until light brown and crispy.

Do not crowd pan, or oil temperature will drop. No more than will cover ¾ of the surface of the oil.

Drain on paper towels.

Thanks Sharon. I totally agree about the halibut - it's the only fish I'll eat in the form of f & c. I notice that a lot of recipes say to let the batter sit for an hour before using. Do you do that? Haven't found an explanation as to why...
J

No I don't let it sit , I go fast! Heat the oil, make the batter, dip the fish and cook.

I think part of the reason that this recipe works well is the "fizz factor" of the soda or beer. So my intuition tells me it's best to use right away.

All I know is that it works!

PS: The only tricky part is the temp of the oil. It needs to be hot enough to cook the fish quickly but not so hot as to brown the batter too fast.

To test I drop a piece of bread, which has been dipped in the fish batter, into the heated oil and watch for how fast the batter cooks. You want golden puff right away but not so hot that the batter darkens.

Well, it seems that Sharon has this well covered and it's a good thing, I don't have a beer batter recipe anyway.

50 pounds of halibut? Wow, that's a lot of fish and chips, enjoy it.

Annie

Thanks Sharon - the batter was great - nice and light, but I guess we are just not "deep fried" people. We were all so looking forward to it, onion rings, fries and halibut, but right after dinner, both DDs were asking for Pepto!
50 lbs of halibut is a lot and I am happy to have it, but once we add up ferry fares, diesel for the truck, gas for the boat, moorage, etc., I think it comes out to about $50.00 a pound!! Oh well, the thrill of the chase, right?
J

LOL, Toby, I went salmon fishing last week, a friend took Elery and I and we paid for the gas for the boat and the truck to tow it to Lake Michigan.

$54 got me a 5 lb King Salmon and Elery a 6 lb lake trout, plus we got three smaller salmon. Total filets after cleaning and skinning? Probably 3 pounds, LOL.

So that's what? About $18 a pound? (grin)

Annie