Crispy Beer Battered Fried Apples Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does beer battered do? ›

First, the bubbles provide lift as they escape from the batter during frying. Second, the carbonation makes the batter slightly more acidic, which limits how much gluten can form when the beer and flour mix, preventing the batter from turning tough.

Indeed, beer is a key ingredient in well-made fish and chips. Adding beer to a batter made from flour and water boosts flavor and provides a “lighter, crispier” coating, Gordon Ramsay explains in a 2005 episode of “The F Word.”

At its core, tingling carbonation gives beer its crispy zing. You can gain those bubbles through forced carbonation or through bottle conditioning: a traditional Belgian process that we use at our brewery. The amount of carbonation matters.

Most are fair game for beer batter (Pilsner Urquell, Stella Artois, Modelo, and Firestone Pivo Pils are particularly nice), with the exception of Bohemian pilsner, which comes with a heavy dose of spices that can change the overall flavor of your dish. In a beer batter, pilsner is one of the more low-key options.

Alcohol also reduces the amount of water that the starch granules can absorb, and boils off faster than water, so the batter dries out, crisps and browns quickly, before the delicate fish inside overcooks. The crispness lasts through the meal, and revives well the next day in a hot oven.

It's a pretty simple distinction. If you drop a food item into hot oil and cook it, then it's deep-fried. Like how chunks of potato are turned into french fries. If you dip the food item into batter before you drop it into the oil and cook it, then it's battered and fried or batter fried.

Scraps or batter bits or crispies are pieces of deep-fried batter left over in the fryer as a by-product of frying fish, and are served as an accompaniment to chips.

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.

Beer is a key ingredient in well-made fish and chips. Adding beer to a batter made from flour instead of water boosts flavor and provides a “lighter, crispier” coating. The batter also protects the fish during cooking.

Even though there are instances where it's not the best choice for cooking, scientific research points to beer batter's natural qualities for imparting a satisfying crunch and flavor to the food it coats. For starters, the carbonization of beer plus its foaming agents and alcohol content make it a great batter base.

What does beer do in fish and chips? ›

Speaking of beer, it's the secret to the perfect batter, which makes it super fluffy, smooth and crispy all at the same time (but if you don't do alcohol, check out the recipe card below for a substitute).