This post is sponsored by Orca Bay Seafoods | Opinions are my own

Fish and chips always seemed like a “restaurant only” type of meal. Sure, my mum used to serve us breaded fish and fries straight from the freezer—complete with a farting bottle of ketchup—but that doesn’t count as fish and chips in my mind.

Crumby breading is not batter, and mushy “white fish” is not flaky halibut.

Luckily, fulfilling your fish and chips craving isn’t a difficult task, and as daunting of a task as deep frying may seem, it doesn’t take much time.

Confession: Until this recipe, I’d never deep fried fish before. Or anything for that matter. Vats of scalding oil have always terrified me with their deep abyss of golden sizzling hell. The mention of bringing such a thing to my stovetop always resulted in a resounding NO.

That is until I realized that if I ever wanted to crank out a solid fish and chips recipe, I’d have to get over it.

So here we are. These Cumin Beer Battered Fish and Chips forced me to put my big girl pants on, and friends, it was *so* sososo worth it.

I urge you to give this recipe a go! Y’know, just for the halibut.

PERKS: Get 15% off of Orca Bay products by purchasing online. Use perk code “KillingThyme” prior to checkout.
I receive commission for purchases made through links in this post.

Cumin Beer Battered Fish With Jalapeño Tartar Sauce.

Though the technique in this recipe stays true to tradition, the flavors clearly don’t. This is what happens when the Orca “baes” and I get excited about a recipe—we get brainstorming and end up taking things to a whole new level of awesome.

Adding cumin to the beer batter brings warm notes to the dish, and since I was using cumin, I figured I’d switch things up and replace the usual ketchup and tartar sauce with salsa and a kicked up tartar sauce that brings punchy and briny pickled jalapeños to the mix.

It. was. awesome.

The jalapeño tartar sauce was my creation, but the salsa pictured is Kelp Salsa from Barnacle, a company based in Juneau, Alaska.

Just imagine a wholesome, textured, and flavorful salsa made with fresh bull kelp harvested from the pristine waters of Southeast Alaska. Pretty nifty, amirite?

This salsa is available at Orca Direct along with other specialty goodies!

As for the beer batter, I used a wit. But any pilsner or lager will do.


Orca Bay’s Wild-Caught Halibut.

When choosing fillets for your fish and chips, you want a species that provides a mild and clean flavor with a moist and flaky texture.

Orca Bay’s wild-caught halibut is perfect for this. The portions are robust, skinless, and boneless, so the tedious work is already done. All you have to do is dip those bad boys in batter and (carefully!) place them in your fryer.

These sustainable fillets are harvested from the Northeast Pacific, so you can eat well and help the environment at the same time.

If you can’t find Orca Bay’s products at your local supermarket, don’t fret. You can purchase them at Orca Bay’s online store and get 15% off by using my perk code (KillingThyme) on any $50+ order you make.

If that doesn’t make your fish-eating easier, I don’t know what will!

If you make this dish, snap a photo and tag me on the Insta @killing__thyme! I love seeing your creations.

Get the Recipe:

Cumin Beer Battered Fish With Jalapeño Tartar Sauce

Yield: 2
Cumin is added to beer batter for a fun twist on a classic. To add to it, the golden crisp fish is served with salsa and a mouthwatering jalapeño tartar sauce.
5 from 20 votes
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Ingredients

  • 2 6 oz fillets of halibut
  • kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1-2 tsp cumin, adjust to your taste
  • 6 oz wit beer, can use a pilsner or a lager

Jalapeño Tartar Sauce.

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 TBSP pickled jalapeños, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp pickled jalapeños brine
  • 2 TBSP diced dill pickles
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard

Extras.

  • Salsa
  • French fries

Deep frying.

  • 24 oz cooking oil with high smoke point, such as vegetable oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, etc.
  • 1 large dutch oven, wok, or deep saucepan
  • 1 skimmer or large slotted spoon
  • 1 thermometer

Instructions 

Preparing your deep frying pot.

  • Place your Dutch oven over a burner. Fill the Dutch oven with just enough oil so that your fillets will be fully submerge; don't fill it more than 2/3 of the way.
  • Heat the oil over moderate heat until you reach 375° F (keep a close eye on it with the help of your thermometer). While the oil heats, prepare your fish. (Note: Stay in the kitchen the entire time you're heating and working with the oil; never leave it unattended.)

Preparing the fish.

  • Take the fish out of the fridge and out of it's packaging. Set it down on a plate lined with paper towels and, with more paper towels, dab it until it's dry to remove excess moisture. Sprinkle a bit of kosher salt over top and let the filets come to room temperature.

Cumin Beer Batter.

  • Place the flour in a large bowl. whisk in the black pepper and the cumin. Slowly but steadily pour the beer into the batter, whisking until cohesive. Set aside.

Jalapeño Tartar Sauce.

  • Combine all of the ingredients for the tartar sauce into a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined; set aside.

Deep frying the fish.

  • Once your oil has reached 375° F, dredge a fillet of fish into the batter and carefully place it into the hot oil and allow to cook for 2-4 minutes or until the batter is golden brown. When your fish is done, it should have an internal temperature of 145° F. If you have room in the pot, repeat with the other fillet, but don't crowd the pot. I cook my fillets one at a time. Once each fillet is done, carefully remove with a skimmer or large slotted spoon and transfer to a cooling rack or a plate lined with paper towels to rid of excess oil.

Serving.

  • Serve with a pile of crispy fries, salsa, and jalapeño tartar sauce.

Notes

** Please check out my segment "How to Deep Fry Fish on the Stovetop" for some useful safety tips!
Author: Dana Sandonato
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Comfort Food