This Crispy No Beer Batter Fish Fry – Gluten Free recipe is delicious, approachable, and ready to rock your Friday night Fish Fry!

I can’t believe it myself… How has something so delicious gone virtually unnoticed in the gluten-free world? I get it, beer battered fish is a bit of a double negative to most gluten free folks. First, beer is generally full of gluten. Yes, nowadays you can find some great GF beers like New Belgium Glutiny or Two Brothers Prairie Path, but still they’re not very well known.

Second, beer batter is flour based! I think the perception is that making a gf batter is almost intimidating. In truth, this recipe is incredibly easy, fun, and beyond rewarding. Yes, it can be slightly messy, but not too bad. And, if you have a side burner on your grill, utilizing it comes highly recommended (as long as it’s not raining).

Other Than Fish, what’s in the Crispy No Beer Batter Fish Fry – Gluten Free recipe?

There is absolutely nothing exotic or actually intimidating in this recipe. I think this is what makes this Crispy No Beer Batter Fish Fry – Gluten Free recipe so approachable. All the ingredients should be readily available in most moderately stocked kitchens!

<<< GF Flour >>>

I’m a huge fan of the King Arthur Measure For Measure Gluten Free Flour Mix. You can use whichever flour mix you prefer, even wheat flour for our non-gluten free friends!

<<< Cornstarch >>>

If you don’t have cornstarch in your kitchen, then I don’t know what to tell you. I included cornstarch in this recipe as it adds a little more substance and crispiness to the batter once fried.

<<< Baking Powder >>>

I’ve been in Airbnb’s with virtually nothing in their cabinets, except baking powder, salt, and pepper! We’re using this primarily for the secondary activation. Once the baking powder hits the heat, the chemical reaction activates by creating carbon dioxide – fluffing the batter.

<<< Spices >>>

Salt, Pepper, Cayenne, and Old Bay Seasoning! If you don’t have Old Bay or a similar seafood seasoning, you can substitute it for 4:1 ratio of paprika to garlic powder.

<<< Soda Water >>>

Again you caught me… This might not be in your kitchen, it’s probably in your bar area or garage. Come on, who doesn’t have a plastic blue liter of “Club Soda” stashed away somewhere? We use this for a supplementary expansion of the breading.

<<< Eggs, Milk, and Oil >>>

These fridge staples help with flavor, stickiness to the fish, and that beautiful golden brown color. And the oil, well, that’s for cooking! Make sure you use a neutral high heat oil. I prefer Grapeseed, Avocado, or Peanut Oil. The batch you see in the pictures was cooked with Peanut Oil.

Like I had said, the batter in Crispy No Beer Batter Fried Fish – Gluten Free is very straight forward. Now all you need to do is find some fish worth frying!

Tell The Knights About Crispy No Beer Batter Fish Fry – Gluten Free

Have you been to a Lenten Fish Fry? Whether you’re Catholic or not, many Catholic Church’s host Friday Night Fish Fries during the Lenten Season (the time between Mardi Gras and Easter). It’s generally ran by The Knights of Columbus as fundraiser for the church. A Catholic organization, the Knights of Columbus seek to contribute not only within their own parish, but also throughout the community. My big pet peeve with their gluten free fish fry option is that its baked fish! What kind of sane person wants to eat baked fish, while everyone else is eating crispy deliciousness? So, share this recipe with your local Knights of Columbus as a great option!

Fish Worth Frying

Here’s a big reveal… I’m not a huge fish fan. I love other seafood, whether it loves me is a different story (I’ve become allergic to shellfish in recent years), but fish, just normal regular fish is very “hit or miss”. If you’ve been following the blog since the start, maybe you’ve noticed that this is the first fish recipe I post. My wife tells me my fish cooking skills are pretty great for someone that doesn’t like fish. Here’s my thinking… if I’m going to have to eat it, I’m going to make it appetizing! Can you imagine not enjoying fish only to eat poorly cooked fish? I’d rather eat cat food.

So back to the fish that is best for frying…

We’re talking battered and deep fried fish. When choosing the fish, keep in mind that the fried batter does wonders, and you don’t need to go overboard. The pictures you’re seeing here are of rockfish and halibut, the latter being a bit overboard, but I happened to have some in the freezer. Rockfish, Ocean Perch, Cod Fish, Freshwater Perch, Walleye, Striped Bass, Flounder, and, if you must, Catfish and Tilapia are all prime fish fry material. They’re all delicious on their own, reasonably priced, and sturdy enough to batter and fry.

You’ve Found The Secret of Crispy No Beer Batter Fish Fry – Gluten Free!!!

Seriously, I’ve got two secret recipes not mentioned above. The first is a great coleslaw recipe and the second, and by far by far the most important is the tartar sauce!!!! Both are most definite requirements for a solid fish fry. When was the last time you’ve seen fried fish without the magic of mayo in these two forms?

Required Sides for a Fish Fry

You’ve got the slaw and tartar, what more do you need? Potatoes! I think in pretty much any form imaginable, except mashed, is a great side for fish fry. My absolute favorite, which may sound weird to anyone outside of Wisconsin, is potato pancakes (latkes) or secondarily hand cut fries seasoned in Old Bay Seasoning. If you haven’t tried either, you really should!

Tips and Tricks of Crispy No Beer Batter Fish Fry – Gluten Free

• Like all things fried, it’s best when eaten hot and fresh. After a while the crispness starts to dwindle, but if you let it cool about 5 min and then double fry it, it will help keep it crispy.
• Reheating is best in an airfryer for approximately 5 minutes on 350°F. You can also use an oven, but I’d increase the temp to 400°F.
• If your fish is frozen, the best way to thaw it is in room temperature water. It doesn’t take very long.
• Pat dry the fish before coating it in the batter. If there are water droplets on the fish, it’ll water down the batter keeping it from properly adhering. Plus, water and oil DO NOT MIX WELL!
• Caution 1!: The oil gets hot… I’m being obvious, but keep kids, pets, and water away from the hot oil.
• Caution 2!: If a grease fire were to occur, which it won’t, but remember the childhood lessons from your 3rd Grade Fire Station Field Trip – Put out a grease fire with baking soda or a fire extinguisher. Preferably start with baking soda, you can rinse off the fish and start fresh, not so much with the extinguisher.

Check Out These Classics:

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Crispy No Beer Batter Fish Fry – Gluten Free

5 from 2 votes

Course: Lunch, Dinner, AppetizersCuisine: British, Southern, American

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

An approachable, crisp, and utterly delicious gluten free battered fried fish recipe with tartar sauce and homemade coleslaw!

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Crispy No Beer Batter Fish

• 2 Lbs 2 White Fish Filets

• 1/2 Cup 1/2 Gf Flour

• 1/4 Cup 1/4 Corn Starch

• 2 Tbsp 2 Baking Powder

• 1 1 Large Egg

• 3/4 Cup 3/4 Sparkling Water (Soda Water)

• 1/4 Cup 1/4 Whole Milk (I’m sure Skim or 1% are fine)

• 2 tsp 2 Old Bay Seasoning

• 1-1/2 tsp 1-1/2 Himalayan Pink Salt

• 1 tsp 1 Fine Ground Black Pepper

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 Cayenne Pepper (Optional)

• 2 Cups 2 High Heat Oil (for frying, I use Peanut Oil)

• Tartar Sauce

• 2/3 Cup 2/3 Mayonnaise

• 1 tsp 1 Fresh Ground Black Pepper

• 3 Tbsp 3 Sweet Relish

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 Himalayan Pink Salt

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 Lemon Zest

• 1-1/2 tsp 1-1/2 Lemon Juice

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 Worcestershire Sauce

• 2 tsp 2 Fresh Dill – Finely Chopped

• Coleslaw

• 4 Cups 4 Green Cabbage- Thin Sliced

• 2 Cups 2 Shredded Carrots

• 2/3 Cup 2/3 Red Onion- Slivered

• 3 Tbsp 3 Lemon Juice

• 2 tsp 2 Ground Coriander

• 1/2 Cup 1/2 Cilantro- Roughly Chopped

• 1 Cup 1 Mayonnaise

• 2 Tbsp 2 Granulated White Sugar

• 1 tsp 1 Himalayan Pink Salt

• 1 tsp 1 Fine Ground Black Pepper

Directions

• Crispy No Beer Batter Fish
• In a medium sized bowl combine all dry ingredients: GF Flour, Cornstarch, Baking Powder, Old Bay, Salt, Pepper, and Cayenne and mix.
• Combine your Egg, Milk, and Soda Water. Mix them together and pour it into the dry ingredients.
• Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and set aside for 5 minutes.
• Slice your Fish Filets into manageable sized pieces for frying and eating.
• In a cast iron skillet, deep fryer, or large pan add approximately 2 Cups of High Heat Oil, such as Peanut Oil. (You’ll want approximately 1.5 inches of oil in the pan.
• While the oil is heating, layer paper towel on a cooling rack for the finished batter and fried fish for oil absorption. You want your oil temperature to be between 350°-375°F for frying. If the temperature is too low, the end product will be too oily. If it gets much higher than 375°F the outside cooks too quickly.
• Once at temperature, using tongs dip the fish into the batter and place the battered fish into the pan. Continue adding one piece at a time leaving room in between.
• After approximately 2-3 minutes, you’ll see the golden color appear on the edge, use the tongs to flip the fish and continue frying for another 2 minutes.
• Once to your desired color, remove the fried fish and place it on the cooling rack to absorb the excess oil.
• Serve your fish with the tartar sauce and coleslaw accompanying this recipe and any other sides!
• Enjoy!
• Tartar Sauce
• In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
• Mix together and serve with the fish!
• Coleslaw
• In a medium sized bowl combine all ingredients.
• Mix together and serve!

Notes

• The prep time includes making the tartar sauce. The coleslaw will add another 5-10 minutes of prep time.

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