Gluten Free Home Brewing Blog

Growing up in Milwaukee Wisconsin with plenty of beer and Friday fish fries has made being gluten free challenging. I have struggled over the years to make a gluten free batter that would stick to the fish, stay stuck to the fish throughout the frying process, and then didn’t simply crumble or separate when eating. After many years of disappointing attempts with mediocre results, my interest in trying again was renewed since my wife started whipping up some great recipes made from the malted rice flours made by Eckert Malting & Brewing Co. The following is the resulting recipe.

Beer Battered Malted Fish Ingredients:

1 Cup Corn Starch
½ Cup Amber Malted Rice Flour
½ Cup Malted Sweet Rice Flour
2 Tsp Baking Power
1 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Gluten Free Beer
20 Oz Cod Fillets (six 3-4 Oz Fillets)

Chips Ingredients:

8-10 Rainbow Potatoes
2 Tsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Pepper
½ Tsp Dried Minced Garlic
½ Tsp Optional Herbs

Start by washing the potatoes. I used the rainbow-colored potatoes I grow in my garden, but any small multicolored potatoes will work. Quarter the potatoes and place on a baking sheet skin side down. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, dried minced garlic and optional herbs as preferred. Bake for 30-45 minutes at 450F.

Now we move on to the fish. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet, about 1 ½ to 2 inches deep. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and mix with a whisk. Remove about 1/3 dry ingredients into another bowl, this will be your batter. Word of advice; you can always make more wet ingredients out of dry ingredients, but you cannot make more dry ingredients out of wet ingredients. In the bowl that will be the batter, form a well in the center and gradually pour in about half a cup of gluten free beer, whisking it to form a thin batter. I of course used a dark homebrew that was on tap, but any gluten free beer will work. Add the beer slowly, and add enough beer to make a thin batter. As the batter sets, it may be necessary to add more beer.

Dredge the fish fillets in your dry flour mix. Use enough flour to dry the fish so the batter will stick, but do not over coat with flour. Next batter the fish and allow the excess batter to run off. Place the battered fish fillets, two or three at a time, into your oil and fry on each side for about 5 minutes. The batter will quickly turn golden brown in color. The fish should be cooked to at least 145F.

Plate your fried fish with your baked chips and of course, a gluten free beer!

Cheers!