From Greg Atkinson

Because it contains bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand in the heat of the fryer, beer makes an excellent frying batter that cooks up light and crisp. The residual flavors of hops and malt lend the fried food character. I like to use a beer that has a pronounced flavor, such as the slightly sweet Alaskan Amber Ale. Made with pure water from the 1,200-square-mile Juneau ice fields, the beer is based on a hundred-year-old recipe; it’s richly malted and well balanced with bitter hops. It almost seems wasteful to put this beer into a batter, but it’s not. Serve with Sweet Potato Home Fries (below), and some of the same beer to drink.

Makes 6 servings

For the Halibut

Rice bran or canola oil, for frying
2 pounds halibut fillet, cut into 6 pieces
1 teaspoon salt, or 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Beer Batter

2 eggs
One 12-ounce bottle beer or ale such as Alaskan Amber
2 cups organic unbleached white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a baking sheet with a brown paper bag or some paper towels so it will be ready to receive the fish when it’s fried. Put about 3 inches of oil in a medium cast-iron skillet or deep, heavy saucepan over high heat to get hot. When the oil reaches 375°F on a thermometer, or when a drop of the beer batter floats immediately to the surface and swims across the surface of the oil, bubbling all the way, it’s ready.

2. While the oil is heating, make the beer batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and beer. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until well combined.

3. Sprinkle the fish fillets with the salt and pepper, then dip them in the beer batter and fry, 2 at a time, until they are well browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Transfer the first fish fillets to the paper-lined baking sheet, and put them in the warm oven while frying the remaining fillets.
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Sweet Potato Home Fries

Some confusion over yams and sweet potatoes is inevitable. True yams are very large vegetables that originated in Asia; they are almost never seen in the United States. What we call yams are really dark red sweet potatoes. Marketers label dark sweet potatoes yams because it helps distinguish them from the lighter varieties. Our favorite sweet potatoes are the very dark ones sold as “ruby red yams.”

Makes 6 servings

6 medium (about 2 pounds) organic sweet potatoes or “yams”
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a nonstick silicone sheet or baker’s parchment.

2. Use a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler to peel the sweet potatoes. Cut each one in half lengthwise, then place each half cut side down and cut them into wedges about 1 inch wide at the thickest part.

3. Put the wedges in a large mixing bowl and mix with the oil. Sprinkle the sugar, salt, and pepper over the slices and toss to coat them evenly on all sides.

4. Arrange the sweet potato wedges on the prepared baking sheet with plenty of space between them. Bake for 8 minutes, then turn the slices over and bake until they are slightly browned and perfectly tender, about 5 minutes more. Serve hot.
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Greg Atkinson is author of West Coast Cooking and lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
© Copyright Greg Atkinson
Image Credit: Halibut.net
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