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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.

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?

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.

5 from 20 votes

Cumin Beer Battered Fish With Jalapeño Tartar Sauce

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.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
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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!
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
5 from 20 votes

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39 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I really am terrified of frying anything lol, but I’ll take your word for it! Maybe you can just deliver these to mah belly :D (and fried halibut?!!? omggggg)

  2. I lol’d at the ‘farting bottle of ketchup.’ Haha. Soooo true. I’m with you, I’ve kind of always thought of fish and chips as a restaurant meal. There are a handful of foods that have always seemed either too specialized to do at home, or too difficult. Deep frying has always felt a little too terrifying to me, but lately I’ve had some success with it. It’s a lot easier than I imagined it to be! So I have to say, this post feels very timely! Love the addition of cumin to the batter too – it’s one of my favourite spices, and I can practically taste how it would work with the beer batter, firm halibut, and that awesome sounding jalapeno tartar sauce. Yes. Please. Awesome work Dana.

    1. Thanks, Sean!
      Haha, in my mind, you’re not eating frozen fish sticks until you’ve made your bottle of ketchup fart :)
      I’m glad you’ve had some success with deep frying! Look at us, being all growed up.

  3. Fish and chips is one of my favorite dishes and I love this spicy approach to making it at home. I’ll have to get some Orca fillets and try it!

    1. Orca’s fillets are so so good. They really bring frozen fish to a whole new level and they destroy the notion that frozen fish is low quality. I’m always super excited when I get a shipment. If you order from them, make sure to use my coupon code so you can get a discount! <3

  4. 5 stars
    This looks amazing! I’m not much into fish, but I do love it fried :) And the flavors here… so amazing!

  5. 5 stars
    I tend to reserve deep frying for special occasions (for the same reasons you’ve avoided it), but it’s never as bad as I fear! This recipe looks totally worth hauling out the vat of hot oil for! I love the addition of cumin!

  6. 5 stars
    I rarely go for battered fish, but when I do, it’s a definite treat. And this recipe is absolutely treat worthy! Love the cumin (and the beer!) in the batter and the jalapeno tartar sauce sounds so perfect! Oh, and I love your reference to the farting ketchup bottle!! That’s a childhood throwback for sure!

    1. Thanks, Leanne! I’m with you. When I was a kid, deep fried seafood was a favorite. But I guess my palate has matured as I’ve gotten older. Now it’s a *sometimes* thing, but dang. So necessary once in a while.
      Haha, I still laugh at the farting ketchup bottle. I guess I haven’t FULLY matured :)

  7. 5 stars
    Until a year ago I had major fear of frying at home too. But it isn’t as big a deal as I thought it was going to be. And you’re right, so worth it! This recipe sounds amazing and I love halibut, so knowing about this source is helpful!

  8. 5 stars
    Farting ketchup was and always will be awesome. haha!
    Fish and chips is one of my FAVE foods but I never think to make it at home – now that I found this recipe, I can’t resist! I love that your flavour your batter with cumin and that tartar sauce – I love everything spicy!

    1. Right? I’m so glad I’m not the only grown adult who still giggles at a farting bottle of ketchup. Haha.

      I hope you love this! Definitely keep me posted :) Thanks, Joyce!

  9. Ok. I’m inspired. I don’t mind eating something deep fried, but have always hated to stink up my kitchen making it – but cumin in a beer batter – I may have to make an exception… Thx for a great recipe idea! Diane | Kitchen Bliss | FBC

    1. Oh Diane, I hear you. After frying this up, as happy as I was with the outcome, I had to throw the windows open and jump in the shower. You just can’t help but feel like a greaseball if you’re not used to indoor frying! but it *IS* worth it every once in a while, I will say that ;)