RED CHILE BEER BATTER
In this article I will share my favorite batter recipe. Then I will go into how batters work and how to create your own.
This batter works great for fish and chips. Thin it a little and the tempura is amazing.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 & ½ cups beer (Chilled)(Dark beer is much thicker so use less flour)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons Chimayo Brothers Red Chile Powder
Procedure:
- Place all powders in mixing bowl and mix well using a whisk.
- Slowly add beer while whisking so as to avoid clumping.
For tempura I don’t add all the flour, keeping it somewhat thinner.
Variances in batter usually are from differences in flour, liquids and flavorings.
For a traditional tempura batter swap beer for soda water. Some add egg and some even use regular wheat flour. Remember when using more powdered flavorings it calls for more liquid.
To be safe always mix all dry ingredients first then start adding liquid till you get your desired consistency.
To make things extra crispy you can add starch. Some use corn starch but I prefer sweet potato starch. With sweet potato starch you need to blend the starch with the flour in a food processor till smooth. This sometimes takes as much as 10 minutes, but the effect is well worth it.
As far as frying goes there are many opinions on what oil to use and how high to have your heat. If you are doing tempura you blanch everything first and are only cooking the batter so use peanut oil and fry between 500 and 550 Fahrenheit.
For fish use 400-450 so by the time the fish is cooked the batter is not overdone. With most commercial oils and you will get a great product. Don’t use anything but peanut oil if frying above 450 as most oils saturate around 465-480.
Fry on! Chef Jason Blum
