Ingredients

Method

• 4 x 160 g fresh hake fillets, skinned and deboned
• 1 pinch salt
• 330 ml Bavaria non-alcoholic regular malt beer
• 158 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• sunflower oil for frying
For the beer salt
• 10 T Maldon salt
• 10 T Bavaria non-alcoholic regular malt beer

Method

Ingredients

Cut each fish fillet in half and salt.

Put the beer into a large mixing bowl and mix in the flour using your fingertips. Dust the fish fillets with flour and shake off any excess.

In a saucepan, heat the oil. Dip each fillet into the batter, then carefully place in the oil and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden.

Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately, seasoned with beer salt.

To make the beer salt, place the salt in a nonshot stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the dark beer, 1 T at a time, allowing the liquid to evaporate before each new addition. Set aside in warm place to dry out further.

Tip from the Chef: In my view, the key to good fish and chips is the beer. In this recipe, I use a German-style weiss beer, which gives the batter a lovely rich wheat flavour. If you can’t find this kind of beer, any lager will do. When making the batter, use your fingers and leave it a little lumpy – the less you work the gluten in the batter, the better.

Serve with the perfectly cooked chips.