Beer Battered Fries

What are Beer Battered Fries

Beer battered fries are French fries dipped in beer batter and then fried to produce a glorious crispy mantle around a perfectly cooked potato fry. You must have tried them before at a restaurant or perhaps a food truck.

They are pure indulgence, having nothing to do with healthy eating and everything to do with sheer flavor and texture enjoyment through what can successfully be argued - empty calories.

And to answer a frequently pondered question - no, there is no alcohol in beer battered fries. The low amount of alcohol contained in the beer used to make a batter is promptly cooked off in the hot frying oil.

About Our Beer Battered French Fries Recipe

A thin beer batter is one of the best ways to get a crispy coating on fries and in this recipe we:

(1) present a tried and true batter you can easily adjust to increase the crunchiness if you so wish, and

(2) give you a shortcut to making beer battered fries at home that makes the process much easier and the results far superior than traditional recipes

Traditional Recipes (and Why You Should Not Follow Them)

Traditional recipes for homemade beer battered fries usually include an involved preparation stage and a double-frying process in order to obtain perfectly cooked potatoes with a crispy outside. In addition, the batter often finishes heavy and dense once fried instead of light and crispy.

The preparation includes peeling large starchy potatoes like Russets, slicing them and then soaking them in cold water for hours in order to coax the starch out. Soaking in water is necessary because when using raw potatoes their starch can cause the frying oil to foam up excessively and overflow from the frying pot. When making beer battered fries from scratch the soaked potatoes are dried after soaking and fried once until semi-cooked, then dipped into batter and fried for the second time to get crispy and fully cooked.

The process is lengthy and because the beer batter is typically made with all-purpose flour which has a high content of gluten forming proteins the batter is tricky to get right and often times the crispy coating ends up not so crispy.

The Secret to Battered Fries

Why do we say that our recipe is better than many others? Because it eliminates all the hick-ups associated with the traditional method of making battered French fries and shortens the cooking time.

We have been frying fries in beer batter for years and years, always tweaking something, always wanting to improve the process. Be sure to read the Chef's Tips section for more of our experience derived insights.

Ingredients

Store bought frozen fries. See the detailed explanation below.

Flour. We recommend a combination of all-purpose flour and rice flour to create better crunch. See the detailed explanation below.

Seasonings. You can add simply kosher salt and black pepper to season the batter, you can add paprika or cayenne or you can not add anything if you so choose.

Beer. Use a low-bitterness, highly carbonated and flavorful beer. Ideally, a golden lager such as a Czech pilsner (with its bready notes) or a German style wheat ale. It must be very cold before you add it to the batter. You can substitute with plain soda water - it will simply not contribute to the batter in terms of flavor.

Cooking oil. We recommend peanut or sunflower oil for frying.

Why to Use Store-Bought Frozen Fries

There is a reason restaurants use frozen fries to make their beer battered fries and you should use frozen fries too.

Frozen French fries are blanched (pre-cooked, briefly boiled or steamed) before they are partially fried and only then frozen. These steps effectively remove the starch and partially cook the potatoes, making them perfect for you to simply dip into beer batter and briefly fry to obtain fluffy, prefectly cooked interior and a crispy, delicious outside coating.

The double-frying process is eliminated as well as the peeling, slicing, soaking in water and then drying the potatoes. Shorter time and simpler process. Who could say no to that?

Why To Use Rice Flour in the Batter

Rice flour is helpful because it does not contain proteins that upon activation form gluten. This means that the batter does not become as strong and stretchy such as it can if you use only all-purpose flour. Instead it will create crunch. To that end we find that using rice flour in a 1:2 ratio to all-purpose flour, or even 1:1 for even more crispiness, is effective.

If you do not have rice flour on hand but have cake or double zero flour (both of which are lower in gluten forming proteins) use that by itself.

How to Make Beer Battered French Fries

Equipment. You can use your fryer, a heavy bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven or - our favorite, a Japanse tempura frying pot like the one you see below (affiliate link). We recommend it for its ease of use - almost no splashes of frying oil outside the pot, included thermometer and removable oil drip rack attached to the lid, and the ease of transfering the oil out and cleaning the pot once you are done frying.

Prep. Begin heating the oil and line up the ingredients for the beer batter and the frozen fries.

Mix the beer batter. ONLY AFTER the oil has reached frying temperature of 350 F make the batter. Whisk the two flours, salt and pepper and then add the beer, mixing lightly until just combined. A few lumps of flour are OK.

Batter and fry. Dip the frozen fries one by one into the batter, allow excess to slide off and add to the hot oil. Work as fast as you can. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes - depending on the thickness of the fries you are using.

Drain. Transfer finished fries onto a wire rack for the oil to drain. Serve immediately.

Chef's Tips

• Use ice cold beer. The colder the liquid that contacts all-purpose flour the less gluten forms.

• Do not overmix the batter - less gluten, crispier results.

• The less time the beer batter sits once mixed, the better (again less gluten will form over time). Make the batter only after the frying oil has reached 350 F and you are ready to begin frying.

• Consider using equal parts all-purpose flour and rice flour - if you like the results (much crispier) it may become your favorite combination. (Instead of 1 cup all-purpose and ½ cup rice use ¾ cup of each).

• Resist the temptation to dip a bunch of fries in the batter at once and add them to the hot oil together - they will clump up.

• To speed up the process of dipping single fries in the batter you can use two tongs (one in each hand) to dip them in batter and then drop them into the oil.

• Do not overcrowd to pot or the temperature of the oil will drop too much.

• Season the fries while still hot - with Cajun seasoning or whatever you feel drawn to.

• To keep the fries warm and crispy as you continue frying you can keep the baking sheet with the finished ones in a warm oven, about 250 F, until you are done.

How to Store and Reheat

Store leftover battered fries in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Place them inside the container only after they have cooled down completely (to avoid getting them soggy).

The best way to reheat battered French fries is to arrange them onto a baking sheet (or if just a few - a skillet) and place them inside a pre-heated 400 F oven for a couple of minutes.