Cajun Beer Battered Fish with Onion Dill Dip

There are few things that rival that epic exhilaration as you reel in the fresh catch of the day! This past week, while we were up North at our cottage, we went out on one of our typical fishing “expeditions”, which rarely turn out to be particularly fruitful. Perhaps that’s because we never go at the right time of day. Or maybe it’s just the fact that we’re what you would refer to as “a noisy bunch”. Nevertheless, on this particular July afternoon, the cards were in our favour. With the good ole five of diamonds, we didn’t just catch a few jack fish… we managed to pull in eleven! I kid you not, we had to stop fishing, because we couldn’t handle it anymore. We didn’t keep all of them, of course… most of them were set free. But the few that were the perfect size for eating made their way back to our island, where the menu had officially changed.

We normally cook fish in piles of butter, lemon and capers (a wonderful combination), but on this particular evening, it just felt right to have a fish fry. So, we jimmied together a recipe with what we had on-hand and it turned out to be an absolute winner! This is my new favourite way to cook fresh fish, and I think I can speak for the whole family when I say they’d agree. Even my sister, who has a particular tough time with anything that lives underwater, devoured every last bite. So, naturally, I decided to post it here.

My one recommendation when making beer batter is to mix in the beer only once you’re ready to fry. It’s important that the beer is cold, so the mixture shouldn’t sit for long. Even once the fish has been coated, the batter should still be cold and the oil should be piping hot. The shocking contrast in temperature will give you a beautifully browned crust around the fish. If the oil isn’t hot enough, you’ll end up with soggy lacklustre breading. As for the dip, make sure to use sweet onion and dice it very fine. The texture of the onions, along with the acidity from the vinegar and lemon, gives a lovely balance to the rich batter.

Lastly, it’s always my opinion that every ingredient counts and no two ingredients are equal. Use beer you’d enjoy drinking on its own and, if possible, make your own mayonnaise! Of course, the latter isn’t always a priority for most, but it’s a nice thing to have on-hand for any occasion.