Fish Fry Friday:Beer Battered Tilapia and Potato Pancakes

Fish fry and Milwaukee go hand and hand. Rather than spend a lot of money on going out at $13.95 I was able to make this whole meal for dollars. The Tilapia I got as part of a buy one get one free promotion. The bags are $7.95. The bag I used was the free one. The beer I have had sitting in my basement fridge for months. Priceless! The flour I have in my pantry. And the baking soda and potatoes I have in my pantry also.

There were 4 fillets in the bag. Not enough to feed my family of four. However, I cut each fillet into 8ths and was able to make 32 good sized nuggets. The Pan cakes also make a lot so I will be eating the remainder of those for breakfast. They are good with applesauce or syrup.

Please excuse the blurry pics. My hubby needs glasses. Really he does!



Beer Battered Fish

2 cups all purpose flour
16 oz beer
1/2 tsp Zatarain's Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tilapia fillets or a mild fish like catfish
3 inches of oil (canola or peanut)

In a large bowl add the flour and seasonings. Combine with a fork. Pour in the beer a little at a time. Use a whisk to stir. The batter will have some lumps. Add the remaining beer. You want to watch to make sure the batter does not get too thin. It should have the consistency of pancake batter. Soak the fish chunks in the batter.

Over medium heat warm the oil. Test for readiness by dropping a bit of the batter into the oil. If the batter floats to the top the oil is ready. Add 5-6 pieces of fish at a time. They will float to the top. The oil will also cool down some when you first add the fish so you may have to adjust the heat. Cook on each side for 3-6 minutes. Drain on paper towels and paper plates. You may have to change the paper towels several times. Season with salt and your favorite seasoning.

Potato Pancakes

1 1/2 c flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 TBSP sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 medium  potatoes shredded
1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper

Shred the potatoes and with a paper towel drain the liquid out of the potatoes. In a medium sized bowl add the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper together. Add the potatoes and egg. Add the milk a bit at a time. Depending on the humidity you may not need all the milk. Stir til combined and the consistency is right. Use a ladle. In a large non stick frying pan or griddle spray PAM. Add two ladles of batter at a time. Cook on the first side. When you see bubbles throughout the whole pancake flip over. Cook for an additional 3 minutes. Serve with syrup or applesauce.