Portuguese Fried Battered Hake Fish Fillets

I think this is one of the best ways to cook hake, largely because the fish itself tends not to have much flavor, so you give the fillet itself a touch of citrus, so then with the sweetness and crunch of the fried batter you have a perfect combination, tender fish and a touch of lemon cutting through the fried fat.

It really is a fantastic recipe, in this version I’ve gone for a beer batter, but you can make a water batter or a milk batter which are also delicious, I’ve also added a little coriander to the batter, and finally, as there’s a bit of batter left over, I’ve chopped onions and fried them in the batter to create delicious fried onions, rather like onion fish sticks ;D Let’s get to the recipe!

Portuguese Fried Battered Hake Fish Fillets

Servings: 8
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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Savor the crispy delight of Portuguese Fried Battered Hake Fish Fillets, a beloved dish that perfectly balances tender fish with a golden, crunchy coating.

Ingredients

Hake – 8 fillets
Beer – 150ml (Pilsner type, I used Sagres Beer)
Egg – 2 (L)
Flour – 200gr (+/-)
Coriander – A pinch
Oil – As much as needed for frying (Sunflower or Peanut)
Onion – 1
Garlic – 2 cloves
Lemon – 2
Pepper – A pinch
Salt – A pinch

Directions

Start by making the beer batter, add the eggs to a bowl and beat them until they are very creamy.

Then add the beer, coriander, salt and pepper, whisk again until everything is blended, finally add the sifted flour and whisk again, note that you want the batter to be liquid but creamy and slightly thick, you don’t want it too liquid because it won’t stick to the fish fillets and you don’t want it too thick because then the batter will be too thick after frying.
You can adjust, if the batter is too liquid add a little more flour, if it’s too thick add a little beer or water, usually to see if it’s perfect I check that it’s perfect by dipping a spoon into the batter and turning it upside down if the batter sticks and covers the belly of the spoon well then it’s ready.

Now take the batter to the fridge to rest and cool down a little. Season the hake fillets with a little salt and pepper and the juice of 1 lemon and leave for about 10 minutes.

Now prepare your deep-fat fryer or frying pan with oil, heat the oil until it’s just right, then coat each fillet in the batter, note that sometimes if the fillet is too thin, you have to dip it carefully so as not to break the fillet, then pour it into the oil to fry, turn it over when it’s golden brown.

Repeat until you have no more fillets, if you have any leftover batter you can add sliced onion and chopped garlic cloves to the batter, then take spoonfuls of the batter with the onion and fry these onion fritters, so you use up all the leftover batter, fry both sides until golden brown, drain everything on kitchen paper.
Serve everything still hot with slices of lemon and a pinch of salt on top of the fritters and, in my case, with a nice garlic rice and that’s it, bon appetit!

This recipe for Portuguese Fried Battered Hake Fish Fillets was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Filetes de Pescada Frita com Cebola Frita foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.