Re: A basic Bear batter recipe ?
Here's how I do beer batter.
Get yourself a good quality beer, preferably a medium-dark. Amber Bock is good. Guiness is better. Pour the beer into a container that you can easily mix in. Remember to salute the bottle first! Take and enjoy a sip! (Better yet, buy two, and down the second) Start mixing in flour, a little at a time, to get the consistency that you want/like. Add a teaspoon or two of malt powder. Mix until smooth.
To batter the item, dust/dredge in flour. Dip into the beer batter (gloves are good for this). Drop into the fryer. Cook to desired doneness.
Remember, some food naturally float (mushrooms), while many will sink. Foods that sink will tend to stick to the bottom of the frying vessel, or to the basket. You want to "swim" the food through the oil. Holding the battered food firmly, lower it into the hot oil. Get you fingers as close as you can stand, as the more covered in oil the batter is, the less chance it will stick. Remember, it's going to bubble up above the average level of the oil. It helps if you have gloves on, especially if they're covered in breading/batter (insulation!). "Swim" the food through the oil for a few seconds, so that the batter starts to develop a crust. Then drop it in (don't splash yourself!). Once the batter sets, and the food cooks, it should release and float.
We are doing land-office business in Fish-n-Chips at work, so beer-battering fish is easy for me, but this technique will probably scare most folks off.
Addendum: I always salt/pepper the food AFTER it comes out of the oil. Try onion rings, with two batches of batter. One seasoned, one plain, and season the plain batter when it comes out. Taste and evalute each. You'll see what I mean.
