Beer makes great batter for appetizers

A special education teacher’s aide at a local high school, Nisa Bottone-Sutton, enjoys fishing and cooking as ways to unwind in her spare time.

She and husband Ray Sutton also enjoy having guests over for beer and appetizers.

So Bottone-Sutton found a creative way to combine the things she enjoys: she came up with a flavorful beer batter recipe for frying fish and other foods to serve to her hubby and/or guests.

She calls it “Best Beer Batter,” and it’s great to use for frying fish, chicken strips, shrimp or vegetables, she said. “It can be used for onion rings, mushrooms, zucchinis,” she said. “And it sticks on them; it doesn’t fall off.”

Dredging the food in flour before dipping it in the batter is what helps it cling to food, she said.

All her recipes come about strictly by trial and error, she said. “I love to cook and I love to eat,” she said. “There's all kinds of recipes you can find on the Internet. But sometimes you try them, and they just don’t taste right.”

So after trying out several beer batter recipes she had found online, she realized she would have to create one of her own to get the flavor she wanted.

After experimenting with different combinations of ingredients, she finally settled on one that had just the right blend of spices, a light, crispy texture, and a rich, golden color.

“I am so happy with this batter recipe,” she said. “It is easy, and it works every time.”

Although many beer batter recipes call for garlic powder, Bottone-Sutton found they were still lacking in flavor. So for her recipe, she uses garlic salt. “That makes a difference,” she said.

The paprika she uses also gives the batter added flavor. But it also gives the batter a nice color that helps give the finished dish its appetizing hue.

She often uses the batter to fry chicken tenders or chicken breast strips to serve as appetizers with a dipping sauce she simply makes by heating half a cup of barbecue sauce with half a cup of orange marmalade. “It has kind of a sweet and sour taste to it,” she said.

The beer batter chicken strips can also be served as a main dish with cole slaw or other side dishes, she said.

Whether serving it as main dish or an appetizer, presentation is very important to Bottone-Sutton. “It makes it look better," she said.

“These peppers are from my garden,” she said, pointing to the colorful presentation of beer batter chicken strips she prepared for this article. “I grow these type of peppers, bell peppers and tomatoes.”

Though she sometimes experiments with that type of food presentation, she also flips through magazines for artful ideas for presenting foods she prepares for guests. “We have friends come over, and we have beer and little snacks,” she said.

“Preparing the beer batter is fairly easy," she said. "I just had to share it!”

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If you have a recipe you’d like to share with readers, contact Nancy Gilkey at nancygilkey@q.com or 261-9144

BEST BEER BATTER
(Use for frying fish, shrimp, chicken strips or vegetables)

1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups beer (Sutton prefers Miller Light)
Additional flour for dredging

  Pour the beer into a large mixing bowl. Sift the cup of flour, garlic salt, paprika and ground black pepper into the beer. Whisk in egg until the batter is light and frothy. Whisk until batter is free of lumps. Set batter aside, and heat at least two inches of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
  Meanwhile, quickly dredge chicken breast strips (or other food) in additional flour, and shake off excess flour. Then dip chicken strips in beer batter and place in pan of hot oil to fry until golden brown on each side. (NOTE: The oil must be very hot before the food is placed in the pan.)
  Serve as an appetizer with a dipping sauce, or as a main dish.