FOOD NEWS
For The Crispiest Fried Fish, Pull Out The
Club Soda
By Haldan Kirsch
When it comes to fried fish, the light tenderness of a fish fillet combined with a crisp, fatty, fried shell is an excellent combination, although there are a lot of mistakes that can occur during preparation. Thankfully, all you have to do to get that perfect crunch with every bite is to add a splash of club soda to your batter.
In essence, club soda is water that has been carbonated with carbon dioxide gasses, and additional minerals like potassium sulfate and sodium chloride, which come in handy since bubbles are the key to making the best possible batter. The bubbles from carbonated mixtures help limit gluten development and add lift to the batter for a crunchy result.
While many use beer to add carbonation for fried fish batter, Automatic Seafood & Oysters in Birmingham opts for club soda instead, mixing it into the batter at the last second to trap the bubbles inside of the batter. When those trapped gasses make contact with the oil, they expand and create a more open structure within the crust that results in a crunchy and light outer shell.