Sous vide fish and chips solves the fundamental problem with fried fish: timing. With traditional methods, you’re trying to cook raw fish in hot oil without overcooking it. The window between perfect and rubbery is about 30 seconds. Miss it and you’ve got dry, stringy fish.

Here’s the fix: Cook the cod sous vide at 124°F until just done, chill it completely, then fry it in beer batter. The fish can’t overcook because it’s already cooked. The frying is just about the batter. And because the fish is cold, it gives off less steam, which means the batter stays crispier.

The result is moist, flaky cod inside a light, crispy crust. Every single time. Serve it with proper twice-cooked chips and tartar sauce, and you’ve got the best fish and chips you’ll make at home.

Chef Griffin

Sous Vide Fish and Chips • Beer-Battered Cod with Tartar Sauce

Perfect fish and chips using sous vide. Cod cooked to 124°F, chilled, then fried in beer batter for moist, flaky fish with crispy crust every time. Includes tartar sauce and proper chips.

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Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

For the cod

1½ pounds skinless cod fillet cut into strips 1½ inches wide
Salt
1 teaspoon canola or other mild vegetable oil

Beer Batter

1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup potato starch or cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 12-ounce bottle pilsner or other pale lager
1 tablespoon malt or cider vinegar

Tartar Sauce

¼ cup mayonnaise homemade or store-bought
¼ cup sour cream or crème fraîche
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley dill, or tarragon, or a mixture
2 tablespoons minced cornichon or other sour pickle
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For frying

British-Style Chips see link in notes, cooked in the bag but not fried
Canola or other mild vegetable oil for deep-frying
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon or fleur de sel

Method

Prepare and Cook the Cod

Preheat your sous vide water bath to 51°C (124°F).
Season the cod strips with salt and then coat them with the oil to prevent them from sticking to one another and the bag.
Place the fish in a single layer in a gallon-size freezer-safe ziplock bag and seal using the water displacement method.
When the water reaches 51°C (124°F), lower the bagged fish into the water bath (making sure the bag is fully submerged) and cook for 15 minutes.
When the fish is ready, remove the bag from the water bath, transfer it to an ice water bath, and chill until completely cold, about 15 minutes.

Make the Batter and Tartar Sauce

While the fish is cooking and cooling, prepare the batter and tartar sauce.
To make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, potato starch, salt, and baking powder until blended, then whisk in the beer and vinegar until well combined.
To make the tartar sauce: In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, cornichon, shallot, and lemon juice, mixing well. Season with salt and pepper. Set the batter and sauce aside until you’re ready to fry.

Fry the Fish and Chips

Line a sheet pan with paper towels and place near the stove. Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Pour the oil to a depth of at least 1½ inches into a cast-iron or other deep heavy skillet and place over medium heat. The oil should come no more than one-third of the way up the side of the skillet to ensure it will not boil over the rim once the potatoes and fish are added.
Heat the oil on medium heat until a wooden skewer or bamboo chopstick inserted into the center of the oil bubbles immediately, or the oil registers 350°F on a high-heat thermometer.
First, fry the chips as directed in the British-Style Chips recipe. Transfer to one end of the towel-lined sheet pan, and keep warm in the oven.
Gently remove the chilled fish from the bag and slip the pieces into the bowl of batter. Using your fingertips, turn the pieces in the batter to coat evenly. This is a bit of a delicate operation, as the pieces will flake apart if handled roughly.
Carefully transfer the battered fish to the oil, spacing the pieces at least 2 inches apart. (Depending on the size of your pan, it will take two or three batches to fry all of the pieces.)
Fry the fish pieces, without stirring, until the batter turns deep golden brown at the edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
Using tongs, flip the pieces over and fry until evenly golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Transfer the cod to the free end of the towel-lined sheet pan, season with flaky salt, and return the pan to the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining fish.

Serve

To serve, set out the fish and chips on a large platter or on a newspaper-lined table. Accompany with the tartar sauce for dipping.

Notes

Sous Vide Temperature:

51°C (124°F) gives you delicate, flaky fish
The cod will be just barely cooked through
Chilling after cooking firms it up for easier handling during battering

About the Fish:

Cod is traditional, but haddock or pollock work great
Cut into strips about 1½ inches wide for even cooking
The oil coating prevents sticking in the bag

Beer Batter:

Use a pale lager or pilsner – not a heavy beer
The malt vinegar adds authentic British flavor
Potato starch makes the batter extra crispy
Can be made up to 3 hours ahead and kept in the fridge

Tartar Sauce:

Homemade is vastly better than store-bought
Use a mix of herbs if you can – it adds complexity
Cornichons (French pickles) are ideal, but any sour pickle works
Make ahead and refrigerate for up to 3 days

British-Style Chips:

These are thick-cut fries, cooked sous vide then fried
See the linked recipe for full instructions
They’re cooked in the bag first, then fried alongside the fish
Essential for authentic fish and chips

Frying Oil:

Use a neutral oil with high smoke point
Canola, vegetable, or peanut oil all work
Oil should be at least 1½ inches deep
Don’t fill pan more than one-third full

Do-Ahead Strategy

This recipe has a long list of components, but many of them can be made ahead:

Cooked potatoes (chips): Can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 1 week
Cooked and chilled cod: Can be refrigerated in the bag for up to 2 days before frying
Beer batter: Can be made up to 3 hours in advance and kept in the fridge
Tartar sauce: Can be made and refrigerated for up to 3 days

The only thing you must do at the last minute is the actual frying. But with everything prepped ahead, that final step takes only 15-20 minutes.

Why Sous Vide the Fish?

Traditional fish and chips recipes fry raw fish. The problem is that fish cooks quickly and the window between perfectly done and overdone is about 30 seconds. With raw fish in hot oil, you’re gambling every time.

Sous vide removes that stress. The fish is gently cooked to precisely 124°F, then chilled. When you fry it, you’re only crisping the batter and warming the fish through. The fish itself cannot overcook.

The other benefit: chilled fish gives off less steam when it hits the hot oil. Less steam means the batter adheres better and stays crispier. You get a lighter, more delicate crust.

Chilling is essential:

Don’t skip the ice bath step
The fish needs to be completely cold before battering
Cold fish = less steam = crispier batter

Oil temperature matters:

Too hot (over 375°F): Batter burns before fish warms through
Too cool (under 325°F): Batter absorbs oil and gets greasy
Sweet spot: 350°F

Don’t crowd the pan:

Fry in batches
Leave 2 inches between pieces
Crowding drops oil temperature and makes soggy batter

The newspaper presentation:

Traditional British fish and chips are served wrapped in newspaper
Use clean newsprint or parchment paper for presentation
It’s not just for show – it absorbs excess oil

Classic British style:

Malt vinegar for sprinkling
Mushy peas on the side
Tartar sauce for dipping
Lemon wedges

Pub-style:

Serve with a pint of lager
Add coleslaw
Pickled onions on the side

Make it a meal:

Garden salad with vinaigrette
Bread and butter
Extra tartar sauce

Different fish:

Haddock (traditional in Scotland)
Pollock (more sustainable)
Halibut (more expensive, very flaky)
Any firm white fish works

Batter variations:

Use ale instead of lager for richer flavor
Add a pinch of cayenne for heat
Use rice flour for extra-crispy batter
Add Old Bay seasoning for American twist

Tartar sauce variations:

Add capers for more brine
Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
Add a dash of hot sauce
Mix in minced garlic

Serving style:

Make fish tacos with cabbage slaw
Serve as a sandwich on a soft roll
Make fish sliders with tartar sauce
Cut into nuggets for kids

The Chips

You can’t have fish and chips without proper chips. British chips are thick-cut, cooked twice for a fluffy interior and crispy exterior. The linked recipe uses sous vide to cook the potatoes perfectly before the final fry.

If you’re short on time, good frozen thick-cut fries are an acceptable substitute. But if you want the real deal, make the British-Style Chips – they’re worth it.

This is pub food elevated. The sous vide step ensures the fish is always perfectly cooked – moist, flaky, tender. The beer batter is light and crispy. The tartar sauce is bright and tangy. And when you bite through that golden crust into the delicate fish inside, you’ll understand why this dish has been a British institution for over a century.

Sous Vide Fish and Chips • Beer-Battered Cod with Tartar Sauce