Air Fryer Fish Sticks
Homemade fish sticks in the air fryer turn out crispy and delicious, with a beer batter that won't fall off of the fish! Ready in under 45 minutes.
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Lined baking sheet with rack for resting fish sticks
- 3 containers for dredging fish in batter
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 cup self-rising flour divided
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup beer we use Wernesgrüner Pils from ALDI
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon curry powder
- 1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal divided
- 1 pound Cod or other firm white fish
- oil spray, such as avocado oil spray
- Lemon slices for serving
Instructions
- To prepare the fish batter you will want to set up a work station using 3 containers.
- In the first container, whisk together ½ cup self-rising flour with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch.
- In the second dish, whisk together 2 large eggs, ½ cup beer, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon curry powder. Add remaining ½ cup flour and whisk until smooth. This mixture will have a thin batter consistency.
- Pour ½ cup stone ground yellow cornmeal into the third dish. NOTE: We work with ½ cup cornmeal at a time to help prevent clumping. Add more cornmeal as needed and discard cornmeal that gets clumpy.
- Pat 1 pound Cod dry with paper towels and cut into strips. Dry the fish thoroughly, pressing down to squeeze out any moisture.
- Using a fork, coat a piece of fish in the flour and cornstarch mixture, and gently shake off any excess flour. Place in beer batter. Don’t let your flour fork touch the batter.
- Using a separate fork, coat the fish in beer batter, making sure to fully coat all sides. Gently lift the fish out of the beer batter and allow excess to drip off. Carefully place the fish in the cornmeal mixture. Don’t let your beer batter fork touch the cornmeal.
- Finally, using a different fork, fully coat the fish with cornmeal. Gently shake off excess and place fish on a rack while you continue to coat the remaining fish in this same manner. Continue until all fish is coated. Note: Use a rack placed inside a baking tray. I line the tray with foil for easy clean up.
- Set rack with fish in fridge for at least 30 minutes before air frying.
- When ready to air fry, preheat the air fryer to 400°F. (200°C)
- When air fryer is preheated, remove the air fryer basket and spray the basket with oil spray. Place fish in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Don’t let the fish touch.
- Spray fish with oil spray, such as avocado oil spray, to coat each of the fish pieces well. You want to make sure you coat the top side of the fish pieces with the oil spray to wet all of the cornmeal. You don’t want to see any dry spots of cornmeal.
- Air fry at 400°F (200°C) for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Use tongs to carefully remove air fried fish to a cooling rack. Continue cooking until all fish is air fried. You may need to air fry in batches.
- Allow fish to rest before serving. We like to use the resting time to make a side, like homemade french fries or onion rings!
- Serve with Lemon slices for squeezing on fish sticks and 4 ingredient tartar sauce, if desired. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know in the comments below!
Notes
- Working with cold fish will help the batter stick to the fish. Be sure you keep it refrigerated until ready to use.
- Use a different fork for each container when breading the fish. That will help keep each fork clean so you don’t get clumps in the cornmeal.
- We work with ½ cup cornmeal at a time to help prevent clumping. Add more cornmeal as needed and discard cornmeal that gets too many clumps.
- Discard remaining flour mixture, beer batter, and cornmeal. It can't be used again.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 843kcalCarbohydrates: 115gProtein: 62gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 261mgSodium: 1356mgPotassium: 1361mgFiber: 9gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 335IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 83mgIron: 5mg