The elegant abalone
The Meningie Hotel serves up their specialty, Coorong Mullet fresh from the lakes, battered in local brew, Prancing Pony Black Ale.
Ingredients
Batter mix
- 1 cup (150g) tempura flour
- 2 tablespoons (10g) Outback Pride ground Native Lemon Myrtle
- 2 tablespoons (11g) Outback Pride ground Native Pepperberry
For each serve:
- 4 fillets fresh Coorong Wild Seafood Mullet
- ½ cup batter mix
- 100ml ice cold Prancing Pony Black Ale (this is a really black ale – not a stout! – and gives you the mysterious deep colour in the batter, but if you can’t get any, try a local dark ale instead)
Method
Mix all batter ingredients together until evenly combined. Store in an airtight container until needed. To spice this up, increase the quantity of Pepperberry, or if you like more of a citrus hit, you can increase the amount of lemon myrtle you use.
Pre heat deep fryer or bring a saucepan of peanut or vegetable oil to 180C.
Combine ½ cup batter mix and black ale to make a slightly thick batter. It should be thick enough to coat the fish and not run off while cooking, but not so thick as to be a paste.
Place mullet in the batter and evenly coat all sides, then holding by the tip of the tail, gently place to each fillet into the oil letting the tail fall away so as not to splash oil towards yourself. Once all fillets are cooking, turn them with metal tongs so that all sides become crispy.
Cook for approximately 2 minutes, until golden and crisp, then remove from oil and drain on paper towel.
Serve immediately with crunchy chips, fresh salad and lemon wedges.
