This easy Halibut Fish and Chips recipe makes perfectly crisp, flaky fish. It’s a great family-friendly meal to make any night of the week.
We first tried fish and chips with halibut during a fishing trip to Alaska. The dish is lightly breaded with panko breadcrumbs and quickly fried for a golden crust over tender fish. On the side, don’t leave out the homemade “chips”, or thick-cut french fries.
I’ve always loved the fish and chips at Market Street Grill, my family’s favorite local seafood restaurant. And I realized that a lot of that had to do with their delicious tartar sauce. So be sure to make your own homemade tartar sauce for dipping the fish and chips.
Update: We’ve updated this post with tips to make fish and chips in an air fryer for a healthier twist on this classic recipe. Cheers!
I came back from my trip to Alaska with 30 pounds of halibut! We had fun catching it, but it might have been even more fun when we got back to my brother’s house and he fried it up for us. My brother coats it in Panko Bread Crumbs, so the fish is extra crispy and delicious.
Then when we got home from Alaska, I fried up another batch with some chips and served it with my favorite homemade tartar sauce from Market Street Grill. Sometimes I think I go to Market Street for the halibut just so I can eat the tartar sauce. (It’s pretty good as a dip for the fries too!)
How to Make Halibut Fish and Chips
The most important thing about this easy fish and chips recipe is choosing fresh halibut. Look for fish that’s bright white, firm and has no smell. From there, this is a straightforward dinner recipe perfect for a mid-week treat.
Making The Chips
First, prepare the potatoes for your chips. One of the secrets to truly crispy fries is to soak the cut potatoes first. This not only keeps the potatoes from turning colors in the open air, it also helps rinse off some of the starch. By rinsing this away, the edges of your chips will turn crisp and golden as they cook.
Secondly, be sure that your oil reaches 325°F for the first fry and 375°F for the second fry. Any cooler, and the potatoes will absorb oil, rather than cook. You should hear sustained sizzling the whole time the potatoes are submerged in the oil.
Finally, double frying your chips is key. It ensures that the potato wedges are cooked all the way through and that they have a firm crust on the outside. The second fry will be hotter and faster than the first.
Dredging & Frying Halibut
The next step in this recipe is, of course, the fish itself. Before you get cooking, dredge the halibut in seasoned flour, eggs and panko breadcrumbs. You only need a light coating to make super crispy, golden colored fried halibut.
Again, be sure the oil is hot enough (but not too hot!) before you start frying the fish. Carefully flip the fish halfway through cooking if the fillets are not fully submerged in the oil. Transfer each piece to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while you finish frying.
How to Make Air Fryer Fish and Chips
You can easily adapt this recipe to the air fryer. To do so, preheat your air fryer to 360°F. Bread the fish and spray each fillet lightly with vegetable oil. Bake in the preheated air fryer for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. The fish should reach an internal temperature of 145°F.
You can even make the chips in your air fryer too. Use my recipe for delicious Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer French Fries––I think you’ll love them!
More Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes
Here are some more of my most popular weeknight meals to try next:
- Air Fryer Pizza Pockets is another fantastic use for your air fryer, this time to make cheesy mini pizzas.
- Thai Chicken Burritos is a slightly spicy, protein-packed and easy to transport dinner recipe.
- Thai-Style Pressure Cooker Fish from Pressure Cooking Today is another healthy and light way to cook fish at home.
- Crispy Baked Salmon from Taste and Tell Blog is another crispy and flavor-packed fish recipe to try.
Halibut Fish and Chips
Equipment
Ingredients
CHIPS
- 4 large baking potatoes
- Canola oil for frying
- Kosher salt
FRIED HALIBUT
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 3 pounds halibut cut into cubes
- [Homemade Tartar Sauce] for serving
Instructions
- CHIPS
- Peel and cut the potatoes into ¼ by ¼-inch thick fries. Place in a large bowl of cold water.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a large, straight-sided pan or deep fryer to 325ºF. Drain the fries in batches on paper towels.
- Fry each batch for 3 to 4 minutes until pale blonde and remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
- Just before serving, increase the heat of the oil to 375ºF and fry the potatoes again, in batches, until golden brown. Remove to a sheet pan lined with paper towels and season with kosher salt.
- FRIED HALIBUT
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Heat at least 2 inches of oil to 360ºF in a large skillet.
- In a shallow dish or pie plate, whisk together the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Dredge each piece of halibut in flour, shake off excess, then dip in the eggs, and finally coat evenly with panko.
- Fry the fish batches until golden brown on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
- Serve with chips and homemade tartar sauce.
Lynda
How wonderful that you got to vacation in Alaska Barbara! What great memories you are going to have, and what great food too. The fish and chips is perfectly cooked and I can’t wait to try the tarter sauce.
Maria
Josh loves fish and chips. He will have to try making his own! Great recipe!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel
Wow! That’s a lot of fish! Love panko on anything. I bet hubs would love this and maybe could trick the girls into trying it too w/that yummy crunch.
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc
wow what a trip! This recipe is a keeper for sure!
bellini
Halibut would be my fish of choice. My dad, bless his heart, woiuld love this since fish and chips is all he ever orders on the menu.
Kitchen Belleicious
those fish look perfectly battered, perfectly fried, and perfect for my family. hands down one of my all time favorite meals
Julia @ Mélanger
My husbane would give anything to come home with a load of fish like that. His dad fishes regularly and smokes any trout he catches. We got a parcel of it yesterday actually. But nothing like fresh fish, no? This looks wonderful!!!
Lauren from Lauren's Latest
My husband is dying to go to Alaska! What a fun vacation! I can’t believe you came home with that much fish!
Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels
Your fish and chips look amazing! I love love love fish and chips. I wish I had this for dinner instead! 🙂
BethieofVA
YUM!!! This looks sooo good. How in the world did you get it home? I went to Alaska in 1998 and had a BLAST!! We were in Wasilla and traveled from there. LOVED IT!!
Donna
Ok, Barbara – when should I come over for dinner? Looks DElish!
cindy
Hubby spent a week in Alaska and had the best vacation ever! We also enjoyed the salmon and halibut. This looks like an awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing.
kim sisto robinson
~Barbara,
This looks “Out of this World!!!”
Ohhh, My.
foodwanderings
Hi Barb, Wow had no clue you went to Alaska and you had your brother there. Nice! I have never been abd wish to go someday. How do you bring so many lbs back with you, I always worry the narc dogs will sniff the Indian spices I bring from Israel and mistaken them for drugs and I will end up in Jail:). BTW love fish and chips but never made it! Yum!
Barbara
Actually they have the system down. As soon as you get off the boat they fillet it for you, then there’s a store that vacuum packs it right near the dock. They sell insulated fish boxes to ship it home after it’s frozen. We we got off the airplane I was amazed at just how many fish boxes there were mixed in with the luggage. You’ll have to make. Definitely yum!
Blond Duck
(Sniffling) I love halibut! LOVE it!
kristy
30 pounds of halibut!!! That takes weeks to finish them. ha… Good on you! I bet you had a great fun there. The pictures look fantastic. Thanks for sharing & hope you’re enjoying your day.
Blessings, Kristy
Lisa
Oh..forgot to add..glad you had a wonderful vacay! I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska, and that halibut haul is just awesome!
Lisa
Be glad you didn’t do the baklava challenge, not even because of the phyllo, but because it’s impossible to stop eating. I’m expanding..sideways. Anyway, since I’m already expanding, why not deep fried fish and chips? With all the sweet, your savory basket of battered and fried halibut plus crispy fries is calling to me! It looks perfect! Bring on the malt vinegar! 🙂
Barbara
I’m sure you’re right. I wouldn’t be able to stop eating it either.
Anna Johnston
How cool is the pic of the fish, looks awesome. And, What a brilliant bounty of loot you’ve come home with. Sauce sounds fabulous. So craving a plate of fish now. 🙂
Nachiketa
I love fish!!! The fish & chips look super….
So glad you enjoyed the trip :)))))
Cheers,
The Variable, Crazy Over Desserts – Nachiketa
Catch me on facebook @ Crazy Over Desserts