Macheesmo

There’s a local bar in our town that’s right across from the courthouse.  This is possibly a bad idea since probably 95% of the cases that roll through there are somehow alcohol-related.  Regardless, since Betsy is an attorney, this bar turned into the local watering hole for her and her coworkers.

That pretty much means it’s my local watering hole also.

The beers are reasonably priced and during the week they have free popcorn which makes it a winner in my book.

We don’t usually get food there (besides popcorn), but occasionally Bets will order her favorite appetizer on their menu: Fried Green Beans!  I’ve never had these before, but they are really delicious so I set out to recreate them!

Fried Green Beans

by Nick

Serves:

Serves 2-4

Prep Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

25 mins

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Fresh green beans coated with a light beer battered and deep fried golden brown. Perfects served with a spicy Sriracha dipping sauce.

Ingredients

1/2 pound fresh green beans, cleaned

1 quart oil for frying

Beer Batter:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1 egg

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup light beer

Sriracha Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons sriracha

Instructions

1) Wash green beans and trim off ends.

2) Mix dry ingredients for batter in a large bowl. Add egg and oil to a small bowl and whisk together.

3) Combine egg with dry ingredients and then add enough beer to thin out the batter, about a cup, but maybe a bit more. It should have the consistency of a pancake batter.

4) Heat your frying oil to 350 degrees.

5) Add green beans to bowl with batter. Stir to coat green beans evenly.

6) Fry green beans in batches for about 4-5 minutes until they are a deep golden brown.

7) Let green beans drain briefly and serve immediately with Sriracha dipping sauce!

Fried Green Beans

The Beans

At the bar, it’s possible that they use frozen green beans, but if you’re taking the time to make these Fried Green Beans at home, go ahead and grab some nice fresh looking beans.  They should be firm and bright green.

No need to break these in half or anything.  Just wash them and then chop off the ends of the beans.  The easiest way I’ve found to do this is to line up the ends of the beans and then use some kitchen shears to chop off a bunch at once, rather than doing one at a time.

The Batter

The batter for these green beans is really important.  You want it light, but also super crispy.  I have no idea what the bar uses to batter their green beans, but I went with a simple beer batter and it worked great.

A touch of cornmeal and a heavy dose of spices really makes the batter special.

Besides an egg and some oil which you can just stir in with the dry ingredients, most of the liquid comes from beer!

Use the best light beer you can find! (Sarcasm.)

You’ll probably need about a cup of beer to pull the batter together.  It should be the about the consistency of a pancake batter.  Don’t be afraid to add a bit more flour or beer to get the consistency right.  It’s a pretty flexible recipe.

The Sauce

While you’re heating your oil for frying to 350 degrees, you can also throw together a quick dipping sauce.  This sauce doesn’t get easier.  Just stir together some mayo, buttermilk, and a good dose of sriracha hot sauce and your sauce is done!

The Test Batch

Any time I’m frying something, especially if it’s the first time I’m trying it, I always do a test batch.

Once the oil is hot, just dip a green bean in the batter and let it fry!  After a few minutes, my green bean was perfectly golden brown.  Some of the batter kind of pulled away from the green bean, but I actually kind of liked that as it showed off the green color of the beans.

The Full Fry

Once you’your test batch is confirmed delicious you can toss in a good handful of green beans into the batter.  Don’t worry about coating every little inch of every green bean.

Depending on the size of your pot, you’ll want to fry these guys in at least two batches to make sure your oil doesn’t cool off too quickly.

Also, as always, I highly recommend using a deep fry thermometer to make sure the oil is the right temperature.

The green beans should fry at 350 degrees for about 4 minutes.  Then let them drain on a paper towel for a minute to cool.

Pile these Fried Green Beans high on a plate and eat them as soon as possible!

The recipe says that this serves two to four people, but it’s definitely closer to the TWO side of that.

These Fried Green Beans are so addictive that you won’t be able to stop eating until they are gone.