Beer Battered Fried Mushrooms

Created by Kchurchill5 on October 22, 2011

Ingredients

1-2 pounds white or button mushrooms, cleaned and stems cleaned (the amount depends on the size)
2 cups beer (as I mentioned, I like a dark, ale, or amber beer, but any beer will work)
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt (plus extra to season after the mushrooms come out)
1 teaspoon pepper
Vegetable oil

Step 1: Dip ... Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 2: Mushrooms ... Clean your mushrooms well, but NO water. I usually just use a paper towel or even a "extra soft" kids tooth brush for stubborn areas. Trim the ends of the stems.
Step 3: Oil ... Vegetable is my choice, but canola oil is a good choice. Again, a deep fryer is best, or a large heavy pot. Add about 4" of oil - enough so when you drop in the mushrooms, they do not touch the bottom of the pot. If possible, use a thermometer, it is the key to frying. You want the oil about 170. Below 165 and the mushrooms will not brown properly and above 175, they will burn.

Step 4: Batter ... Mix the flour, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper in a medium size bowl; then add the beer and mix. Let the batter rest about 10 minutes before using. You want the batter to resemble a pancake batter.
Step 5: Frying ... Dip the mushrooms and immediately drop into the oil. Be careful so it doesn't splatter. I use a spider (a large wire mesh spoon) to flip and remove the mushrooms from the oil. As they cook, roll them over so they cook evenly on all sides - they don't take long. When they are golden brown, remove them to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain, and immediately season with salt. NOTE: Make sure to cook in batches. If you over crowd the pot, the temperature will drop and the mushrooms will not fry properly. Fry about 8-10 mushrooms at one time.
Step 6: Serve ... Plate with a bowl of my dip or serve your favorite dip. ENJOY!