Here it goes again, another recipe about Cooking with Beer. This one should really be called ‘The Trials and Tribulations of Frying Beer-Battered Avocados’ or ‘Kitchen Failures: Avocado Edition.’ Luckily, the saying held true and the third time really was a charm. Frying avocados sounded amazing but figuring out the right way to accomplish the task wasn’t easy. The first time around, the batter was too thick and I forgot some ingredients (so don’t drink too much before cooking). The second attempt, the batter still didn’t seem right and the avocados turned to mush. The third time, well, it was perfection. The batter was crispy and full of flavorful hops from the Upslope IPA. The avocados turned out to be just the right texture. These little crunchy green nuggets tasted great — probably even better to me since I finally conquered what seemed to be an impossible mission. But when you think about it, how could you ever go wrong when beer and avocados are involved?

Ingredients

2-3 Firm, ripe avocados (they really must be firm, don’t get soft ones)

¾ cup of flour

1 cup Upslope IPA

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

¼ tsp garlic powder

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients so they are evenly distributed. Next, pour in one cup of Upslope IPA, stir well, and drink the leftovers.

I suggest keeping the avocados in the refrigerator until it’s time for them to get dunked in the batter. This will keep them as firm as possible. When the batter is ready, cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Then, cut lengthwise strips down the avocado and spoon out the slices. Let them take a bath in the batter while the oil is heating up.

I have a deep fryer and I think everyone should own one but if you don’t, a large, deep pot will suffice. The deeper the pot is, the better because you’ll have less of a mess to clean up later. For a deep fryer, heat it to 375°F. For a deep pot, pour in enough oil for it to be about 2 inches deep and heat it to 375°F as well. Before frying, prep by laying out some parchment paper on a plate. This will serve as the landing pad for the finished avocados and will help soak up some of the grease. When the oil has reached the correct temperature, use a fork to scoop up the avocados (so the excess batter can drip off) and then drop them directly into the oil. I placed them in from the back to the front so I knew which ones to take out first. They should really only need to cook for about 30 seconds. This will get the batter crisped to perfection while preventing the avocados from getting too soft.

When they are complete, you’re ready to eat! Hopefully you bought a six-pack of the Upslope IPA so you have a cold beverage to reward yourself with. I served the avocados with a rosemary-horseradish aioli that I made for a sandwich on my blog. To go with the avocados, I decided to add teaspoon of hot sauce to give it more of a kick. You can find the recipe here: Spicy Herb Aioli

Love cooking with beer? Check out the Cooking with Beer section or DrinkandSpoon.com for more boozy recipes.