Have you ever tried any beer marinades for seafood? This should not come as a surprise to anyone, but the Skipper Otto team eats a lot of fish. A big reason we never tire of seafood meals is because it’s so easy to incorporate many other complimentary flavours into our sustainable seafood dishes. And by marinating our seafood before cooking it, we can completely change the taste to fit whatever dish we’re making, add depth of flavour, and add moisture to help keep your seafood tender as it cooks. And while you might be more used to seeing beer and seafood meet in the form of beer-battered fish and chips, incorporating beer into your seafood marinades can be an easy and delicious way to amp up the flavour of your favourite fish.

Here are some of our favourite beer marinades for seafood: 

Beer Lime Marinade 

Perfect for: salmon on the BBQ 

Ingredients 

1/3 cup medium-bodied beer (like Main St Brewing Pilsner or Steel and Oak Simple Things Pilsner) 

¼ cup fresh lime juice 

3 tbsp soy sauce  

½ tbsp grated ginger 

3 cloves garlic, grated 

Pinch each salt and black pepper 

Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over 1lb salmon (or other fish) fillets in a shallow glass dish. Turn fish to coat in the marinade and refrigerate, skin side up, overnight before grilling. 

Mexican Beer Marinade 

Perfect for: firm white fish (lingcod or halibut) for fish tacos  

Ingredients 

½ cup hoppy beer (like Main St Brewing Naked Fox IPA or Steel and Oak Radiant Things Pale Ale) 

½ cup neutral flavoured oil (avocado or canola) 

¼ cup fresh lime juice 

2 cloves garlic, grated 

1 tbsp chili powder 

½ tbsp ground cumin 

½ tbsp ground oregano 

½ tsp cayenne (optional) 

Pinch each salt and ground pepper    

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a large, zippered plastic bag with 1 lb white fish and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to overnight). Pat dry and grill or pan-fry the fish until cooked through. Serve in fresh tortillas with your favourite taco toppings 

Pineapple Beer Marinade   

Perfect for: Grilled Spot Prawn Skewers  

Ingredients 

1/2 cup fruit-forward beer (like Main St Brewing Fruit Bomb or Steel and Oak Shiny Things IPA) 

½ cup canned crushed pineapple (no sugar added) 

1 tbsp brown sugar 

1 tbsp minced cilantro 

1 tbsp minced fresh mint 

Mix all ingredients together with a hand blender pour over 1 lb tail-on raw spot prawns in a shallow glass dish. Turn prawns to coat all sides, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Too cook, skewer prawns and grill. 

Let us know if try these beer marinade for seafood, and share your favourite way to mix seafood and beer! Most importantly, don’t forget to check out the delicious offering from our community partners, Main Street Brewing and Steel and Oak Brewing!