beer battered green bean tacos

joe loves green beans. he loves them just tossed in a pan with some salt, pepper and a little bit of butter. me… i need a little more. i love green beans in things but i have never been one to crave green beans. that changed real fast when i went to a local pub style restaurant in allegan that served a deep fried green bean wrap. they took it off the menu this summer and joe and I almost didn’t know what to do with ourselves. there is not a ton of dining options in allegan and this was our go to “want to split a wrap” style dinner.

i was determined to figure out how to make something even remotely similar to what we had. I worked through a few different batters but I found that this batter from the food network held on to the beans the best and didn’t make them super heavy. they were still light and crispy with a great crust that made them perfect for tacos.

here is what you are going to need

small flour tortillas
cheese curds, I used goat cheese curds from the farmers market
home made ranch dressing (or just ranch dressing)
arugula
canola oil (for fryin)
1 can of beer
1 cup of flour
salt and pepper
A couple fist fulls of green beans

homemade ranch dressing
1/2 cup mayo (avoid the olive oil versions, I used a reduced fat)
1/2 cup sour cream ( I used a reduced fat)
1/2 cup of half and half
2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp granulated onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning
squeeze of a lemon

1.) start heating up the oil to 375. I use a candy thermometer to manage temperature but if you don’t have one sprinkle just a bit of batter to see if it bubbles and you’ll be good. careful these beans cook fast!
2.) prepare the batter by whisking the beer with the flour and season with salt and pepper
3.) make your ranch dressing as the oil heats. whisk all the ingredients together.
4.) dunk a green bean in the batter to coat and toss in the hot oil. I always start with one to test it out.
5.) when it stops hissing or turns golden scoop it out and place on a plate lined with paper towel. continue this with the rest of the beans  but do not over load the pan. Make sure they are not touching.
6.) Once all of the beans have been fried, assemble by placing a dollop of the dressing on the tortilla followed by arugula. top with the cheese curds and a handful of the fried green beans. enjoy! PS those leftover beans are perfect dunked in the ranch.

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