Deep Fryed Panfish Food

PAN FRIED FISH

Steps:

• Heat a heavy pan over medium high heat.
• Season fish on meat side with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge fish in flour and shake off excess. When pan is good and hot, add Canola oil followed immediately by 1 tablespoon butter. As soon as foaming subsides, place fish in pan with the skin side down. Jiggle pan for the first 10 seconds to keep the fish from sticking. Cook until golden crust forms on meat. Carefully turn fish away from you and again jiggle pan for the first few seconds. Cook until skin turns golden brown. Remove to a warm plate.
• Pour out the cooking fat, add remaining butter and quickly fry the capers. Remove pan from the heat, add lemon juice to pan and swirl. Pour sauce over the fish and serve.

CRISPY PAN FRIED FISH

Steps:

• Use scrunched up paper towels to pat the fish dry on both sides. This is especially important if you are using thawed frozen fish.
• Season the fish well on both sides with salt and pepper (key!).
• Mix the flour and paprika on a plate.
• Coat fish on both sides with flour, pressing down firmly so it adheres, but shake well to remove excess. (Note 2)
• Heat a heavy based skillet (normal or non stick) over medium high heat until you see wisps of smoke. Add oil and swirl to coat the pan - it will heat within seconds.
• Add fish - it should sizzle straight away. Shake the pan lightly to move the fish. Cook for 2 minutes until golden and crisp, pressing down gently, then flip. Cook the other side for 2 minutes until crisp then remove.
• If it's browning too quickly, just remove pan from the stove briefly. If it's stuck, don't move - it will release naturally once golden.
• Serve fish immediately with lemon wedges and garnished with dill or parsley, if using. It starts to lose crispiness after 5 minutes.

BIG DADDY'S DEEP-FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Preheat a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and cayenne and whisk to combine. Whisk in the beer, being sure to remove any lumps.
• Cut the catfish fillets in half lengthwise to make 2 strips. If desired, cut into bite-sized pieces. In a small bowl add the salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Season the fillets with some of the salt mixture. Reserve the remaining salt mixture for another use.
• Dip each strip in the beer batter and add to the fryer, a few at a time, moving them around so they don't stick. Fry until brown and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the fryer to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining fillets and season the fish with lemon juice.

UNCLE BILL'S DEEP FRIED TILAPIA FISH

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper; set aside.
• Rinse fish fillets under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
• Cut fish into 1 inch wide by about 4 inches long pieces; set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.
• Add beer and beaten egg and whisk until well blended and the batter is light, smooth and quite thin (like whipping cream).
• In a medium size saucepan or a frying pan, heat oil to 350°F.
• Dredge fish pieces in the flour mixture.
• Drop the floured fish pieces into the batter to coat, then lift out with tongs and let the excess batter drip off.
• Drop the battered fish into the hot oil and cook for about 1 minute, turn over and cook for an additional 1 minute or until light golden brown.
• Do not overcook.
• Remove from oil onto paper towels to absorb any excess cooking oil.
• Serve immediately with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

DEEP FRIED FISH

Steps:

• Half-fill a deep pan with melted fat or oil. Heat until a faint haze rises from it (or until a bread cube sinks to the bottom of the pan, rises to the top immediately and turns golden in 50 seconds).
• Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
• Beat to a smooth batter, unbeaten egg, butter and milk. Then add the flour and salt mixture.
• Coat 2 pieces of fish with batter.
• Lift into the pan with a fork or kitchen tongs.
• Fry until crisp and golden, allowing about 6-8 minutes for large pieces and 4-5 minutes for medium.
• Remove from the pan and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.
• Repeat with the remaining fish.
• Garnish with lemon wedges.

PAT'S SOUTHERN-FRIED PANFISH

Steps:

• Allow the fillets to marinade in salt water (use all the quart of water except for 4 tablespoons), using the table salt, for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
• After marination, pat the fillets very dry with paper towels. Pour one cup of the flour into a small paper bag and drop in the fillets, one at a time, and coat them lightly, shaking off any excess flour. Reserve this flour for later use. Lay the fillets out on a piece of wax paper and allow them to sit for 20 minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat the shortening until a few small drops of water crackle loudy in it.
• Using a fork or whisk, beat the eggs and the 4 tablespoons of water together in a medium-sized bowl for at least 20 seconds and set aside. This will be your "drench".
• Mix together the flour from the bag, all remaining flour (1 cup), the kosher salt, the corn meal and the white pepper on a platter. This will be your "dredge".
• Prepare one fillet at a time for frying by first dipping it in the egg "drench". Allow most of this to drip off and then dredge it in the flour mix on both sides. Shake very lightly to remove any notable hunks of flour and corn meal.
• Carefully lay each fillet into the very hot shortening. If it does not begin to fry immediately, your shortening is not hot enough! Do not crowd the fillets in the skillet -- do as many batches as necessary to accommodate this.
• Allow each fillet to fry until lightly browned on the first side and then carefully turn it to the other side. When each fillet is lightly browned on both sides (about 7-10 minutes total), the fish is done. It should be very white and flakey in the thickest part of the fillet.
• Serve with ketchup and/or tartar sauce as an entree, or, on sandwiches.

DEEP FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Mix dry ingredients.
• Heat oil to 365F degrees.
• Dip fish in milk, then in flour mixture.
• Fry a few at a time, turning once, about 2 minutes each side.
• Drain on paper towels.