Now that we caught some crappie how do you cook them?

Well I need some information on how to deep fry crappie. I have seen this done once before and eaten deep fried crappie several times and it convinced me to give it a try. Being on a limited budget (aren't we all?) I decided to start out slowly and went to Wal-Mart and got a small deep fryer. I opted for the 15 dollar PRESTO FryDaddy electric deep fryer. I liked the small size as I am single again and cook for one person most of the time. I have been frying my crappie in a skillet but they didn't seem to taste as good and I wanted to be able to cook more filets at one time. This deep fryer that I purchased can hold 4 cups of oil.

Now my question is this. What type of cooking oil is used in these fryers. It said not to use OLIVE OIL so that is out. Maybe that is why my fried fish didn't taste so good as I used Olive Oil in the skillet in the past.

I still have some filets in the fridge that need to be cooked. I picked up some seasoning and am going to cook them tonight for dinner.

Wish me luck.

I also was looking at those vaccume sealing machines from Foodsaver and Black&Decker but they were pretty expensive. They went from 40 bucks up to 130 bucks for the larger one and the freezer bag rolls were selling for about 10 dollars for an 8" by 22ft role. and one gallon freezer bags ( quantity of 15) were selling for ten bucks. I thought that was pretty expensive myself.

I know that in the past on the old board we discussed the freezer bag thing.

The smallest food saver thing was only 8" wide and sold for right at under 40 bucks. Maybe if Wal-mart reduces the prices some I may get some before next summer.

Speaking of fixing crappie filets and storing them... you guys should see Cane Poles layout in his summer home. He has a big cabinet and countertop space dedicated to wrapping up his fish filets. LOL I thought that was pretty neat. Cane Pole you should take some pictures of that setup and post them in here. He had rolls ready to go with celephone and aluminum foil in huge wide rolls right there on the counter top ready to use.

Though I usually do my frying in two inches of oil in a cast iron pan. Highly recommend putting the Frydaddy outside for your frying so the entire kitchen doesn't get coated with grease. Use corn, canola or peanut oil. Olive oil breaks down when used at that high of a heat for more than the couple o fminutes it takes to saute.. Save your oil in a canning jar or coffee can to be strained and reused.

I have an old Tilia Foodsaver. I think I brought up the issue of bag cost on the old forum. Anyway, I can't justify the cost of the bags, so once my last two rolls of 11" material is gone, I'll probably give this thing to Goodwill. I ran out of the small stuff this spring. At least you do get a fair amount of material with the machine (or at least I did). Check Big Lots for vacuum savers, too. - Roberta

Well Moose, my wife got one two years ago for Christmas, foodsaver that is. Not impressed at all with it and the rolls are expensive as hell. Not on a limited budget here, no need in having a budget if your gonna fish, but, those things are not worth the time of day. She uses nothing but canola oil. Seems to work ok. I don't mind the taste. Bought a five gallon carton for Thanksgiving to deep fry turkey with and saved it for around the house. (Even I have trouble throwing out once used oil if it hasn't had fish in it). May i suggest Jerry's Recipe section on his site. Lots and lots of ideas there. Just my opinion. Talked to Canepole a little bit ago and he is busy as ever. Was talking to him about what i need and don't need in a GPS because i consider him an expert in the field.

Anyone remember the name of the thread about the food savers? I'd like to read that one.

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Originally Posted by IBNFSHN

Anyone remember the name of the thread about the food savers? I'd like to read that one.

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IBN......Try the Main Forum, page 20, under the thread "Food Saver Vacuum Bags"........7 posts down.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by labill

IBN......Try the Main Forum, page 20, under the thread "Food Saver Vacuum Bags"........7 posts down.

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Thanks Labill

Quote:

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Originally Posted by labill

IBN......Try the Main Forum, page 20, under the thread "Food Saver Vacuum Bags"........7 posts down.

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Bill, How long did it take you to find that? LOL

Hey Moose:

Use a candy/deep fry thermometer and try to keep the oil between 360 and 370. That Fry Daddy will have a hard time maintaining the temperature if you put too many pieces in at a time. If the temps get too low the crappie will be greasy. I like canola oil. I save my oil too and strain it through a paper towel in a sieve after it has cooled. I usually cut the fillets into nuggets to separate the thinner tail piece from the thicker part.

I should have picked up one of those high temp candy thermometers. I saw a few at the end of the Isle where I got the Fry Daddy. The Fry daddy is reather small and I can see how the oil temp would drop if there were too many filets in there at one time. That must be what I did wrong as they were rather oily even though I drained them well. Next time I will not put so many filets in there at the same time. I need to spread them out. I was trying to cook up 15 fish or 13 crappie filets and that was just too darn many. I did them in two batches and I should have use three batches or four bathes instead. I will try to pick up one of those thermometers next time I am out shopping. I ended up with more filets that even I could eat tonight. Guess what I am having for lunch tomorrow? lol

I purchased some of that Cranola oil and found another bottle in the house. The new one is pure Canola Oil while the one that I had already opened was a combination of Canola oil and soybean oil. I wonder if the Soybean oil is ok to use? Think I will stick with the pure Canola oil next time.

Saving the oil is a good idea. I was wondering how to filter it. The FryDaddy has a plastic lid that seals the top of the fryer so that you can save the oil for a few days in the refrigerator. Not sure how long it will keep in the Frig and if I will reuse it next time. Depends on if I want fish again in the next few days or week. I still have a few frozen bags of filet in the freezer from this last summer. According to the directions on the FoodSaver Box you can keep fish filets in the freezer for about 6 months without using the vaccume bags and three years if they are vacuume sealed. So I better start eating my frozen filets soon or they may get freezer burned.

Anyway thanks for the help. I never used a deep fryer before until today.

The filets looked nice and golden brown and they were cooked well enough. I let the cook for about 8 min as the directions said from 4 min to 8 min and I didn't want any live worms in the meat so I chose the longest time possible. LOL
I should never had talked to those prevet majors who took Parisotology class. But then again I can tell I don't have any tapeworms. LOL. I would not be so fat if I did.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jerry Blake

Hey Moose:

Use a candy/deep fry thermometer and try to keep the oil between 360 and 370. That Fry Daddy will have a hard time maintaining the temperature if you put too many pieces in at a time. If the temps get too low the crappie will be greasy. I like canola oil. I save my oil too and strain it through a paper towel in a sieve after it has cooled. I usually cut the fillets into nuggets to separate the thinner tail piece from the thicker part.

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Moose1am
Be sure to wait till the FryDaddy cools off before placing that plastic lid on it. Can get replacement lid but again they are not free.

Seriously Moose, you're just not eating fish fried. Wow! I like it baked and cooked every other way, but fried is the southern way. Don't overcook. Drop'em in and when they float back to the top, take'em out. Sometimes, less than a minute. They'll keep cooking when remove from the oil, but won't get overdone. Cook longer if you want fishchips. 375 seems to be the perfect temp. I use peanut oil or cheapest to find here in Arkansas is rice oil, usually found at your nearest farmers coop (if you live in rice country). Momma makes me cook outside so as not to mess up the house. She doesn't eat fish or anything that live in water. However, my boys eat the leftovers for breakfast. Jerry taught us to re-heat the leftovers in a toaster oven. Works great. Tastes pretty good with mayo in a sandwich too.

I highly recomend Buttery Crisco ;)

p-nut oil cooks the cleanest and drains the best on the paper towel - broiled crappie marinated overnight in italian dressing before cooking then put onion and bell pepper on top when broiling - it is fantastic - I disagree with fatboy on the food saver we have the atilla 1100 and it works great for us - we put ole king crappo in the freezer as well as flat flounders and shrimp we harvest with cast nets - of course we eat them quicker than they can freezer burn but we have had no problems with the foodsaver system - we have the high end model but only paid a little over $100 at sam's club
crap-king

Moose, I just freeze any leftover fried filets in a baggy and eat them with in a few days for my lunch. Thaw in the microwave for about 1 minute then bake in your toaster oven til crisp. Makes a good sandwich.
This year, I started putting my raw filets in smaller bags so we don't have so many leftovers. - Roberta

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Originally Posted by ncnat

Bill, How long did it take you to find that? LOL

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Only took a few minutes. Entered "Tilia" in the search link and it came up with the thread name. Took about 5 minutes to find the post.

I also save the oil. To clear the oil, fry potatoes or onions and the oil will clear right uo. Onions will not flavor the oil and are pretty good to eat when crispy.

Hey Moose,

I use a larger deep fryer but I still only fry 3-4 pieces at a time. I was told by an old timer that when the filets float to the top of the grease, they were done. This usually only takes 3-4 minutes, but I let them cook a little longer than that, probably no longer than 5 minutes tops. My wife likes them a deeper golden color and more crispier than I do. I use the granola oil also, but was told to try peanut oil by one of my fishing buddies who says it gives them a little different taste. Haven't tried it yet so can't offer an opinion on that. You and Larry still fishing Patoka?

May give the Peanut oil a try. I am sort of worried about using Peanut oil. I don't know what kind of pesticides they use on the peanut crop these days. Some people are alergic to peanuts but they never say why they are allergic. My theory is that it's something that is sprayed on the crop to kill the insects and destroy the weeds. If those chemicals kill bugs and weeds then they sure as heck can't be good for us humans. Some people may not be alergic to peanuts but instead they are allergic to the pesticides that are used on the peanuts. But then I am an environmental scientist who is trained to think about that sort of thing. Some times I wish that I didn't know what I know about pollutants. But I need to figure out what they use to make the Canola Oil. It's probably some plant that is sprayed with pesticides also. Just can't get away from the Pesticides these days.

Larry and I did real good two or three weeks ago. He told me he was taking his fishing stuff back home. They shut off the water at his camp during the winter months and he doesn't stay there without water. He still may drive up to fish. H*** I am getting sick of being cooped up in the house after fishing all summer long almost every other day. If it were not for the computer I would have to go out shopping and I can't do that much or I won't have any money left to buy minnows. LOL Heck I went to walmart yesterday and picked up some 1/16 oz lead head jigs, some thrill bobber stops and some of those plastic bobbers tops with 4 holes in them like Jerry Blakes uses. I also got a new spinning reel from Shimano. LOL I just could not resist that one. It's the perfect size. Now I have to find some good fishing line to put on it today.

My boat is parked in the Garage and my truck is out in the weather. If that doesn't show where my priorities lie then nothing does.

If the weather is not too bad ( above 50 and not too windy I may fish Patoka Lake a few more times.) I have a minnow Bucket of Larry's and those maps that I need to get back up to him. So either I am going to have to hook up with him to fish or mail his minnow bucket up to his house. LOL

I was just looking at a scan of one of the maps and saw some nice spots near the main boat ramp on Patoka Lake. Things like a big ditch that runs from the old river channel all the way into the cove for about 300 yards. That ditch is not marked on any other map of the lake that I have found. But it's shown on the maps that Larry let me copy.

Are you still fishing a lot? I was hoping that you and your wife would have gone to the TeeZur Tournament but I didn't see you there. Guess that is a long drive and it's hard to make the trip every year. I was lucky that Cane Pole offered me a place to stay Friday night an I was able to drive down and make it there and back. My old truck is going on 153,000 miles and it's broke down on me twice in the last month. The battery cable came undone and my battery died on me. And then just a few days ago I ran out of oil when I was out in the boondocks. Turned out that the shop that had changed my oil and oil fiter just three days before this had not use the correct sized oil fiter and the oil had been leaking out for three days. I didn't know it until the oil light came on and the oil pressure gauge started reading zero. Luckily I had two extra quarts in the truck with me and was able to put some oil back in the engine and make it to the repair shop. They found the problem and installed the proper fitting oil fiter on my engine and gave me three quarts of oil. I was luck that I didn't ruin my only engine on my only old truck. I would have been up a creek without a paddle if that had happened. So I have to be careful and make sure that the truck is going to make it when I go on those longer trips. It's one thing to have to walk 10 miles back home but it's another to have to walk 170 miles back home.

Last time Larry and I went fishing at Patoka I caught 17 crappie and Larry had his live well full. He got there early and got a two hour jump on me at the fishing hole. LOL I was catching up with him as I started to use live bait for a change. But he is the master of Patoka Lake crappie and I am just a beginner compared to him. I spent more time messing with line twist also. That cuts into my fishing time a lot. He seems to have figured out a way to get the line off the tip end of his rod faster than I can. I will have to duplicate his methods so that I can spend more time with the bait in the water. He showed me one spot that has a lot of cover and ditches running though this bay. The crappie are there everytime we go to this spot. But they are not the big huge slabs that I have seen caugth at the Crappie USA tournaments. Although larry said that he has caught some of those slabs at this spot from time to time during last summer. I should have gone up there when the big slabs were in that spot. I suspect that the slabs area getting harder to find. The lastest fishery biologist report said that the crappie at Patoka Lake are not really growing very fast. I met a guy yesterday that fishs Hovey's Lake and may give Hovey's lake a try this next March. He said that there are some big 2lb crappie in that lake. And the fishery biologist guy said that also. According to the state biologist Hovey's lake has the fastest growing crappie in this area. A five year old Hovey Lake crappie will be two or three inches longer than a Patoka Lake 5 year old crappie. I guess there is less fishing pressure and better growing conditions at Hoveys' than at Patoka.

I can't fish Hoveys lake very well as they restrict the motor size to 10 hp instead of putting a speed limit on the lake. Its too big to just use the trolling motor. I need to have a small 9.9 hp kicker motor on my boat to fish lakes like Hovey and some of the other motor size restricted lakes in IN.

I hate the fact that IN restricts the motor size to 10HP on some of our lakes since my motor is a 35 HP. It's done to make it easier to enforce the speed on these lakes. It's a lot easier to see if the motor is over 10 mh than it is to use a radar gun to catch people going too fast. And those no wake rules are hard to enforce also as it's hard to not make a wake even when at idle speed. So the motor size limits make the DNR job a lot easier. They do it to keep people safe as those lakes are shallow and full of stumps. But it sure would be nice for me to get to fish Hovey's lake once in a while.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Larry C

Hey Moose,

I use a larger deep fryer but I still only fry 3-4 pieces at a time. I was told by an old timer that when the filets float to the top of the grease, they were done. This usually only takes 3-4 minutes, but I let them cook a little longer than that, probably no longer than 5 minutes tops. My wife likes them a deeper golden color and more crispier than I do. I use the granola oil also, but was told to try peanut oil by one of my fishing buddies who says it gives them a little different taste. Haven't tried it yet so can't offer an opinion on that. You and Larry still fishing Patoka?

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Yep, another novel. Need to write a book titled"Mooses Thoughts".

Hey I am bored! What can I say. LOL

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Originally Posted by fatboy

Yep, another novel. Need to write a book titled"Mooses Thoughts".

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That's the disadvantage of having a job with a computer and the instant email notifications seem to be working fine today. Can't get any work done. Gotta shut this off for a while.

The theory on peanut allergies is that babies are exposed to peanuts in the womb because of the wide use of peanuts and peanut by-products. Frequent exopsure to small amounts of allergens are what cause the immune response. We baby boomers were the first generation to grow up eating peanut butter.

I had read that canola oil is made from rape seed. Yeah you read that right. The name o fthe oil was changed to make it more marketable. HOWEVER, according to the Canola Council of Canada, canola oil is made from canola seed, which was derived from rape seed and is different in molecular make up. I don't know if it's grown around here much, but I think it's widely grown in the plains states and Europe. Rape seed is available to the home gardener for use as a cover crop that's tilled in for green manure. (Too many years of reading Organic Gardening)

Moose, have you ever just baked your crappie filets? I like to put a layer in a shallow baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking oil and top each filet with a paper thin slice of lemon and onion. Sprinkle with a little garlic powder and freshdill if you have it, and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until the meat flakes easily. Real good witha salad and baked potato.- Roberta

I used to be the Fry Guy for Red Lobster. Yep, an official job position title. Anyway, the prime temperature to keep your grease at for fish is 350. Your best oils health and taste wise will be a Puritan type Canola oil. Many brands make Canola, and I really don't see a monsterous advantage to any of them from one to another. I personally use Crisco or Wesson the most.

Provided that your oil's temp is right, your fillets are done when they are fully floating, and have nearly stopped producing bubbles around themselves in the grease. Fresher oil means lighter golden brown fillets, and better tasting food.

You can however reuse your oil for a looong time with proper care. It is a good idea to refridgerate it betweeen uses. This keeps it from going rancid. Regardless of how you do it, try to strain the oil after at least every other use. The left behind breading in the oil will keep it from achiving, and maitaining proper cooking temps. This detracts from your fillet's quality and taste if this sludge is not removed frequently.

The best thing I have used to fry fish in apart from a full sized commercial fryer, is a turkey fryer. This allows a larger volume of grease to be used, and thus helps it to maintain it's proper temperature too. I have been told that propane burns hotter than the regular household stuff. It may be so. After I am done frying, I just use a funnel to pour the cooled grease back in to the gallon jugs that I buy it in, or else put the whole pot in the fridge.

Last but not least.... HOT SAUCE!!!! YEAH BABY!!!

<,"}/>{ Rippa

Thanks Tim:

100% Pure Canola Oil is what I purchased. I am not sold on the soybean oil/canola oil combination as they don't say how much of each is in the bottle. They could be putting 95% soybean oil and only 5% canola oil for all I know.

Next time I am going to measure the temp of the oil and fry the fish filets one to four at a time instead of 10 at a time. Even with smaller filets 10 is just too many and I fear that they dropped the oil's temp too much. That is why they were more greasy that usual. I had that problem in the past using the skillet when I didn't get the oil hot enough. I got that problem fixed by getting the oil in the frying pan hotter before adding the crappie filets.

I did let the oil cool down and then I screened it though a thick paper towel and then saved it in a clean jar. I labled it with the contects and the date and put it in the refrigerator. I could have just put it back in the cooking pot and use the plastic lid to cover it and store the entire Cooking device in the frig but it would take up way too much room. So the glass jar and air tight lid will work until I am ready to fry some more fish. I need to get a good candy thermometer first. Which is something I can do today since I am not fishing.

Tanks again for the help and tips. My next door neighbor worked as a cook when he was younger and I was a fry cook when I was in HS. I used a big deep fryer back then and I seem to remember the floating = done thing that you mentioned. I was talking about that with my neighbor when I was over at his house the last time using his deep fryer. He agrees with that too. His fish filets tasted better than mine. I should have called him up and asked if I could cook at his house again. He had called me twice this last few weeks wanting to get together and have another fish fry but he had other things come up at the last minute and had to cancel our plans. He forgot that relatives were coming. We have cooked the patoka lake crappie filets several times using his deep frying now. But I had these 17 crappie that I had in the frig and had to either eat them of freeze them. I decided to go ahead and cook them myself rather than to wait on my neighbor. I am glad I did that now. I still have several frozen packages of filets that we can cook the next time we get together. I need to eat them before they get freezer burned. I think that they may only last about 6 months so I better start eating the rest of them soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tim The Lippa Rippa Mon

I used to be the Fry Guy for Red Lobster. Yep, an official job position title. Anyway, the prime temperature to keep your grease at for fish is 350. Your best oils health and taste wise will be a Puritan type Canola oil. Many brands make Canola, and I really don't see a monsterous advantage to any of them from one to another. I personally use Crisco or Wesson the most.

Provided that your oil's temp is right, your fillets are done when they are fully floating, and have nearly stopped producing bubbles around themselves in the grease. Fresher oil means lighter golden brown fillets, and better tasting food.

You can however reuse your oil for a looong time with proper care. It is a good idea to refridgerate it betweeen uses. This keeps it from going rancid. Regardless of how you do it, try to strain the oil after at least every other use. The left behind breading in the oil will keep it from achiving, and maitaining proper cooking temps. This detracts from your fillet's quality and taste if this sludge is not removed frequently.

The best thing I have used to fry fish in apart from a full sized commercial fryer, is a turkey fryer. This allows a larger volume of grease to be used, and thus helps it to maintain it's proper temperature too. I have been told that propane burns hotter than the regular household stuff. It may be so. After I am done frying, I just use a funnel to pour the cooled grease back in to the gallon jugs that I buy it in, or else put the whole pot in the fridge.

Last but not least.... HOT SAUCE!!!! YEAH BABY!!!

<,"}/>{ Rippa

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I just cut any "freezer burn" areas off my filets. I haven't noticed a big loss of meat or taste - and I keep my filets frozen for a lot longer than 6months.

And - as far as re-using grease for frying fish ... I think it's OK if you are frying filets (meat only) .... but, for fish still on the bone/skin on - I change grease after each use, especially if using fish from waters with the "consumption warnings".

I fry my fish in an iron skillet and use 100% pure Canola Oil. .....cp :cool:

I cook for 20 to 30 people about every time I have a fish fry. And each spring I feed about 75 . My cooker holds 5 gallon of oil, And I try to keep the oil between 350 and 365,
For the batter I use 2 cups of self rising meal. and 1 cup of self rising flour. I add a dash of Garlic powder and about 2 table spoons full of black pepper. Salt the fish to your taste.
And as stated above the fish are done when they float and the bubbles stop coming form them.
Also have a great hush puppy mix if you would like it.
Pete

Here's how I do it, this should be enough batter for a couple pounds of fillets, you can also use it to make onion rings and fried mushrooms too!

For fish, this is very important.... Cut into "bite sized" pieces. (About 1" X 2" or so) Anything bigger or thicker won't cook all the way through.

1 Cup of Bisquick
3 eggs
1/2 cup of beer or 7up
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne red pepper
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Thyme (this spice removes or reduces the fishy taste)
1/2 tsp cooking oil

Mixes up like pancake batter. Thin with beer or 7up if needed, thicken with more Bisquick if needed. (This is to your own preference)

Drop your bites into the batter and stir to coat them (or onion rings or mushrooms) then use a fork to lift them out of the batter and GENTLY into the hot grease. After you get 6 or 8 pieces in the grease, tap them on the edges one at a time with your fork to make them turn over and the golden brown side will now be on top. (They are floating on top when you tap them) Then "rescue" them one or two at a time as they are golden brown on both sides, drain on paper towels. It doesn't take long!

Uh oh! I have to go! I'll be in the kitchen for a while if anybody needs me!

Here's what it looks like.

http://crappiemagic.com/batterup.jpg

I'll see you at the lake!

Mike

Freeze what you don't use now in water and in the right amount for you to eat. You can always thaw more packages if you have company.

Use peanut oil, it holds up best. Still save your oil until the next time in the fridge, but I don't use the same oil more than 3 times or less if you fry a lot of fish at one time.

If you like peppers you can make a beer batter, roll the fish around Jalapeño pepper slices and tooth pick to hold together and then put in batter then fry. It's good for a change. Most of the heat from the pepper will cook out.

I usually just fry in cornmeal with salt and pepper. Takes about 4-5 minutes a batch.

Fry about a minute longer than they float in the oil. If you do the roll ups it will take a little longer to fry....about 6 minutes.

Beer batter.....
Batter
1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt (may need more)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup beer
You can also sprinkle the fish with lemon juice before you batter if you want.

I quickly read over some of the last couple of posts and I wanted to give a little information if I can. I hope I don't repeat what someone else has said.

I freeze all my filets in water. Keeps them from getting freezer burnt and keeps the taste in them.

I recently fried up some filets from this summer in a new beer batter that I tried. It was McCormicks brand beer batter. It was very good. All you need to provide is either water or beer. I used beer. It takes one 12 oz can. I took a big sip and then dumped the rest into the batter. I fried it in an electric skillet and they turned out very crispy and tasty. Happy eating.

fishintiger

I was wondering when someone was going to admit the real secret to a beer batter for fish. My wife really wants to know why it takes a six pack to make my wet batter. One for the batter, five for me, so when I burn myself with the hot oil it doesn't hurt as bad. I have a similar recipe for Burboun steak that you slow cook on the grill.

Alright Mike. Thanks for those tips.

Hey this thread needs to go into the Archives Guys. Don't you all agree.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Simpson

Here's how I do it, this should be enough batter for a couple pounds of fillets, you can also use it to make onion rings and fried mushrooms too!

For fish, this is very important.... Cut into "bite sized" pieces. (About 1" X 2" or so) Anything bigger or thicker won't cook all the way through.

1 Cup of Bisquick
3 eggs
1/2 cup of beer or 7up
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne red pepper
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Thyme (this spice removes or reduces the fishy taste)
1/2 tsp cooking oil

Mixes up like pancake batter. Thin with beer or 7up if needed, thicken with more Bisquick if needed. (This is to your own preference)

Drop your bites into the batter and stir to coat them (or onion rings or mushrooms) then use a fork to lift them out of the batter and GENTLY into the hot grease. After you get 6 or 8 pieces in the grease, tap them on the edges one at a time with your fork to make them turn over and the golden brown side will now be on top. (They are floating on top when you tap them) Then "rescue" them one or two at a time as they are golden brown on both sides, drain on paper towels. It doesn't take long!

Uh oh! I have to go! I'll be in the kitchen for a while if anybody needs me!

Here's what it looks like.

http://crappiemagic.com/batterup.jpg

I'll see you at the lake!

Mike

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Those don't look like cheeseburgers and fries Mike! :p I do mine in chunks like that too. Man my stomach is growling now! That is the same kind of burner I've got too. I like using the deeper, turkey pot without a basket though. I just use tongs to get the fixins out. I copied your recipe Mike. It sounds tastey!

Just so everyone knows acceptable usage guide lines for their frying oils. At Red Lobster, we only changed the grease about every 10 days. As we fryed day and night, we would use what was the equivilent of a stainless steel sand shovel to remove the sludge from the fryer bottoms as often as possible. Each fryer would produce at least a full sized coffee can of sludge(about 7 or 8lbs worth) EVERY DAY! We added grease to the depleting fryers all of the time to keep their proper levels. At the end of every night, we filtered all 6 double sided fryers.

If you discard your oil after every couple of fish frys, you are throwing away good oil. Even if you are cooking for 100 people. Hope this eases some minds, and saves you a few bucks to spend on these awesome jigs:Crappie Magic!

Full fishing and fryer baskets to all!

<,"}/>{ Rippa

Thanks for the tips, Rippa..... ;)
I'll have to try the deeper pot, I have noticed whenever I cook a lot of fish I have to stop every once in a while to sweep the crumbs and stuff that settle to the bottom of the pan. Then I have to add more fresh oil and take a short break until it reaches cooking temps again.

Here are some thoughts I have posted on my web page on how I prepare and take care of my fish before cooking. I am interested to see if anybody does the same, but also I would like to hear what people think after they try it "my way." :)


When ever I bring fish home to eat, I ice them down in a cooler until I am ready to clean them, which is usually not until the next day. I do it that way for two reasons. They stay fresh, and they aren't as messy when you clean them. Here is how I do it, give it a try sometime and you'll see what I mean! The trick is to put plenty of ice on your fish to start with, to keep them good and cool. If you have a lot you should alternate layers, a layer of ice then a layer of fish, etc. I only use a cooler with a drain plug, I pull the plug and set the cooler on a brick so it sits at an angle. When the ice melts it runs out the drain and the fish don't sit in water. You might have to shake the cooler a time or two during the day to make sure that the ice doesn't bridge across when it melts and leaves a gap between the fish and ice. If this happens your fish won't be close enough to the ice to stay cold and could spoil. Just make sure and check it a few times during the day and make sure the ice doesn't melt into one big clump, keep it broken up and you'll be fine. I always check the gills before I clean the fish the next day to make sure they are still fresh, you know you are doing it right when their gills are bright red in color, just like when you pulled them out of the water!
One last tip, and this is a good one! I don't soak my fish in water any more! After I fillet and rinse them I lay them out on newspapers and pat them dry, then I put the fillets in freezer bags, usually I put them in the refrigerator and eat them "fresh" within a few days. If not I will put them up in the freezer and just freeze them "dry". To remove the air I "float" the bag in a bowl or sink full of water, carefully pushing the bag down to squeeze out the air but not get any water into the bag then I zip it shut just barely ABOVE water level. Sometimes it takes a few tries before a person gets the hang of it, since I don't seem to be able to keep fish around for very long it works well for me! I know folks that freeze their fish in water and I think it probably keeps better that way. If I did I would only use enough water to cover the fillets and the package would be more fish than water so it would freeze fairly fast. I do believe that fish tastes much better if it's not soaked in water. (or salt water for that matter) Try keeping a few pieces out of the water next time and see the difference for yourself, drop me an email and let me know what you think!

Mike Simpson

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Get married and let the lady do the cooking. You just go and catch the fish. Sure would simplify things for you. It works for me. lol

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Originally Posted by Cane Pole

Get married and let the lady do the cooking. You just go and catch the fish. Sure would simplify things for you. It works for me. lol

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You lucked out Canepole. My wife won't get in my boat, won't clean the fish, and don't know how to cook them. But she can sure eat them. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to keep on catching them for her and keep her happy.