How to fry fish in a pan:
- Prepare your fish fillets by picking them over for any remaining bones or skin. Cut them into small pieces no thicker than 3/4 inch and no longer than 6 inches or so.
- Pat them very dry with paper towels. This will reduce splattering.
- Heat at least 2 inches - but preferably 4 or 5 inches - of oil in a large sturdy pot to 350 degrees F.
- Dust the fish lightly in some extra flour and shake off the excess. This helps the batter adhere to the fish and reduces splattering.
- Dredge the fillet pieces one at a time in the batter, letting excess batter drip off.
- Slowly submerge the pieces in the oil. This is a tricky process. If you drop in the battered fish too fast, sometimes the batter doesn't have time to seal and it sticks to the pan. Use metal tongs to submerge them slowly, or let them slide off a spatula.
- Fry the fillets two or three at a time; it's important not to crowd the pan.
- When the fish turns golden, remove the fillets and drain well on a generous amount of clean paper towels.
Tips:
- You can fry just about any white-fleshed fish. Cod is the perennial favorite, as is the group of fish that pass for cod in many markets (such as tomcod and pollack). Halibut, snapper, whiting, flounder and catfish also fry well. Darker-fleshed fish such as salmon can be fried, but their oily flesh is better suited to other cooking methods.
- For a heavier batter, beat an egg in along with the beer.
- Try cooking this dish outdoors on a grill whose heat can be regulated. The smell of frying food won't permeate your home, and the splattering oil is less of an issue. Be very careful not to move the pot once the oil has been heated, though.
- Always be careful when working with hot oil. Work in slow, careful, deliberate motions and don't let anyone distract you.
- Never move the oil until it is completely cool.
