We were recently invited to a fish fry by some of the guys we rabbit hunt with in Mississippi. Although I was feeling a bit under the weather, my friends from the duck camp were picking up my slack on the beer drinking. We arrived a little before sundown and the host was about to get the fryer ready to go. Unfortunately, there was some confusion about who was supposed to be watching it to see if it was getting hot. When I looked over, I saw that the fire had somehow jumped into the cooker and the oil was burning like mad. Since I was the only guest who hadn’t had any adult beverages, I decided that I should document this mishap.
NOTE #1: DON”T TRY THIS AT HOME!
NOTE #2: TRY NOT TO BE THE ONLY SOBER PERSON AT A COOK-OUT FULL OF DRUNKS.
Photo 1 shows the cooker on fire and the frying pot warping under the intense heat. A wok lid is on the ground near the cooker after a failed attempt to extinguish the flames by smothering them out (the lid started warping due to the heat). At first the burner could not be turned off because the wind was causing the flames to whip against the propane bottle.
Photo 2 shows the moment immediately after the “incident.” Rather than let the cooker burn up, the guys decided to stick a pipe through the handles of the fry pot and get it off the burner. This worked really well, and they were able to lift the pot away from the cooker so that the burning oil could be dealt with. Unfortunately, the oil began to slosh around and tiny beads of burning oil started to get slung all over the place. This caused the air to get really hot and smoky. In the confusion that ensued, the guy who was holding the pipe had the right idea: RUN AWAY. But, sadly, he forgot to let go of the pipe. So, there I was, looking on in horror as a handful of my friends got lost behind a wall of smoke and flames as the pipe handler unwittingly created a giant molotov cocktail by slinging the oil-filled pot around and then letting it crash to the ground.
If you look closely you can see one of the guys on the ground. He ran so fast that he literally ran right out of his shoe and tripped and fell to the ground. At the time, we thought he had chosen to “stop, drop and roll.” The rest of the guys are busy celebrating the fact that they have just avoided being burned alive with boiling oil. With most of the yard no longer on fire, the gang decides to get back to the fish fry.
In photo 3 you can see that the guys have adopted a casual demeanor as they return to inspect the ruined, still-on-fire fry pot and the pipe that was used to remove it from the cooker.
Surviving a freak accident like this is cause for celebration–and more beer.
As the only non-drinking guy in the crowd, I volunteered to make the hour long drive to go get fresh oil and bring it back to the cookout. By the time I returned it was dark outside and a couple more carloads of guests had arrived. While the host played DJ on the stereo system he had set up in his backyard, my friends and I began frying fish for everyone. Our breading mix of flour, yellow cornmeal, black pepper and Lawry’s seasoning salt is a big hit. Learn more about Lawry’s by clicking here.
Even after serving up fries, onion rings and around 200 hush puppies, we still ended up cooking umpteen pounds of fried fish. Most of the fish was catfish, and one guest brought a big portion of freshly caught “flathead” (s0me people call them yellow cats) fillets. Those were the best, but they didn’t last long.
In the Delta, folks seem to prefer ketchup and hot sauce to tartar sauce and cocktail sauce when doctoring on seafood. We brought along a bottle of spicy mayo that we had mixed up and it also seemed to be pretty well received.
The host cranked up some old school R &B tunes while people grazed on the fried food. Although they were plenty cautious about lighting it, the guys managed to get a nice bonfire going that lasted for hours. Overall, an evening of cold beer, hot food, tequila shots, loud music, two roaring fires (one intentional) and good times…
