Deep Fried Halibut and a middle of the night power-outage

The weather in Fairbanks has been crazy!  Unusually warm weather, 20 above, and lots of wind.  The other night we had wind gusting up to 60 MPH, and after the rain and trees heavy with ice and snow, trees were falling and power outages were rampant.  I really don't know which is worse, 40 below or 20 above and rain.

Well, we had a small power outage at our house, it was about 1:30am and the electricity went out.  I heard the boiler go off mid-cycle and my clock went out.  No worries.  About 15 minutes later (I'm guessing here) I hear footsteps running up the stairs and a see the light of a flashlight.  Suddenly the flashlight is being shined in my eyes...I'm thinking we are being robbed in the middle of the night because the power went out...Nope, the BBoy came up to wake us up and tell us the power was out...um, thanks?

"Mom, mom, the power is out." he announces with the flashlight directed right in my face.
"Um, ok honey, just go back to bed." I say squinting into the light.
"Don't we need to do anything?" he asked
"Nope, you could put another log on the fire and get the flashlight out of my face, but other than that, just go to bed.  It will be on by morning."

He heads back downstairs, I hear him load up the wood stove an head to bed.  I took a while to fall back asleep though, my heart was racing.

At 4:20 I'm suddenly awake, there is loud talking in the next room about basketball.  The electricity came back on and the tv came on too, Sports Center was blaring.  I laid there thinking my husband would get up and turn it off, he did not, so I got up turned off the tv, put a log in the wood stove, reset my clock, and went back to bed, only to have the electricity go off again.  Not 10 minutes later the electricity came back on, the tv came back on and my clock was blinking again.  Dave didn't move...I got up, turned off the tv, reset my clock, and crawled back under the covers.  I never really went back to sleep so I finally got up at 5:00, made coffee and warmed up by the wood stove.  It is no wonder I fell asleep at 7:15 that evening watching tv.

In spite of the fact that the BBoy can be a pain, we made deep fried halibut for him and the chick last week.  She had never made deep fried halibut, and she doesn't like fish, so while we all enjoyed it, she ate chicken.  Ah well, more for me!

Deep Fried Halibut

4 lbs. halibut or cod fillets, cut into 2 inch chunks
2 cups Krustee's fry and bake mix, or pancake mix (the kind you only mix water with)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 beer
panko bread crumbs, I usually use two boxes

Peanut oil and something to heat it in, like a dutch oven or we use our outside turkey fryer, oil heated to 350°F.

Dry fish chunks, I set fish on several layers of paper towel and press firmly with more paper towel.

Mix the Krustee's fry and bake, chili powder and the beer, making a batter a little thinner than pancake batter (you want it to stick to the fish but not be so thick you get a big gloppy piece of fish to fry and only eat batter).  Place panko in a large bowl.

Dip fish in batter, covering completely then roll in panko, pressing lightly to adhere completely.  Set aside on a rack over a baking sheet and let dry about 15 minutes.

Drop fish into heated oil, leaving room for the fish to move a little and not stick together.  You don't want to add too many pieces and have the oil temperature drop.  Cook for 7-12 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and the coating is a golden-toasty brown.  Drain on paper towel line baking sheets.  If you need to cook fish in batches, keep it warm in an oven set to 200°F while the rest cooks.

Serve with tarter sauce and seafood sauce.  Serves 8-10

1 year ago:   My New Nativity
2 years ago: Girls' Night Out at Bobby's Restaurant

December 16, 2013   Daylight 3 hrs, 45 min, 22 sec.   Temp. H-29/ L -33°F