Homemade: Fish Fry Helper

Drake's fish fry in our Magic Pan

Fridays during Lent mean fish dinners, and weekly Easter season fish fries are especially popular at churches and veterans’ halls across Michigan.

We usually bake or broil fish, but when I found out that Drake’s crispy frymix is homemade in the Great Lakes State I decided to try the local product in The Magic Pan.

No one knows where The Magic Pans came from—we have two of them, in two sizes. One day the well-seasoned iron skillets just showed up in our kitchen. Really.

We call them “magic” not only because they appeared out of thin air, but because they transform, in a good way, anything we cook in them. TJ, especially, has a way with them.

For this Lenten dinner I dipped pieces of cod in Drake’s lightly seasoned blend of herbs, spices, wheat flour and corn meal. While the fish was tasty and moist, the batter didn’t look like it does at those fish fries. My technique needs work.

Al Drake founded the Drakes Batter Mix Company in Grass Lake in 1937; his Krispy Fry Mix was the first commercially made batter mix made in the U.S. The company moved to Marshall in 1988, where the all-natural batter blend is still made (and now spelled with a “C”).

Drake’s also makes Chicken Coating, All-Purpose Breader, and pancake, waffle, and biscuit mixes. I found the crispy frymix at the local Kroger.

Check out Drake’s website for recipes for appetizers, entrees, veggies and desserts, and add some homemade goodness to your next fish fry.