After you've made your beer batter and prepared the food that you're going to batter it with, set up a battering station just to the side of the stove, where you can drop the food into the oil, and bring it out effectively. If you can, frying food is a little easier with a helper, since it takes a lot of steps that need to happen pretty quickly. To the left, put your raw fish, or chopped onions, or other vegetables, then put the bowl of batter between the food and the oil. On the other side of the range, have a plate waiting with some paper towels, to place the fried items onto when they're done cooking. It's a good idea to wear gloves and long sleeves, and to pull your hair back while you're doing this. It's not the cleanest process. Also, it's a good idea to crack a window as the smell of frying oil is strong. The best pans for frying food evenly are big cast-iron skillets, which will distribute the heat and offer a more even frying. If you don't have one, use a flat-bottomed skillet with as heavy a bottom as you've got, or a deep fryer. Vegetable oil needs to be heated to 375F (191C) to fry food in it effectively. If the temperature is too low, the batter will absorb much of the oil and will become extremely greasy and cloying. If you don't have a food thermometer, the best way to tell if the temperature is in the "Goldilocks Zone" is to see if the oil is shimmering on the surface. It's also a good idea to add a little bit of batter by itself while the oil is heating. When you see it start to sizzle quickly, you will know that it's time to add the battered items to the skillet. When the oil is ready, and not before, batter a few pieces of fish or vegetables, whatever you're planning on frying, and place them immediately into the hot oil. Make sure food is dry before dipping into wet beer batter. If your fish fillets are very delicate, or damp, it's good to dust them lightly in flour before dipping them in the beer batter. This helps fish fillets and shellfish hold the batter slightly better. Don't soak the food in the batter. It should collect enough to create the crust just by quickly submerging it in the batter and removing it. Carefully lay your food into the hot oil, by dropping it away from you, very gently. Drop one end of each fillet or vegetable in to the food, and then lean it back toward the back of the skillet, away from you. This way, the oil will spatter in that direction. Adding food will lower the temperature of the oil slightly, so you want to be sure to avoid overcrowding the skillet. You can add a few pieces, depending on the size of the food you're frying, but usually no more than 3-4. If you overcrowd the pan, nothing will cook properly, and the food will be oily. When the oil is hot, it will start to spit and spatter a bit, even when you're not dropping stuff, which means you should be extremely careful to avoid burns. Just leave the food alone as it fries, checking every minute or two for brownness on the bottom side. Flip the item when golden, and let the other side fry. Fish and vegetables will cook pretty quickly in the fryer, so they're usually safe to remove when the crust is golden brown. Remove them with your metal turner immediately, shifting them to the plate prepared with paper towel. If you want to know what to batter, and more specific guidelines for making fried foods, check out these wikiHow guides, all workable with beer-battering: How to Fry Fish How to Make Onion Rings How to Cook for a Southern Fish Fry How to Make French Fries

Summary: Set up a battering station. Heat a half-inch to an inch of vegetable oil in a sturdy cast iron skillet. Heat until the oil shimmers. Batter your food. Add the battered food. Use a metal turner to turn the food. Cook 5-7 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Check out other frying articles.

A baby raccoon will not be able to digest food until he is the proper temperature. If your baby raccoon has been left alone outside, he will likely need to be warmed before he can eat. Wrap him in a soft blanket and lay him next to a hot water bottle, until he feels warm to the touch. If the baby raccoon's skin "tents up" when you pinch it, or if his eyes are sunken, he may be severely dehydrated and should be taken to a vet immediately. If he only seems mildly dehydrated, proceed by offering him rehydration solution (or Pedialyte). The amount you feed your baby raccoon will be based on his weight, so first you are going to have to weigh him in grams. (A kitchen scale or postal scale you have at home will work fine.) Once you know his weight, plan to offer him 5% of his body weight in milliliters (or ccs) at each feeding. 60 gram = 3ml per feeding 100 gram = 5ml per feeding 200 gram = 10ml per feeding Offer him food 7-8 times per day. It will likely be best if you feed your baby raccoon with an eyedropper at first, so that you can control the amount of fluid he gets. Hold him on his belly, or slightly upright, and express the milk into his mouth little by little. You may have to clamp your hand around his muzzle to maintain his grasp on the eyedropper. Never hold the raccoon on his back (the way you would hold a human baby). Once you have practiced feeding with an eyedropper, you may be able to move on to feeding with a pet bottle. (These are available for purchase at most pet stores.) As with the eyedropper, lay him on his belly, or slightly upright. Once you have inserted the nipple of the bottle into the raccoon's mouth, massage his back from his neck to the base of this tail to encourage a "purring" response and stimulate sucking. This step is crucial to the survival of your baby raccoon. Mother raccoons normally lick their babies to stimulate urination and defecation. As a surrogate raccoon mother, you will need to stimulate the urethra and anus of the raccoon using a warm washcloth or feather. This must be done before and after each feeding, until you see the baby raccoon eliminating waste on its own. When your baby raccoon's teeth begin to emerge, it is important to start incorporating solid foods. You can begin by mixing a bit of crushed kitten food with his formula. Move on to feeding dry kitten food, cooked eggs, soft fruits, and oatmeal.
Summary: Make sure he's warm. Check for dehydration. Determine how much to feed him. Feed him with an eyedropper. Feed him with a bottle. Stimulate waste removal. Integrate solids.