Fry a few articles at a time. Too many will cool the fat or oil below the point of proper frying and they will absorb grease and be unpalatable.
Put articles to be fried in the wire frying-basket and lower into the boiling hot fat or oil. Test the fat by lowering a piece of stale bread into it, if the bread browns in thirty seconds the fat is sufficiently hot.
Fry croquettes a light brown; drain over the fat, lift the frying-basket from the hot fat to a round plate, remove the articles from the basket quickly to brown paper, drain a moment and serve.
When frying fish or any food that is to be used at a milk meal, use oil. Olive oil is the best, but is very expensive for general use. Any other good vegetable oil or nut oil will do as substitute.
When the food is intended for a meat meal; fat may be prepared according to the following directions and used in the same manner as oil.
TO RENDER GOOSE, DUCK OR BEEF FAT
Cut the fat into small pieces. Put in a deep, iron kettle and cover with cold water. Place on the stove uncovered; when the water has nearly all evaporated, set the kettle back and let the fat try out slowly. When the fat is still and scraps are shriveled and crisp at the bottom of the kettle, strain the fat through a cloth into a stone crock, cover and set it away in a cool place. The water may be omitted and the scraps slowly tried out on back of stove or in moderate oven. When fat is tried out, pour in crock.
Several slices of raw potato put with the fat will aid in the clarifying.
All kinds of fats are good for drippings except mutton fat, turkey fat and fat from smoked meats which has too strong a flavor to be used for frying, but save it with other fat that may be unsuitable for frying, and when six pounds are collected make it into hard soap.