Hats off to the World’s Biggest Fish Fry- the 56th Annual Paris Fish Fry

Pageants, parades, catfish races- yes, catfish racing is real!; mule pulls, carnival amusement and good times highlight the annual Paris Fish Fry.

With participation from many areas of West Tennessee, from Hardeman County, McEwen, to Martin, Dresden, Puryear, Jackson to Henry County and points in between; Paris, Tennessee staged the 56th running of the annual Fish Fry. This event has enjoyed recognition by the Guinness Book of World Record organizations as the largest continuous public fish fry to be documented anywhere in the world.

There was a palette of activities to whet the appetite of any festival aficionado. Beauty pageants directly tied to the fish fry were staged earlier in the beginning of the year. In addition to the two pageants staged in Paris, there were at least a dozen other beauty pageant winners greeting well-wishers at the Saturday parade. Junior and Senior High School bands from many communities of West Tennessee, along with banner flag and rifle teams all participated in the 200-plus unit community pageantry spectacle.

Add to that the roving vendors selling everything from bottled water and other refreshments, carnival souvenirs and blow-up toys, to scout troops passing out fliers for future cultural fairs and events for later in the year along with emergency response vehicle entries. Among the public notables in this year’s parade were Rep. Sammy Goldstein as Grand Marshall, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey representing Governor Bredesen, along with  Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Kim McMillan.

Other elements in the parade included local, regional and state level politicians, political party officials, classic and antique cars, 4-H type youth groups, various ‘little tykes’ pageant winners, clowns, civic groups, Henry County Medical Center, the Humane Society, Dresden’s Iris Festival, the Strawberry Festival, hot rod and drag racing teams, veterans organizations, church groups, coon hunting club dogs, rodeo riders and show horses and law enforcement elements from Martin, Henry, Jackson and Dover in their own vehicles or riding on donated all-terrain sports equipment and the participation level surpasses 280 units associated with the parade. Even at this level of participation, locals told this reporter that this was a smaller parade than in years past when the parade easily  lasted three or four hours. As it was this year’s parade was an hour and a half of street festival of spectacle, people watching and cheering!

The conclusion of the parade unleashed the full-fledged barrage of attendants onto  the festival grounds. There, the carnival attractions, arts and crafts vendors tent  and rodeo grounds awaited the day’s visitors. Visitors were to be seen everywhere taking advantage of the vast variety of attractions, distractions and enticements offered on the fairgrounds.

Games of skill, bungee cord somersaulting, a carousel and a Ferris wheel, children’s dragon roller coaster and mini-train and along with several G-force intensive thrill rides competed for the attention of fair attendees. Tilt-a-Whirl, Spinning Cups, The Floor Drop and Vertical Rapid Descent were all part of the varied rides that tantalized the more adventurous. Little ones and young people of all ages filled the fairgrounds with their laughter, greetings and good fellowship that abounded at every turn. Families were readily visible enjoying the delights to be had and the camaraderie that these good times produced. With all this activity to be had, refreshment stands were seeing a brisk business as lemonade coolers sold steadily and funnel cakes also proved quite popular.

The fish fry operation itself was in full swing, having started at 10 AM and would continue to 9 PM.  The ten dollar all-you-can-eat ticket price entitled you to hush puppies, white beans, your choice of either an excellent vinegar slaw or mayonnaise slaw, french fries and a heaping helping of fried catfish fillets and your choice Pepsi product beverage, iced tea or bottled water.

With the amount of food consumed in the three days of fish fry operations, it’s easy to see how such a record was established.  Here are the statistics from last year’s event upon which this year’s food preparation projections are based.

• 10,000 pounds of catfish fillets
• 2,460 pounds of white beans
• 1,250 pounds of mayonnaise slaw
• 1,250 pounds of vinegar slaw (from Knott’s Landing Restaurant)
• 3,900 pounds of french fries
• 500 gallons of vegetable cooking oil
• 8 gallons Hot Sauce (10 oz. bottles)
• 48 gallons Tartar Sauce
• 630 pounds of Ketchup
• 8,000 pounds of Ice
• 6,000 gallons of Pepsi Products
• 3,000 pounds of Self-Rising Corn Meal
• 3,000 pounds of Self-Rising Flour
• 400 pounds of diced onions
• 81 gallons of buttermilk
• 1,500 eggs

The man who oversees the ‘prep’ teams and all food preparations is Tater Hayes. The prep teams have horned their process to a finely tuned production line. The ladies prep teams prepared the hush puppy mix by hand until last year when they finally got a professional-grade mixer. They prepare ten- forty quart plastic tote- batches of hush puppy mix per hour; each batch yields between 200-300 hush puppies. Twenty-eight hours of fish frying yields a ton of hush puppies. An interesting side note, each 40 quart tote mix uses thirty-six eggs.

The cooking team consist of at least two men, using melon ball scoopers, to immerse the hush puppies into the cooking oil. Two other men wait to scoop them out as they bob up on the surface for a continuous production process. The target cooking temperature for the hush puppy oil is 310 degrees F. According to Jeff Morris, head of the hush puppy cooking squad, the batches are ready in five to seven minutes.

Tater said the catfish fillets thaw in a running water water bath of 300 pounds at a time for forty-five minutes to one hour per tub. Two tubs are in operation through  out the cooking day. The fillets are then drained and breaded. Ten to fifteen pounds of fish go into each fry pot once the oil reaches the target temperature of 325 to 350 degrees F. This drops as the fish is added but returns as the fish cook for fifteen to twenty minutes until golden brown. The french fries are cooked in separate fry pots at 350 degrees F. They generally cook up in ten to twelve minutes.

Another interesting side note to the fish fry lore is “Tater’s Aluminum Foil Ball.” Every night at the end of cooking, the fry pots are drained, cleaned and filled with fresh cooking oil. Then they are covered with foil to keep the oil fresh and ready for the next day’s start. Ten years ago, Hayes balled up a sheet of this discarded foil and began to collect the remaining sheets, adding them to the soon growing ball. Ten years later, the ball has become a feature of the parade where it is displayed in the back of one of the all-terrain utility vehicles used in the parade. It has grown to an impressive height and girth and weight. See the accompanying photo.

Finally, it was time to sample the fish fry’s claim to fame. Hushpuppies, white beans, french fries, Knott’s Landing Vinegar slaw and catfish fillets filled my plate. Special note is given of the hushpuppies as deliciously seasoned, the vinegar slaw was wonderfully delicious, and the fish fillets were golden, fully cooked and lightly but fully seasoned.

To anyone who has not yet attended, make this a ‘Must Do’ for 2010 and beyond. You won’t be disappointed.

View more photos of the 2009 Worlds Biggest Fish Fry at our Photo Gallery