Fish Fryers

[lawman]

I just love deep fried fish. No matter how hard I try I can't fry it in a pan without it being soggy. Is there a good electric fish fryer on the market that's good for just two to four people. What kind of oil is best for fish.

[Thomas]

You are not getting the oil hot enough - 375 degrees is idea and use peanut or conala oil - veg. oil smokes and burns at to low temp. Oil is hot enough if you put a one small drop of water in the oil and it pops.

[Deitz Dittrich]

lawman- Yes there are plenty of fish fryers that work wonderfull for small families.. I got one at wallmart and it works great... As stated before.. hot oil is the key!

[IFallsRon]

The Fry Daddy works good but you can't overload it because the oil cools down, causing saturated fish.

[Phred52]

Lawman, Here's a way to check if your oil is hot enough. If you have any of the old "strike anywhere" stick matches, the ones with the sulpher tip, when you believe the oil is hot enough, throw the match in. If the match lites, your oil is hot enough. Yes, I know what you're thinking, MY OIL WILL START ON FIRE, right? No, it won't! I have used this method while campfire cooking(campfire's hotter) for about the last 25 -30 years and have yet to lite my oil. It is probably the most accurate way of checking minimum oil temp without a thermometer. Another thing you can do is when you suspect your oil is near temp, dip your fingertips into some water, soda, handy type liquid, etc and let some droplets fall into your oil. They should "DANCE" on top of the oil before they evaporate. Don't put in too much liquid as it can make really hot oil splatter.

[New Yankee]

I'm with Deitz - picked one up at Wally's that has a temp selection and a light that shows when it's not up to whatever temp you selected so you know when to let it catch up. Think it was about 20 bucks, and it has a basket and lid as well. As far as oil, canola USUALLY has a lower smoke point than vegtable and penut oil, but it really depends on how refined each oil is.

[lawman]

I love this site! Thanks for the info guys.

[poutpro]

also, make sure that when you take the fish out, you put it on paper towels or something else that allows the oil to drip off. If the fish sit in the oil, it won't take long for them to get soggy. I agree witht the trick above to see if the oil is got enough. I just get a drop of the batter and put it in the oil, if its not hot enough, it will just go to the bottom. I bought a a frier at Target for $25 and it works great.

[HC Eye Hunter]

Yo Lawman,

I am with you on the deep fried fish! I was having some of the same issues that you were referring to and it gets real messy. Since then I have purchased a Rival deep fryer and man what a difference! Just turn the dial to the desired oil temp. fill the enclosed fish basket and submerge into the oil at 375 degrees for 6 or 7 minutes.

Not only does it come out perfect every time evreything is self contained so there is very little cleanup and no waist of the peanut oil till it is time to swap the oil out.

You can pick one up for about $50.00 bucks and I highly recremend one.