Deep Fryer Help?

[CraigC]

My father HAS tried frying in a deep pan, but the problem is that what he fries -- shrimp, smelts, and fish -- just don't come out as crispy as when he uses his Fry Daddy. They seem to just absorb too much oil and they just don't have the lightness they do with the Fry Daddy.

What temperature was the oil when he added the food?

 

[MangiareVomitare]

What temperature was the oil when he added the food?

I don't know. I do know that he's been frying for a long time now with his Fry Daddy, so he knows to put the food in only when it's sufficiently hot. I don't know, however, if he had the right pot to properly deep-fry in, or if there's a special kind of stove-top deep fryer to use, which one I should get him.

Also, I don't know what temperature the oil should be. Would a Creuset deep fryer, for example, get the oil as hot as a Fry Daddy does?

 

[GotGarlic]

Any pot you use on the stove top can be used for frying. It just needs to be deep enough to hold enough oil and allow for the expansion of the oil when you put the food in. I've used my stainless steel Dutch oven.

Most fried food recipes call for temperatures from 325-375 degrees F. Get a thermometer you can clip to the pot so you can monitor the temperature.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I'm sure that I'm a voice crying in the wilderness, but I use a deep stainless steel pan on the stove. Most kitchens have several different sizes available, clean up is a breeze and it is one less item to store. If you are concerned about temperature control then invest in a thermometer for $5 to $10 bucks, I don't bother with one I just guesstimate the temperature of the oil.
Good luck!

Believe it or not, even with two Fry Daddy's, I still use my special stove top pan for deep frying on occasion. When I make fried chicken or fish, we use the stove, not the Fry Daddy.
I just have to watch the temp with a pan and there is no watching, guessing or burning anything in the Fry Daddy. It also only has one temp built in.

One question for you experienced deep fryers, how do you dispose of the used oil? Do you use new oil every time?
I'm never sure exactly what to do with the used oil. I've usually put it in a empty coffee can or something like that and trashed it.

I use the oil over and over and strain it when it needs to be strained.
Fry Daddy comes with a plastic lid for storage.
We recycle our used cooking oil. But I will now save some for for my chimney charcoal starter. I have been using cooking oil. It only takes a few drops. I put a few drops on the crushed up newspaper before lighting it.

My father HAS tried frying in a deep pan, but the problem is that what he fries -- shrimp, smelts, and fish -- just don't come out as crispy as when he uses his Fry Daddy. They seem to just absorb too much oil and they just don't have the lightness they do with the Fry Daddy.

Then he is cooking with to low heat.
He should turn on the burner to high first and allow the oil to come up to temp. Not all the way, but close. Then he can turn down the heat. He will need to find the "sweet spot" as far as stove top setting as he learns how. You can achieve on the stove, what you can achieve with a deep fryer. You just have to learn to use those knobs Emeril always talked about.

 

[dcSaute]

>>the knobs . . .

this is true, but one thing not mentioned,,,,,

except for 'southern fried chicken' - which is around here about 'half-deep frying' in cast iron - I use a deep copper/stainless sauce pot for deep frying. we don't do a lot of it. I have a fry thermometer with a clip.

even with nothing in the pot, the temperature of the oil from top to bottom will vary by 40F degrees, no problem! I use a big metal slotted spoon to 'agitate' the oil - working on getting the temperature about in the middle depth of the pan where I want it.

when the food goes in, it chill shocks the oil; I have to up the knob. then I have down the knob to prevent overheating - but if it will over heat depends on what and how much of what goes in the pot of oil and how long it needs to cook through.

beer-battered butterflied shrimp is the most 'common' deep fry around here. in a four quart sauce pan, on a gas stove, once it's up to temp and the shrimp go in 6-8 at a time, I normally only have to increase the heat and leave it there. shrimp cooks pretty quick, so the temp does go 'down' then 'up' but within an acceptable 'it's crisp but not burnt' range.

the thermometer on a clip is installed 'resident' so I can see the temps falling then rising - and I do stir the stuff around to distribute the heat.

thermostatic control is a nice touch - note that in most cases the thermostat and the heating elements are near each other on the bottom, and the food bits are floating on the top - where, lacking some stirring - it's cooler (making for greasy / soggy / etc.)

from my great aunt I had a purpose built deep fryer - with a plug-in controller,,, eventually the controller got too hot to touch, the plug too hot to touch, the cord - which was black&white cloth wrapped,,,(yeah, that old) - got too hot. could not find a new plug/wire/controller with the matching geometry so I opted to ditch it before it made fire-in-the-kitchen.....