View Full Version : Frying oil too hot
A couple of weeks ago I tried to fry some fish using a turkey fryer. I let the temperature get to 375 degrees before I put the fish in the oil. When I put the fish into the pan the oil temperature went up to 450 degrees within a few seconds. Needless to say the fish was burnt. I have used this beer batter in a fry daddy many times and I never had a problem. Does anyone have an idea why this happened? Thanks
tooohot
06-20-2001, 10:02 PM
I've had problems with the cheap thermometers you get with the fryers. The needle sticks until its jostled a little. So when you put the fish in the needle freed and read the correct temp. I'd give a new, high quality,thermometer a try.
mossboss
06-21-2001, 01:43 AM
Sometimes if you cook alot of fish or big fish at one time, the water and moisture from the fillets are released as steem and the steem can cause your oil temperature to rise rapidly. Hope this helps.
It's amazing how quickly those burners heat up oil. I wonder if you're having thermometer lag. I back down my fryer before reaching ideal temp and then stabilize at ideal for atleast 15 min. before adding the goodies. Try backing down the valve at 325 and letting those last 50 degrees creep up slower.
Ps, last weekend we did some baby portabella mushrooms with some eater sized eyes. Umm, we love our fryer! :9 Good luck.
"go outside and play"
sib
Smitty
06-21-2001, 04:24 AM
I had the same exact problem a week or so ago and found out that I didn't have the thermometer far enough into the oil for an accurate reading. When the oil bubbled up upon putting the fish in the thermometer shot up like a rocket.. Burned oil and bad fish.
Cooked some last night and made SURE I had teh thermometer almost touching teh bottom of the pan and everything worked perfectly. Temp rose maybe 25 degrees and dropped right back to 350 and the fish came out perfect.
Hope this helps.. A walleye is a terrible thing to waste. :)
bob oh
06-21-2001, 11:03 AM
Make sure you have thermometer in the oil deep enough; turn the heat down at 350 and let oil creep up to 375; put in a good size batch at 370 - 375 and you should be OK.
Bob
all of the above, but also consider.. be sure the oil is at a steady even temp. You might be driving that thing like it was a dragster and dropping the fish in as the heat is racing higher.
all of the above, but also consider.. be sure the oil is at a steady even temp. You might be driving that thing like it was a dragster and dropping the fish in as the heat is racing higher.
I 've been playing with mine & discovered that the oil on the bottom is VERY hot, & the oil on the top is not. Watch your thermometer & stir the oil . Temp will shoot up...this is why the food burns-oil is too dang hot on the bottom. When food is dropped into the oil,the "boiling" action stirs the oil & the thermometer will rise sharply as the food starts to fry.
The downfall is that the heat source is only on the bottom,other deep fryers have heating elements on the sides also to keep oil more evenly heated.
I solved the problem by stirring the oil & watching the thermometer..when it hits 360 while stirring...GO.
(( conversly,if the thermometer is in too deep,opposite problem results..thermometer reads the oil on the bottom(350),while the oil on the top layers may only be 280-300---gives you S O G G Y food !))
Just stir the oil while checking temp...problem solved.
Have you ever opened a soda that came from below freezing temperatures and the liquid froze almost instantly? It's kind of the same you are describing, only with hotter temperatures. It sounds weird but you may need to gently stir the oil prior to introducing the fish, in order to distribute the heat throughout the oil.