What Pan or Cooker do you use?

[whizkids]

Lakeman brought up a new type cooker ( to me ) on the frying oil thread. I know what he uses will solve some of my past mistakes. His post was:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I use all canola oil for all of my frying, and I do a lot of deep frying, fish, shrimp, chicken, sweet potatoes, irish potatoes, and carrots. I use my oil for a dozen or two fryings (not batches, but cooking sessions) before I pour it out, I strain the larger particals of breading out when needed, and I never burn my oil, but pour it out when it is wore out (Restaurants use their oil for many cookings before they discard it). Your oil burns if you get it two hot, and if you use a cooker over a fire, or an electric fryer with the element on the bottom (like a fry daddy) you are applying your heat directly to the bottom, and all of the meal,breadding etc that settles on the bottom will burn, and then lend a burnt taste to your oil, and then to your food (any time you see little puffs of blue smoke rising from bursting bubbles in your oil, you are burning it). Restaurants never burn their oil, so I use fryers that operate like restaurant equiptment, and never burn my oil. I have two deepcookers I use, for small cookings (for the wife and myself, and maybe two or three others) I use my smaller rectangular shaped DeLonghey cooker, which holds about two quarts, and for larger cookings, I have an electric turkey fryer which will hold a couple gallon. Both of these cookers have a removable heating element, that you lower into the oil, and it stays up off of the bottom so the heat is applied above the crumbs on the bottom, never burning them. Also the elements on both fryers are thermostatic controlled, and the highest you can heat your oil is 360 degrees which will not burn your oil.[/QUOTE

Lakeman is this the type cooker you use?
http://www.delonghi.com/Int/USA/prodotti.html

[whizkids]

Two years ago my gave me deep fryer, It wasn't like the one pictured but my results on my first and only attempt were very similar. We still use a cast iron frying pan.

[labill]

Whiz!!.....it looks like a countdown at NASA! How did that get started? Probably too much oil?

I have a 40+ year old Sunbeam deep frier with a monster heating element. No waiting between batches, and it will hold a gallon of oil. I also have 2 Rival cookers, but they are slow to reheat, even if you drop the fillets one at a time. I use them for hushpuppies and potatoes now, and went back to the Sunbeam for the fish. For big fish fries, a 2 gallon cast iron pot and burner.

[fishingpox]

Peanut oil and a cooker very similar to your whiz.

[shadow]

Hey Whiz, that must have been pretty scary (I hope yall were outside). I always use the grandpappy frydaddy or a similar type cooker. If you can find one with a thermostat controller they work 100 times better. Like the guy said then you don't burn your oil. Also I use either canola or peanut oil. I strain my oil when done and never use the oil more than 2 seperate times (several seperate batches).
Good Luck,
Shadow

[Roberta]

I use a 3" deep, 12" diameter cast iron skillet over gas heat, since I almost never fry more than ten filets at a time. We have a Fry Daddy, but hardly use it. We've looked at those fryers like the one in the photograph and might get one if we ever have to fry for a crowd. - Roberta

[LakeHardingSpirit]

Cast iron works the best for myself too, also you a stainless steel frying pan that really turns out some golden, crispy fish as well.

No fishing on credit.

[whizkids]

[QUOTE=shadow]Hey Whiz, that must have been pretty scary (I hope yall were outside). Yes I was, I can't remember being so embarrassed, then had to go to KFC to get chicken for everyone. Oil too hot. Who needs a thermometer

[lakeman]

Yea whizkids, that is the baby, then I have a much larger one (turky fryer) that works the same way, except it is round, and much larger. These are the "ONLY" way to do quality deep frying.

[shadow]

[QUOTE=whizkids]

Hey Whiz, that must have been pretty scary (I hope yall were outside). Yes I was, I can't remember being so embarrassed, then had to go to KFC to get chicken for everyone. Oil too hot. Who needs a thermometer

Hey Whiz, my dad use to throw an unlit match in the grease and when the match lit the oil was hot enough to fry (it worked for him). I never perfected this technique. I have better luck with the cookers with the thermostats on them.