Need help understanding grease temp and rise in temp

[Potatoe]

I just bought a camp chef stove two burner 60,000 BTU. I have a cast iron dutch oven, used canola oil and using a Taylor temp gauge just dipping the probe into the oil. Watching temp rise to 350 I put a few pieces of fish in and the temp went up like crazy and fish burned. I then turned down the heat temp went below 350 and I seemed to fry some fish with success. Why would the temp rise and burn the first batch of fish, am I not putting probe deep enough in grease. I feel like an idiot I should be able to figure this out.

Thanks for any help

[Cray]

Cast iron takes a while to heat up and once it starts it will jump quick just like you experienced. Need to let it warm up untill you see grease starting to roll cut back flame a little, let it settle down then put probe in and let it stay there for a bit. When you drop fish temp will drop just a bit and then recover quickly. Get one of those long probe thermometers with the clip to put on side of pot. About 7-8 bucks at WM. Don't let probe touch bottom of pot. Take your time with cast iron.

[doggone]

Without a thermostat to control the burner you have to watch and manually control the flame. Hopefully you have a regulator with a quick adjust knob on it. I sit down right by that regulator and watch the temp and run that burner up and down to maintain the right temp. Typically I am going to bring the oil to temp running the burner at something like half flame...that helps to prevent overshoot. Then as I load in fish I am going to typically go to full flame to "catch the load" so to speak. Typically I am going to be able to stay at full flame for a minute or two...then as the moisture steams off the fish and it warms up the load is going to drop again and I have to turn down the flame to again keep from overshooting. How cold the fish is and how much fish you put in in relationship to the pot size and oil quantity and the burner size...determine how active your gonna be in the process.You will get good at anticipating exactly what's going to happen and can react early.

I have serviced commercial restaurant equipment for forty years. This is basically what they do automatically...throttle the flame up and down from start to finish. The closer you can keep your oil at one temp over the entire fry the better the quality . You can start the oil at 375 and say when loaded it may temporarily drop to 300 and come back and it won't be the end of the world. The fish will be edible....but the best quality comes from small variations in temp of say 20 to 30 degrees or so.

[Potatoe]

Thanks for the info guys, I have a feeling an automatic fryer would be much easier. I have looked at the new Presto cooker it is a little larger than the fry daddy, But I would really like to figure out the propane and cast iron method also.

thanks again for reply

[jigfisherx]

Keep a batch of potatoes ready to go. If the oil is getting too hot use them to regulate the fluctuations in temp.


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[river scum]

second what he said about the tater wedges.

i put fish in at 350min and 375max. unless u use peanut oil you need to keep temp under 400 at all costs! if it gets too hot the oil will loose its viscosity and singe anything fried in it there on. the temp will spike when the fish are dropped in, then drop. if you have temp over 375 it could spike over the 400* limits.

dont just fry fish in that thing either. pork or chicken patties made at home are way better than store crap, with all the chems in them. fried chicken is fun to play with batters/spices. even chunks of deer meat breaded are very tasty and tender flash fried! try some squrell like you would do chicken too. dont forget mushrooms and the vegies either!!!

[river scum]

also most people fry fish too long. it only takes a couple min. it will be a lot moister if not over cooked.

[NIMROD]

Cooking time depends on temp and thickness of fish . Tiny bream fillets take just a few minutes . Slab Crappie about 6 , Catfish about 8 and big Buffalo ribs may take even longer to cook out fat . Watch using cheap thermomaters as they tend to stick causing you to over heat oil .