Breaking in the new fish fryer

[SpurgeonH]

I've cooked bacon a couple of mornings this week (on the stove) in my new Sportsman fryer, but this is the first time to use it for what it was designed for ... Frying fish on the Sportman's grill. The fryer has significant pitting, I've got my fingers crossed the pits will fill in with oil from all of the fish I plan on frying.

First up: hush puppies. (Lesson learned with the fryer. I got the oil too hot and the hushpuppies were burned on the outside by the time they were done of the inside. They still tasted good!)



Then I threw 3 flounder filets and 2 catfish filets in there ...



Then, while the fish were sitting for a couple of minutes, I threw some squash on there ...



I also made some potatoes (in the oven) ... (This is actually a picture from earlier this week. It's a new recipe and I liked it so much, I made it twice this week!)

[W. Hilditch]

Very nice!

Hilditch

[SpurgeonH]

Thanks. I learned a couple of lessons.

It doesn't take as many coals as I thought it would to heat the fryer. The oil was too hot and I had to finish the hushpuppies in the oven because they were getting burned on the outside and the inside was not getting done. It worked okay because I had to give the potatoes a few more minutes anyway.

I also learned something about my usual beer consumption while grilling.. I don't drink often. My alcohol consumption is pretty much limited to a beer or two when I'm grilling. (Although I prefer a Maker's Mark - neat) The problem tonight was, the grill took longer to heat up than my gas grill, which increased the available drinking time, which meant several beers instead of one, which means my head is buzzing now when it shouldn't be.

[KevinE]

Good job on using the fryer and having the brews! I have the deep fryer, but have only ever used it on a coleman 2 burner stove. Easier to control the temp of the oil. I gifted my Sportsman grill to my nephew several years ago. The deep fryer with lid was passed down to me when my Dad passed 20 years ago and he had it for 20 years before that. There's been a heap of hush puppies and fish cooked in that thing.

[Sharon Shuman]

Hey, Spurgeon, cool on the cooking, but watch the beer--stuff sneaks up on you! A lovely use of the CI--may all your hush puppies come out great in future! Thanks for sharing!

[SteveT]

Well done on the Sportsmans Grill. That's on my bucket list of things to acquire, but the ones I've seen were out of the state AND too expensive.

Enjoy,
Steve

[BryanB]

First up: hush puppies. (Lesson learned with the fryer. I got the oil too hot and the hushpuppies were burned on the outside by the time they were done of the inside. They still tasted good!)

When the wife and I pan fry fish we make fritters instead of the thicker hushpuppy. They look like little pancakes and cook evenly. Flip them like pancakes in the oil and you have an even cook.

[Mike_M]

What oil did you use and what did you do with it after cooking? Looks neat, but a healthy oil like olive oil woukd be expensive if you pitch after each use. If using an electric conventional deep fryer, it is easy to store with oil left in it. I have the sportsman grill as well and its great, but it alone is a lot of work let alone the cleanup from a fryer like that. Great job though!