Fish cooker help

[Ashman]

I need a little guidance on either figuring out what is wrong with my present cooker or reccomendations on one to buy.

Last time we cooked fish it could not get the oil to 350 degrees and I let it go for about 45 minutes. Got to about 300 and I decided heck with it and put a batch in.....well that cooled the oil down and it took a long time to get the temp back up.

It is one of those fish fryer combos you buy from Gander or Cabelas.....and I must have the only one that is faulty. I had a fresh tank of propane and the valve all the way on but it just didn't seem to get above 300. It's just frustrating and it has to be something simple.

Advice please.

[silver one]

couple of things to keep in mind when using a cooker of that type.

If your cooking outside keep the wind in mind. the windier it is the harder it is to keep the temp consistant. Also check your flame. It should be blue. if it is not then you need to adjust your regualtor. blue is hotter and as it heats up the end of the flames will turn yellow orange color. the other is the amount of oil vs the size of your cooking pot. I do alot of turkeys and your just want to cover the bird. In the case of fish you dont want to put to much fish in at one time.This will cause the oil to cool down to fast and not get hot enought quick enough to get your fish crispy. it usually turns out mushy. If you check these and still have isuues then I might suspect your cooker has a problem.

One other thing is the type of oil. For fish I use Canola. for turkeys I use penut oil. Reason being Is I dont like the taste of the penut oil for fish and it tends to overcook the fish because it holds a hoter temp then canola. in other words it takes less falme to heat penut oil then canola. but the canola taste better. so if your using canola or vegtable oil you will definently have to turn up the flame to get it hot and stay hot.

Good luck.

[Ashman]

Thanks, I think you hit on several things I have been doing wrong.

I just about fill the cooker with oil (canola) , and I probably put too many fish in it at a time.