Waring Pro DF280 Professional Deep Fryer, Brushed Stainless [DISCONTINUED]

I finally took my deep fryer out of the box this last weekend! I invited a dozen friends for a fish fry. A week prior to my event I experimented with the type of fish, the type of batter, the type of oil, and the type of french fries. First I chose red snapper over cod; the snapper was fresh the cod was frozen and I was able to taste the difference. Also cost wise the snapper was cheaper! Second I experimented with batters. Finally decided it on first doing a tempura batter (egg yolk, cold beer, and flour); followed by egg and panko. Make them in the morning and layered them in a dish with waxpaper between each layer. I also battered butterflied/defined large shrimp the same way. I used peanut oil. As far as french fries I first tried cutting them and frying them but I was not able to get that crunch. So instead I bought Ore-Ida frozen (slightly precooked) french fries. After a week of experimenting with a pot of oil over my stove I was ready for my bash on Saturday.I washed and dried the oil container and the large basket; plugged in my deep fryer, turned it on, and set it to 350 degrees. It takes about 20 minutes for it to reach the temperature but once it does everything runs quickly after that. I would place two or three 6 inch by 2 inch pieces of fish and it would cook in 5 minutes or so, followed by a dozen shrimp, followed by 1/3 of a bag of that Ore-Ida frozen french fries. I also fried Jalapenos.Everything went smooth and the fryer retained its temperature of 350 degrees throughout. All my guests said that this was the tastiest fried fish, shrimp, and fries they've ever had. I know they meant it because they kept coming back for more! This was due to using the best ingredients and having a deep dryer that did its job of heating and holding the oil temperature.I had one small technical difficulty. I wasn't able to drop the basket straight down with the handle on. Instead I had to lower it at an angle. It worked but if you are not careful the handle folds and falls into the hot oil. So I had to watch that. I am not sure if you are supposed to remove the handle after lowering it in the oil? I will read the manual and see.The only negative is that it has super short chord. I had to use an extension chord.Finally it takes a few hours for the oil to cool down to room temperature. I used a metal mesh filter and a funnel and poured it back into it's original bottle.Best Fish Fry Ever!

Product works absolutely as advertised. After washing up the cooking pan and drying thoroughly, we assembled unit (which is very simple) and added 1 gallon of peanut oil (Lou Ana brand). Plugged in the magnetic - quick detach safety cord (which is a great idea since we had Munchkins running around). Controls are intuitive. Since we were set on chicken wings, we set oil temp at the correct setting according to manual, and waited for it to tell us it was ready. Once oil was up to temp, we let it sit for about 7-8 minutes for the temp to equilibrate, then placed approximately 14 wing pieces into basket (Cut wings at joints, use two largest pieces, throw the ends away or save for chicken stock-but who really does that?) Make sure wings are thawed and relatively dry. Lower basket, set timer and less than 15 minutes later, we had golden brown, crispy wings ready to roll in our choice of wing sauce, favorite bbq sauce, or wing sauce with a drop or six of hot pepper sauce. Proclaimed the daughter-in-law, "We have a new favorite food for special occasions." Wings were perfect. We cooked about 5 batches in one afternoon. Oil is not cheap...about $14 per gallon and we didn't save it. Saved oil, depending upon food cooked in it, is of variable quality for reuse. Why take chance of ruining good food with oil fish or wing-fry oil. Oil used for French fry cooking is probably OK to save. A word to the wise, place cooker on cook top with exhaust fan...otherwise your house will smell like fried food at the county fair for a couple of days. Don't know how long this unit will last, but it is easy to assemble, disassemble, clean and works perfectly the first time...what more could one ask? Oh, if you want to cook for smaller groups with less oil...take a look at the Cool Daddy fryer (my review of that one coming soon). It only uses 1/2 gallon of oil. For an adventure deep-fry small clean dry ears of fresh corn. Experiment with time and don't overcook. Cook until golden yellow, slather with butter. Fair Food at home!