Cajun 101- Review of Fry Daddy Deep Fryer
Spending my teen years as a fry cook in New Orleans, I've seen and done deep frying a lot of different ways. The main job of the frying equipment is to keep the oil at a constant temperature while the cook chooses the right fats and the right ingredients and the right timing to make a great meal. My wife was skeptical back in January when I invested $50 in a FryDaddy thinking I could take back up the mantle of a fry cook. God's power is made perfect in our weakness, and in no time I was regularly preparing meals that family and guests have found pleasing. I delight in the look on my wife's face every time.

So far, I've used the Fry Daddy around 30 times and published 30 or so videos on my adventures. The Fry Daddy does its job, holding the oil between 350 and 400 deg F, measuring around 390 deg when fully heated and dropping closer to 350 as food is added. The main key is to fry in small batches – about 2 cups of food is about as much as you want to fry at once for best results. The Fry Daddy uses 1 quart of oil, and does well with any appropriate choice of frying fats. We've been pleased frying all kinds of seafood, veggies, fruits, pastries, even coming up with a bunch of new great recipes.

We usually use a blend of animal fats – either beef tallow or duck fat – and either peanut or cottonseed oil. The plant-based fats lower expenses and are also optimal for adding flavor through hot pepper oil or garlic infused oil. We've never thrown the oil out, but it is regularly filtered and stored for longer periods in the freezer. For shorter periods, less than a week, we often skip the cheesecloth filtering, and just put the whole Fry Daddy in the back of the fridge with its lid. If you use cheaper oil, lots of folks just keep it on the counter with the lid for as long as it lasts before tossing it out. But we view the oil as a key ingredient to great food and hate to see it wasted.

The bottom line is that the Fry Daddy does its job, it's very easy to use, and it works every time. If this one broke tomorrow, odds are I'd go out and buy one just like it. If you have a big family, you can easily accommodate the small batches, by giving thanks beforehand, and letting folks cruise by buffet style after each batch comes out. All fried food is better just after it comes out, though some dishes may do OK waiting until it is all ready for a traditional sit-down dinner. We view frying occasions as special, so a break with traditional sit-downs is warranted. If I wanted to increase capacity, I'd run two Fry Daddies with different fat blends ...

But fried foods in high does can be unhealthy, and the Fry Daddy makes it so easy, there may be some temptation. Being empty nesters, it's critical to keep a close eye on portion sizes AND to only put fried dinners on the menu every week or two. Praise the Lord Jesus who provides all good things.

I love my Fry Daddy. Beats the heck out of an air fryer.

We have had one for years but have wished for it to be larger at times.

They make a larger size but it doesn’t hold the heat once fish is added. Fish came out soggy and I returned it.

I think they used the same size heating element and it didn’t respond fast enough.

But the Fry daddy does a great job, I use peanut oil and strain it and use the same oil over and over.

Thanks for the comment. The heat input is limited by the current draw from a normal 15 Amp socket. Bigger heaters need special wall power - like ovens and dryers.

If I needed more capacity, I'd run a second unit (1 quart of oil) on a second breaker. With a 15 Amp wall outlet, 1 Qt of fry oil is about all you can heat and keep at temp when food is added.