I need a little help from you guys. I am trying to introduce my family to eating crappie and did a semi-poor job of cooking it the first time. I bought an electric deep fryer and heated it up to about 315 degrees and cooked about 6 minutes. The problem was that the outside was crispy, but the inside was sort of mushy/chewy. Any advice?

try 375 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 mins

350 - 375 degrees. Remember that most cooking oils have a flash point. I can't remember what Peanut Oil's is. Someone will. I know it's hot though.

If you are battering your fish, you can usually tell when they are finished cooking because they will "in general" float to the top.

Make sure that your oil is hot before dumping the fish in.
Make sure not to over fill with fish your deep fryer. If you put too many fish in there, it cools the oil off and they don't cook as fast.

The best way to tell if they are cooking long enough is to take a bite of each one as they are coming out of the grease.

Or you could just tear one or two open and visually inspect them.

I believe though, that the issue on your attempt was that the oil was not hot enough.

thanks guys, we'll give it another whirl.

Jeff said it all well...I cook my fish at 350 for 6 min or so. When you add fish to the oil it will cool it off big time so keep an eye on the temp.

I'm also in the process of adding a "Recipes" page to my website for people to jot down their favorite recipes and cooking tips

I heat the oil to a minimum of 375. Check the cooking thermometers and the mark for frying fish is 375. As stated above, the oils cools considerably after the fish are added. I wait between batches for the oil to come back up to the proper temperature.

350 and light on the batter

Same info, different twist.
Don't overload the fryer. Put about 10-12 pieces at a time depending on size of fryer. Make sure the oil is hot by testing a small piece or frech fry (freedom fry) first. Depending on you taste for fish, I use corn meal mix (corn meal and flour mixed - you can buy it in the store like this) and salt to taste. Wait until they float before taking them out. Most of all, practice and it will get better. Hope this helps.

Or you could invite a few of your friends over for some sampling before you feed it to the family.

claden, WillieFindum here,
I think the best way is to do it by thermometer. You can buy a candy thermometer that clips onto the side of the fryer. Heat oil to 350, add fish, let the temp come back up to 350, take fish out, drain on paper towels, eat.
Seperate thick and thin peices. Thick will cook slower, thin faster. Cooking pieces of equall size will help insure all are done at the same time.
IMO: When the oil is heated to 375 or more the corn meal that is left in the oil will scorch, giving the oil and the fish a burnt taste.
The amount of fish to fry in a batch depends on 3 things; the size of the pot, heat source and the size of the fillet. a)A fryer that will hold a gallon of oil will cook a lot more at one time than a Fry Daddy. I like room for most all the fllets to float. b)Gas will heat faster than electric. c)You can cook more fillets from 10" fish than 14" fish at one time.
Now you get to expermint to find what you like best.

Don't cook it in a deep fryer. Thats for french fries. Cook it in a big deep cast iron skillet. Old School baby, easiest way to get your oil to its temp. And much easier to cook and watch

WillieFindum is right on!!!

You can buy a clip-on candy thermoneter for about $4. at the grocery store.

I use a FryDaddy with peanut oil with the thermoneter clipped on the side. It generally takes about eight minutes for the oil to be ready. While cooking your fish, keep a sharp eye on the temperature and you will get a "feel" for how much fish you can cook while keeping the temp. reasonably close to the 375 degree mark.

When the fish floats and is (approx.) medium brown, it is ready for your belly.

Charlie

Try throwing some flour in the oil first if it fizz immediatley then the oil is ready. And keep it at that temperature.

I like to get my peanut oil up to about 385 for the first batch. I use this (picture) to take the temp of the oil...



I pat my crappie fillets dry, then use Louisiana Fish fry mix or Tony Chachere's fish fry mix to dredge them thru lightly, then into the oil. It will shock the oil down about 10-12 degrees and I fry the fillets for about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes or until they float, then take them out and let them drain on a paper plate with paper towels on it. I'm constantly monitoring and adjusting my flame until I can consistently have the temp back up to around 380 by the time I'm ready to put the next dredged batch of fish in. I also skim the fry mix particles out of the oil every 3-4 batches. I don't like to crowd my fillets in the hot oil...it "bruises" the fillets. What I mean is the fillets tend to want to stick together if you crowd them too much.

If you like your fish to be hid in a bunch of batter, then head out for Red Lobster and other so-called seafood places. One reason you have to leave your fish in the oil longer is because the dough has to cook first, then the fish. Save the dough for stripers, sandies, carp, shad, skunks, possums and such. I prefer to taste my crappie and not waste my crappie.

You do not want to leave fish in the oil for anymore than 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or they begin to soak up the oil and become mushy.

I used this Mannix laser temp gun at the TFF Texoma Striper tournament and cooked the crappie fillets we had the Friday night before as I stated above. Any of the guys/gals who ate those fillets can attest that they were crunchy and not mushy. I've done a lot of fish fry's for family, tournaments and church. I've made converts of non-fish eaters and batter-fish eaters alike using nothing but dry fry mix, mostly Lousiana Fish Fry mix. I have nothing against batter mixes and will use some of them when I'm cooking for fewer than 4-5 people but never for a huge gathering.

The laser temp gun runs on 9-v battery and has a temp reading range of -4 to 500 degrees F with accuracy of +/- 3 degrees because of ambient temps around the cone. Again, I bought this with doing big fish fry's in mind and not for just frying a few fish at the house.

The "toy" comes with a case and I got it out of a Travers catalog for about $60 including shipping and handling. No more candy thermometers for me. Nor do I use the basket that comes with the frying pot. Tim Gilstrap showed me an easier, less messy way using a perferated ladel to retrieve them out of the oil and I now do this 100%.

The laser temp gun I discovered at a Big Fish Cliff crappie tournament/fish fry on Lavon one year. Poppa had one and I've been looking for one ever since. Oh, and you won't see Big Fish Cliff frying any crappie at his tournaments with them wrapped up in a doughball. Just a point of interest for you who haven't had the pleasure of attending one of his fishing tournaments yet. I would urge you to do so and experience FRYMOS or the Truth in Frying Fish...he's got it down pat!

BTW, whatever happened to Poppa?