How to Build a Fish Fryer

tHaving a fish fry is tradition for many anglers during the fishing season, allowing them to share their catch with friends and family while providing delicious food. Though commercial fish fryers are available from brick and mortar and online stores, they're often expensive and may not suit your needs. Instead of purchasing a pre-built fish fryer, you can build your own using parts that are available from most hardware and sporting stores. Once built, you'll be able to heat up oil to a specific temperature and use it to try fish.

Step 1

Buy or acquire a propane burner assembly, which looks like a gas stove's burner, but is equipped with a hose and valve that allows you to connect it to a propane tank. Screw the burner's hose onto the propane tank, tightening it in place with a pair of pliers if necessary. Turn the hose's valve if it has one, then turn the dial on the top of the propane tank counter-clockwise to open it. Press the burner's ignition button to cause a spark, which will ignite the burner; if an ignition button isn't available, turn the burner's dial to release gas, then hold a match or lighter near the burner to ignore the propane.

Step 2

Purchase a turkey fryer, which is a stand that is most commonly sold during the Thanksgiving season for turkey frying. Position the stand above the burner you assembled and ignited in the previous step.

Step 3

Position a metal frying vat onto the turkey frying stand. Be sure that it is positioned in the middle and is stable. Fill the vat with frying oil or animal fat, and allow it to warm up to the temperature you desire. Avoid heating the oil to an extreme temperature, which will result in burnt food and possibly a grease fire. Turn the fire down if the oil gets too hot.

Step 4

Place a frying insert, which is like a wire basket, into the oil vat so that the basket is covered and the handle is sticking outside of the vat. Once the oil reaches the right temperature, lift the basket from the oil and fill it with fish, then lower it back into the oil. Once the fish is cooked, lift the basket from the oil, then shut the propane burner off to avoid overheating the oil.

Tip: Clip a thermometer to the side of the oil vat so that you can monitor the oil's temperature.