Fish Fry

[viper125]

Well going to try a pretty large fish fry this year. Church asked about things to do so I volunteered what can I say always a sucker to help. I have a lot of fish in the freezer and going to be probably 50 or more..Im going to ask for signatures whos coming and how many they are bringing. So I can make sure I unthaw enough. This is my Lake Erie walleye and yellow Perch. We live on it all season then give away most the rest or have a fry. Very good tasting. 
So figure I'll deep fry out side in turkey cookers. Keeping warm might be a problem. But figured Id ask you all. I have roosters I could put water in and a rack then add fish to the rack to keep warm. I also have the stainless steel pans and lids like you see at weddings with he fuel under neath. Which would you use?
Also think of doing cooler corn on the cob. And of coarse the Baptist ladies all great cooks will bring dishes. So what do you think! Any ideas to make it better?

[tskeeter]

Viper, I think if you try to keep your fish warm by putting it on a rack over warm water, the batter on the fish will probably absorb moisture from the steam and get soggy.  What I'd try is putting a cooling rack in the bottom of your hotel pans, to keep the fish off the bottom of the pan, allow the dry air to circulate a bit, and allow any moisture to drip into the space below the fish.  For heat, I'd probably put an inch or so of boiling water in one hotel pan and nest a second hotel pan containing the fish on top of the one containing the water.  This gives you an even heat source that won't scorch your beautiful fish and a big heat sink (the boiling water).  If you'll need to keep the fish warm for a while, put the alcohol fuel burners under the hotel pan with the water to keep the water hot.  Be sure not to cover your fish too tightly.  Even after it is cooked it will release quite a bit of moisture, so provide a way to the moisture to vent away from the fish.  This could be a simple as cutting some slits in the foil that you use to cover the hotel pan until serving time.

[classicrockgriller]

You could use your Bradley and PID to keep warm.

I've gone to Fish Frys and have they use heavy walled styrofoam coolers

and the fish stay warm in that for along time if the lid is replaced.

Put a pan in the bottom or line with several layers of foil so the first batch
of fish doesn't start melting the styrofoam.

Wally World carries those big coolers during the summer.

[viper125]

Well my bradley is in the garage and id rather not make it Mobil. Too easy to mess it up with that many people. But the moisture is a problem Ive had before at the wild game dinners I use to throw. Glad it was mentioned as this old mind totally forgot.
But i solved that with the rosters in the same fashion. We added water between roaster and pan and a rack in the bottom to keep them from scorching. May be if I did that then placed the trays out with heat too we could just store in roster long enough to catch up then take out and serve.