An "Oil Crises" close to home

[nowIamone]

A couple of days ago I sat down at my 11 year old grandson's table, and after a few minutes finished off the cold piece of deep fried fish he had left on his plate. It seemed awfully greasy, but I hadn't eaten in hours, had a **** of a dinner peak, and normally have an aversion to fried fish unless I've had a long walk on the beach with a dose of fresh salt air. I was tired, so dismissed the fact that it seemed greasy for all the above reasons, but I did note the info in the back of my mind.

Two days later, at the end of the nite, the bartender ask that I throw some prawns in for her and because I hadn't eaten in hours, had a **** of a dinner peak and it was easy.......... fixed a couple for myself.

Alors! My crispy fried fish and prawns ( that I batter myself, that is so crispy I can hear a bite taken across the dining room ) is big time GREASY! So I ran through my kitchen like a deranged woman.......I found the containers the fryer grease came in and checked it againest the old containers; I took it's temp twice; I check my batter ingrediants for a variation; changed the oil in the deep fryer; checked the temp before every batch was dropped; had the wait staff on a mission to ask how the fried fish/prawns were ........and "a little greasy" was always the answer.

My deep fried halibut dinner, steak and prawns is a big part of our summer tourist business..........and my fried fish was considered the best around; I'm at a loss as how to correct this! Suggestions please. By the way, I don't use panko; it's a beer batter, and I don't allow the beer to flatten.

[dano1]

if it ain't old oil check the thermostat.