The best way to keep food from stick to a pan or other cooking tool is to either oil the pan or oil the food item.
It's all about pan prep
Your goal is to prevent your cake from sticking by creating a barrier between batter and pan (e.g., parchment, nonstick spray, or shortening and flour) prior to adding cake batter.
Sticking is caused by chemical bonds forming between the food and the material of the pan -- almost always a metal. These bonds may be relatively weak van der Waals forces or covalent bonds.
Laying down a little oil will have a number of advantages. It promotes better heat transfer from the pan to the food. It helps the food not stick. And hopefully, it tastes good.
Use paper towels to blot away excess moisture before dredging and dipping. Thoroughly dredging the filets in either a flour or flour and cornstarch mixture will also help ensure the batter sticks nicely, because it soaks up any leftover moisture and gives the batter an even surface to stick to.
First, if the fryer oil temperature isn't at the right level, it won't keep the batter adhered to the food. That's because the batter is at a lower temperature than the oil in the fryer, which causes the batter to ooze off and not stick. When the oil is hot enough, it helps keep everything contained better.
My go-to method is a simple, light smear of yellow mustard and hot sauce, which acts as a binder, then go straight into a "breading" of cornflour, cornmeal, and seasoning.
a) The oil is not hot enough. If you have an adjustable thermostat be sure it is set at the proper setting for the food you are cooking. If your unit does not have an adjustable thermostat, be sure the light on the fryer has gone off, this tells you that the oil is ready for frying. b) Too much food is in the basket.
When deep frying, dip your spoon, tongs, or fry basket in the hot oil before picking up your food. The batter will slide right off into the oil, rather than sticking. And don't forget: a clip-on thermometer is your best bet to frying at the correct temperature.
Usually if you experience sticking, it's due to a thin film over the coating. This should remove that and get you slipping and sliding again! A note for the Perfect Pot: Both handles on our full size Perfect Pot are helper handles so they'll both get hot when cooking. Use oven mitts or hot grips while cooking.
Heating the pan or sauce pan before cooking is the best way to avoid the food from sticking as a slightly hot pan creates a layer of steam, which helps in cooking the dish easily without adding oil. But make sure the pan is greased and then heated.
Preheat Pan And Oil
Both the pan and the oil must be preheated to prevent food from sticking to the bottom. Preheat the pan first, then add the oil and heat thoroughly. Food will cook properly in an adequately heated and greased pan without sticking to the surface.
Coat both sides of fish fillets with flour mixture, then dip in beer mixture, letting excess drip back into bowl. Place 1 or 2 pieces of fish at a time in plastic bag with bread crumbs; seal bag and shake to coat completely. Fry fish in batches in hot oil about 4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown.
When meat or fish touch a hot metal pan, the heat unravels (or denatures) the muscle proteins, exposing a lot of their surface to the metal. The proteins then start to form chemical bonds with the metal, causing them to stick.
Temperature-wise your oil should be about 175C (350F), if it's much lower than that the batter won't crust up fast enough. Also avoid crowding your fryer, if you put too much in at once your oil temperature will drop too much and it may end up forcing pieces in to the net too quickly.
Heat the oil to 180C, filling the pan to no more than a third full. Meanwhile, dust the fillets with flour and then dip the fish into the batter. Coat evenly, lift out and let the excess drip off. Carefully lower the fish into the hot oil and cook for 5-8 minutes, depending on thickness.
Once the pan is preheated, add oil or cold butter and allow the fat to heat up before adding food. “This 'hot pan, cold fat' method prevents food from sticking,” Staley says.