Neitsdelf

This thread and Janet Zimmerman's article on the front page sure make me want to look up that recipe for Bone Marrow in my copy of Fergus! This thread reminds me of Anissa Helou's new book, The Fifth Quarter, all about offal. I ordered it from Amazon. It was supposed to be published in April, and now they list July. I sure hope it does come out then!

Why would you want Alton Brown to sign Bourdain's book?

Damn! I wanted do see the Beet implode, but I guess X wasn't around to chronicle that.

This place (http://www.butcher-packer.com/), local here in Detroit, has some grinders and lots and LOTS of grinding stuff (like replacement knives and disks). About $500+ for electric. I love going down there if I'm at the Eastern Market during the week.

Well, I went to Linens-n-Things over the weekend, and lo and behold they had both the Euro-Pro digital ($90) and the Waring Pro ($130) deep fryers for me to examine with my grubby not-so-little hands. Here's a brief summary of my comparison: The Waring is, unsurprisingly, more solidly built all around than the Euro-Pro. But it is significantly larger. The Waring's heating element is supported by a bracket that rests on the bottom of the oil pot, whereas the Euro Pro's is suspended from the electronic unit which slides in. This design, I would imagine, would make the Waring more durable. The Waring has significantly more space below the heating element than the Euro-Pro. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but it may infringe on the space available for cooking (see below). The Waring's fry basket is wider and shallower than the Euro-Pro. From the bottom of the Euro-Pro's fry basket to the top of the maximum fill oil line, was about three and a quarter inches. The corresponding measurement on the Waring was a little over half that. And, because the oil pot of the Euro-Pro is deeper and narrower than the Waring, the rise in the oil level from the displacement caused by the frying food would be greater. Offhand, I would think that this would favor the Euro-Pro for larger items (which will submerge better), and the Waring for smaller foods, like hush puppies, which would have more room to spread out while they float at the top. The Waring is 1800 Watts. The Euro Pro is 1700 Watts, but the Euro-Pro is digital, holds 25% more oil, and is $40 cheaper, so that is where I'm leaning. By the way, at Linens-n-Things I was told that they would honor a Bed, Bath, and Beyond 20% off coupon (so long as it's not expired). This is a good thing to know! Especially since Amazon recently raised its price on the Euro-Pro from $75 to $90.

Of the consumer grade immersion fryers discussed, only the Euro-Pro has the digital controls. I'm thinkin' I might try it since it is just over half the cost of the Waring, but still.....Of course, if you're an appliance-lover like me, the searching never ends. Just over the horizon there are the commercial countertop electric models like the Anvil, Cecilware, or Demco units described here (for example). The Anvil looks especially nice and has a removable pot for the oil. Prices of these things ($250+)are just a bit high for home use, and they may lack some consumer niceties, but if you do a lot of frying, it's a consideration since they presumably have higher durability, are more readily repairable, etc. And you can get oil capacities in the range of 7-8 liters (15 lbs).

I saw that other discussion (which, by the way, was two years ago now), and it had a lot of good information about the Delonghi model. But the discussion seemed mostly to degenerate into an "electric" vs. "pot on the stove" debate. And I wasn't sure if it was the current model or not. For all of the problems with electric fryers, I think the convenience of "set it and forget it" (i.e., a thermostat) gives it the edge over a pot on the stove method, which I have always found to be overly fiddly. I'm thinking if I have the convenience of an electric fryer, I might use it more often. Reminds me of the gas versus natural fireplace debate: everybody loves a "real" one better, but the only fires you actually see are the ones with the gas, at least to a first approximation. Two things have conspired of late to make me consider an electric fryer. First, Alton Brown's (opinionated but generally wonderful) Gear For Your Kitchen recommends the electric, and specifically the Delonghi. In researching that style of fryer, I settled on the Delonghi or the Waring. The cheaper ones, and others of that style, like the Krups, seem not to be as good in terms of wattage and design. Second, my wife's sister and brother-in-law brought over their deep fryer and we had a ball fryin' stuff up even though it was acheaper roto-style Delonghi.

I've seen mostly good press on the DeLonghi D406DZ Deep Fryer, although there were some negative reviews on Amazon, and it's available everywhere for about a hundred bucks. The Waring DF200 gets great reviews on Amazon, but costs a bit more ($130). Anyone have any thoughts?