Deep Fryers for the Home Kitchen

[FoodMan]

hmmm...the more I read about deep fryers for the home, the more I am convinced that I should juts buy a Lodge dutch oven instead and a candy thermometer.

I had been thinking about this one here, but I might just save my $$ and get a dehydrator that I really want.

[gfweb]

I agree.I've gotten rid of a Waring Pro, a delonghi, and one other one over the years. They all wouldn't reach temp of 375, and were small volume so that the food really cooled it off.

Now I use a Dutch oven on an induction plate (thanks to Andie). Gets hot fast and has minimal risk of fire compared to a stove. I use a digital thermometer rather than a candy thermometer which responds too slowly for my impatient self.

[FoodMan]

I agree.I've gotten rid of a Waring Pro, a delonghi, and one other one over the years. They all wouldn't reach temp of 375, and were small volume so that the food really cooled it off.

Now I use a Dutch oven on an induction plate (thanks to Andie). Gets hot fast and has minimal risk of fire compared to a stove. I use a digital thermometer rather than a candy thermometer which responds too slowly for my impatient self.

I like the idea of using an induction plate. This saves stove space, is efficient and can be used outdoors. Now, getting the wife to agree to a new "toy" is a different matter since buying Modernist Cuisine books

Edited May 12, 2011 by FoodMan (log)

[Chris Amirault]

In support of a dedicated deep fryer: I've moved our Waring out to the "three-season room," where it sits with oil and good ventilation. I've found that, with the extra room now, it's much easier to decide, "Hey, what about fried X?", fire it up, and have it on the table along with everything else.

Of course, you could do the same with a dedicated induction cooktop and dutch oven....

[EnriqueB]

I'm looking for a water-oil deep-fryer that some relatives are already using. The fryer is filled first with water then oil. Residues falling from the food fall and are captured by the water bellow, thus they don't burn and oil spoilage is minimized, and odors are not mixed. The makes also argue that less oil quantity is required. The maker is Spanish, don't know whether there are similar models in the US.

This type of deep-fryers are mentioned on a side node in Modernist Cuisine, quoted as having a Japanese origin, and they say they are one of the more interesting designs.

Anyone has experience with these fryers?

[eternal]

We have this one from DeLonghi and I know everyone says electric fryers suck and they don't hit the right temperature and while i've never tested the temps, I have had plenty of success making fried chicken from the Ad Hoc book and french fries that are super crispy with it. Have had it for 5 years but don't use it a ton - just 5-10 times a year. Will use it this weekend for my wife's bday. She wants the Shack Shake menu.

Edited May 13, 2011 by eternal (log)

[OliverB]

I kind of like the induction and dutch oven idea here! I've never really made fried food nor do I eat it often, but sometimes it would be nice. "sometimes" does not justify yet an other machine in the closet though. This approach on the other hand, seems like a good excuse to get an induction side burner :-)

hmmmm....

ok ok, first I should really play with my new vitamix, I know

[kitchensqueen]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a counter-top deep fryer at home. I'm not big on gadgets/appliances in the kitchen - don't own a microwave, electric can opener, etc. - and I barely concede to my husband's need to own a toaster. But I keep thinking about a deep fryer.

I can shallow fry just fine with oil in a pan but deep frying in a stock pot just never seems to work out for me. I just end up highly annoyed and frustrated. So I'm missing out on fried chicken, breaded fried fish and perfect home made fries.

Are there even any models on the market for the home kitchen that are worth buying? I've read/heard a lot home models don't get up to and maintain a high enough temperature and are awful to clean.

And if there is a model out there worth purchasing, should I really bother for just a handful of foods that I'd make with it? Help me think this through!

[jk1002]

Hmm. I went exactly the other way. I bought an electric fryer, then bought a french fry pot for the stove, then upgraded to th all clad deep fryer picked up at the williams sonoma outlet.

I hage a gas stove and found that with the flatter, wider all clad the temperature drop when inserting food is much smaller then with the taller pot i used before.

Am very happy with it.

[Will]

I usually use a wok, or, for stuff that's small enough, sometimes a cast iron skillet (don't have a CI dutch oven, but that would probably be a good choice too).

Unless you deep fry often enough to make it worth while to use the oil a few times before changing, I'm not sure a dedicated deep fryer is worth it. You're supposed to change the oil pretty often anyway, and the deep fryer tends to use quite a lot of it.

[Robert Jueneman]

I was doing some triple-cooked french fries (Heston Blumenthal's recipe), and happened to check the oil temperature in my Waring Pro with a digital oven thermometer that I calibrated. I was not pleased to find that when set at 375F, it would only get up to 340,when many recipes call for 425F.

So I took it apart, and found the calibration screw on the back of the thermostat, and tweaked it until it was reasonably accurate. Put it back together again and fired it up, only to have it quit entirely!

Apparently the second heat sensor is tripping, and then not resetting itself, but that isn't supposed to happen until it hits 500F.

So I said to hell with it, and bypassed the over-heat sensor, or at least what I thought was the over-heat sensor. But then the unit would never turn off, even when the oil was at 375, and I turned to knob back to 175!

So I said several more bad words, but I went ahead and cooked some tempura.

This morning, it seemed to be working normally, and the temperature was pretty accurate.

But I can probably understand why no electric units I know of will go beyond 375F, because the peanut oil I was using was starting to smoke pretty badly.

But even if this is finally working, I'm thinking about buying the Krups unit, just to keep down the odor with the charcoal filter.

[JBailey]

Should you have an outdoor area or patio where you can have a Cajun Fryer, consider this unit. The way it works and how it won't scorch is ingenious. It also seems safer, in my opinion, than many of the alternatives. Bass Pro often has them on their floor, if you want to see how it is built. A friend bought one and it has given him lots of good results. He finds the oil has a good and long life with this fryer.

[larryroohr]

So what do you do with a used half gallon of peanut oil? What are reasonable disposal methods? I have no idea.

Thanks,

Larry

[Bruce Earls]

Assuming you have a charcoal grill, and assuming you use a chimney to light your charcoal, you use some of the oil as an accelerant on the paper underneath the charcoal, and if in a hurry, on the charcoal as well (get a cheap spray bottle, use all but the sediment). If you live in a region where burning brush, lighting campfires, etc. is a common activity, use in place of lighter fluid, gasoline, etc. If fire is not a reasonable solution, then I can't help

[larryroohr]

Thanks Bruce,

I already do that with my big steel keg and hibachi. With the amount of oil I normally cook with that's been fine, but if I start deep frying thats a big increase in volume. Short of buying a diesel vehicle I can't think of a good disposal method. The idea of just tossing it seems a shame.

Other questions:

Re-use. I've read that once heated once oil's smoke point can change. Is that just specific oils or is it a concern with peanut oil as well? How many times are you out there comfortable re-using your oil? On Amazon with the model that has a built in storage tank some reviewers insinuated they just left the tank in the machine full of oil, and I'm probably safe in assuming they don't put the machine in the fridge.

Food safety. In the oil is an oxygen free environment, is botulism toxin a concern if cooking late at night and the oil is left on the stove to cool until morning for instance?

Thanks everyone. I grew up in Connecticut and deep fried seafood was a staple back there, find myself with a hankering lately which I satiated last night and so have a half gallon of peanut oil that I'm not sure what to do with. I used my large dutch oven on the stove, temp would drop from 375 to 300 with a pound of scallops and take 5 minutes or so to get back to temp on my glass top. I'm thinking either one of these fryers or an induction fob. Definitely need to improve my batter also.

Larry

[Robert Jueneman]

I'm told that many restaurants will allow you to dump your oil in their containers, which are eventually recycled into biodiesel fuel. But I haven't tried it yet. Just don't pour it down the sink!

Botulism shouldn't be a problem, because the temperature of the oil is way higher than the sterilization point -- even the botulism spores would be killed.

Now, how to store it to keep it fresh is something that I hadn't really considered. Maybe pour it back in the jug and cap it? good question.

Bob

[budrichard]

Should you have an outdoor area or patio where you can have a Cajun Fryer, consider this unit. The way it works and how it won't scorch is ingenious. It also seems safer, in my opinion, than many of the alternatives. Bass Pro often has them on their floor, if you want to see how it is built. A friend bought one and it has given him lots of good results. He finds the oil has a good and long life with this fryer.

I really like the the idea of the Cajun Fryer!

Unfortunately, I live in Wisconsin and when its -20F or there is 3' of snow(I'm not exaggerating) on the deck, no one is using any outdoor cooking devices!-Dick

[larryroohr]

Well I found a solution for waste oil that probably isn't for everybody, I'm going to build a waste oil heater for my garage/shop. I spend a lot of time out there on weekends and the propane and kerosene heat is getting expensive and it isn't even winter yet.

plus I do my own oil changes on my and my two daughters cars. Here are plans for one in case there are any other egullet people handy with this sort of thing that might be interested. This is killing two birds with one stone.

I believe you can buy commercially made waste oil heaters as well.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1978-09-01/Mothers-Waste-Oil-Heater.aspx

This could be bad for the waist line. Costco has 5 gallon buckets of peanut oil for 35$, thats half the supermarket price I just paid.

Larry

[Dave the Cook]

Anything new in consumer-level deep fryers in the last two years? We've been using the cast-iron pot/thermometer arrangement, but would love a dedicated appliance, if there's one that's consistently capable of 350° - 375°F and has decent recovery.

[heidih]

I have always balked at the added clean-up with a dedicated fryer based on the assumption that you do not simply recover the oil; you have to clean the nooks and crannies. Interested in an education of the value/upside

[gfweb]

Anything new in consumer-level deep fryers in the last two years? We've been using the cast-iron pot/thermometer arrangement, but would love a dedicated appliance, if there's one that's consistently capable of 350° - 375°F and has decent recovery.

I've auditioned several over the years, including a Waring "pro" model. None could get to 375 and all were a small oil volume. I've gone to the dutch oven and can't see a reason to go back. Big oil volume, easy cleanup...not "one more gadget" in the kitchen. If fires are a concern the oven will work on an induction plate.

[Norm Matthews]

I used an enameled cast iron for frying for years. I was interested in getting an electric fryer for the safety. My son has walked off and left the cast iron pot on the stove and I worried about a potential fire. I kept looking at fryers and passing on them because they were all too small. If I was going to get one, it had to be big enough to hold a decent amount of stuff. I have a prejudice against anything made by DeLongi. I have had three products from them that didn't work very well and/or broke shortly after buying it. I recently got the Waring fryer and have used it with good success and it is very easy to clean... not hardly any more work than cleaning an enameled pot.

[Shalmanese]

Dedicated deep fryers are always going to be affected by the limitation that you can, at most, draw 1800W out of a wall socket. The main reason they're so small is because the heating elements are so wimpy that recovery becomes difficult if you put in too much food.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Shalmanese (log)

[ElsieD]

I am looking for an electric deep fryer and have just read through this thread. I am left with the impression that the Waring is the one to get. However, as my electrical small appliances have needed to be replaced, I have been replacing them with Breville products as I find they work as advertised. To date, this includes their food processor, hand beater, toaster, their grill and the smart oven. Right now our local Costco is selling the Cuisinart deep fryer. This fryer looks to be identical to the Waring, and since Cuisinart owns Waring, that is not surprising. However, I also have my eye on the Breville deep fryer although it is twice the price of the Waring/Cuisinart. Does anyone own the Breville deep fryer and of you do, are you happy with it? Thanks!

[gfweb]

I've had a waring and a few others. None get hot quickly or recover quickly. The ones that heat fast have a small oil volume which means a temp plunge after food is added. And they are a PITA to clean and store.  I retreated to a Dutch oven a few years ago.

 

A big Dutch oven holds more oil, heats fast esp on an induction plate and is easy to clean.  And both the oven and the induction plate will be used for other indications.

 

I agree w your love of Breville...and I've not used their fryer...but I'd stick with the Dutch oven.