Deep fat fryer

[Carlovski]

Me and my Housemate picked up a deep fat fryer the other day - one of the professional looking stainless steel ones - think it was this one.

Now I was hoping to use dripping for my chips, and for general frying purposes I was under the impression that the solid block stuff is best.

However reading the instructions with the thing (Unusual I know!) it has a very convoluted set of instructions for using solid fats involving premelting them, and recommends you don't use them at all, and also says under NO circumstance to use lard or dripping. Also says best to use a blended vegetable oil and other oils (e.g groundnut which I normlly use for frying) can only be used a handful of times.

Should I listen to this?

[Marlene]

I never melt fat in mine (I've got a waring pro) but that's more for lack of availability than anything else. I use peanut oil almost exclusively for deep frying in my fryer and it's not a problem.

[Darcie B]

Also says best to use a blended vegetable oil and other oils (e.g groundnut which I normlly use for frying) can only be used a handful of times.

Should I listen to this?

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Really, any oil should only be used a handful of times. The flash point of oils decreases with each subsequent use, and oils degrade quickly under heat, so will get rancid easily after just a couple of uses.

I would rather fry in peanut oil than use shortening (icky trans fats). My fryer also says not to use solid fats (but I occassionally add a few tablespoons of drippings to add some flavor). I mostly use soybean or canola oils because they are much less expensive than peanut oil, which is probably the best (along with grapeseed oil).

Have fun frying!

[Musable]

Crisco now makes a shortening with zero trans fats - good news for those of us who like to fry up chicken in shortening the way our grandmothers used to.

[_john]

tallow

(home) rendered pork fat

failing that, peanut oil

I think the manual is BS. But using solid fats will increase the warm up time for sure. You might want to use a blend of peanut oil and a more flavorful fat such as pork fat to create a mixture that thickens when it cools but it doesn't solidify.

What I did with mine was fill it full of peanut oil and then top it up with any drippings/renderings that I generated in my day to day cooking (as long as they were not strongly flavored). Fat lost in flying is replaced with yummy fat, it keeps the oil fresh and increases the flavor at the same time.

*disclaimer: of course you should follow the manufactures instructions for operating any (potentially) dangerous kitchen item.

[PS]

Anyone tried it with duck fat?

I don't have a deep fat fryer, but am considering getting a small one for my new kitchen. However, if I want to fry in the main in animal fat (I'm including goose and duck in that definition) am I better off just getting a thermometer and doing the frying in a pan?

[mrbigjas]

i saw a show recently where dude was in a fancy restaurant (maybe per se?) and they had a deep fryer filled with clarified butter. now i'm no expert, but i think that's pretty much the right thing to do.

[jsolomon]

Ghee, a clarified butter, is really good to fry things in. You may even be able to find it in large amounts in a sufficiently well-stocked supermarket.

[maui420]

question about oil.....

i use my deep fryer oil about maybe 3-5 times before replacing. the deep fryer is stored in my garage(summer heat is coming). is the oil ok? and what does rancid oil taste/smell like?>

[Marlene]

I strain my oil after using and store it in the fridge. I wouldn't be storing it in your garage, especially in the summer!

[Davydd]

I have a similar stainless steel deep fat fryer as initially advanced. They take about a gallon of oil. I have used peanut oil, like it, but found that Canola oil (rapeseed) is just as good in what I mostly fry - the deep-fried breaded pork tendeloin sandwich.

I strain the oil back in the container and keep it in the refrigerator or outdoors on our enclosed porch during our Minnesota winters. About two times is all I use it. Canola oil costs about 40% of what peanut oil costs where I shop. Canola oil and peanut oil have higher flash points so are suitable for frying at the high temperatures the deep fat fryers are capable of. I think the Canola oil is one of the healthiest oil you can use in regard to low saturated fats and trans fats if you can call deep-frying healthy.

[Big Country]

I have a similar stainless steel deep fat fryer as initially advanced. They take about a gallon of oil. I have used peanut oil, like it, but found that Canola oil (rapeseed) is just as good in what I mostly fry - the deep-fried breaded pork tendeloin sandwich. 

I strain the oil back in the container and keep it in the refrigerator or outdoors on our enclosed porch during our Minnesota winters. About two times is all I use it. Canola oil costs about 40% of what peanut oil costs where I shop. Canola oil and peanut oil have higher flash points so are suitable for frying at the high temperatures the deep fat fryers are capable of.  I think the Canola oil is one of the healthiest oil you can use in regard to low saturated fats and trans fats if you can call deep-frying healthy. 

←

Peanut oil is safe, clean and has a high smoke point. This is very important. Different fats have varied smoking points. Be very careful when useing animal fats because the last thing that you need is a fire in your kitchen.

The two best fats that I have ever worked with in a frier as far as flavor is concered is

1) Under an Italian Chef who used olive oil at a lower temp around 325 F. It was the best fried calamari I have ever had. Also fried Spinach in it is awsome.

2) Rendered Beef Fat- I worked part time in a authentic German restaurant and butcher shop. 4th generation in the US and 7th generation in the family in upstate NY. It was the best fried anything. The flavor was incredible and the crispness of the food was second to none. They had access to a lot of beef fat since they had the butcher shop and it saved them a lot of money. I still dream of the schnitzel, potato salad and the red cabbage.

[andiesenji]

You can use rendered beef fat (from suet) but it has to be rendered and strained first and it does break down faster than vegetable or nut oils.

If you are frying only potatoes, you cool the fat part way, strain it and store it in the fridge for no more than a month and use it three times total. After that it breaks down, burns before it gets to the preferred frying temp and simply doesn't do a good job.

Peanut oil or canola oil (rapeseed oil), as mentioned above are excellent choices for deep frying.

I do use duck fat for frying but I generally use a deep cast iron skillet (known as a chicken-fryer) or a deep electric "Dutch oven" which is really just a very large, deep skillet.

I prefer the electric because it is easier to control the temperature and I also use the cast iron on an induction "range" or hob, sort of like a large hotplate, not a built-in cooktop.