Deep Fryer for Home ...

Reading about the chicken wings and french fries lately -- and having seen a home fryer at Fry's (weird coincidence?) I'm thinking of getting one.

I figure I'll get a nice industrial-looking consumer, counter-top, model.

What should I know? What kind of oil do they use? What do you do with the used oil? Anybody have any experience with these things?

We bought a GE model last year and it works pretty well. They do draw some amperage so watch what appliances you have running in the kitchen! As for oil, we bought a 30 gal. container of canola oil at Sam's (you'll look as if you just stepped out of a U.N. food relief line carrying that thing around). Yes, we're still working on that container so be sure to seal your oil container up tight after use. Most of the time you can re-use the oil if you seal it up in a different container, but I don't like taking a chance on it turning rancid or messing with the flavors of the food.
The outdoor (gas) frying crowd typically uses peanut oil because of its tolerance for high heat, but it costs more. Good luck!

I have found that thought they look great and are electric deep fryers for home use are a pain in the butt to keep clean and store. Camp Chef--and others--sells a pot and strainer that was "industry standard" for deep frying for a LONG time till the advent of commercial electric deep fryers---stove top usable---portable--great outdoors with a propane stove set up--and EASY to clean and store--not to mention usable for more then deep frying. http://www.campchef.com/products/product_detail.php?id=12
this one is the one i like a lot. You may want to consider it --i know that my grandmother used hers for as long as anyone in the family can remember and my aunt still uses it today---so thats probably 50 yrs or more and God only knows how many 1000's of people fed out of it!! Also--get a set for filtering you oil---very simple racks to hold filters--they come in several sizes and are available at restaraunt supply house---it really makes a HUGE difference in the life of you oil and flavor too---good oil isnt cheap--i like peany oil--and it seems aa wast to tuse it once for a small group and then toss it---Grillmeister is right--get a good airtight container to store the used oil in and keep it in a cool place and you should be able to reuse it.---oh yes---and get get a good thrmometer to hang on the pot--i have found that with time electric home use fryers will not always be reliable temperature wise--and the thermometer will prove to be the best most relible temp guage in the end notter weather you go with a deep fry unit or stove top set up.

Ditto on the cleaning issues, tiki. I just went to check the model no. on my fryer and discovered it was stored with oil in it! I discovered this as I tipped it downward to pull it off the top shelf!!
Our teenager apparently used it while we were gone and left it in such a deplorable state. Anyway, after and hour, It's put away cleaned and ready for next time.

Greg, I've had a EuroPro 5 liter deep frier for a number of years and have no complaints. It does an excellent job, is extremely reliable and easy to clean. It is not too expensive at well under $100. Most important, it maintains a steady heat and doesn't dip in temp when loaded. Small cheap friers really mess up good food by dropping their temp when loaded and taking too long to come back up to temp.
Also, it is the one that Alton Brown uses and I have come to trust that guy (not always but usually) when it comes to gadgets and technique.

On oil: I use canola. When it is thoroughly used and needs changing, I pour it into milk jugs and gently put it in the trash. I suspect there are recycle options out there in the "big city," but I've not found any sources close by.

Oh, I forgot to add this on oil disposal....
They're working on ways to incorporate used cooking oils into biodiesel fuels. A "techie turned hippie"
friend of mine burns it in an old diesel truck. The thing actually has kick and smells like french fries!

No question, get Wolfgang Puck's deep fryer from HSN. Here's the link along with reviews of it:

http://www.hsn.com/cnt/prod/default.aspx?webp_id=1919843&web_id=1919843&sz=0&sf=qc&dept=qc0010&cat=&subcat=&gs=&attr=181&prev=hp!sf,sf!181!dept&ocm=

I love it. It even has a way to drain the oil at the bottom and--get this--when you drain it, it automatically filters and cleans the oil. You can also purchase separately a covered stainless steel pitcher of Wolfgang's (which is huge) to store the cleaned oil in for later use. Cleanup is a breeze.

Everything this guy makes is top notch, and if you catch him when he has a program scheduled on HSN (I think the next time is in August), you can usually get free shipping on most of his stuff.

Anyway, I sure like mine.

Oh, and I use peanut oil because it can take the high temperatures without burning.

I'm a good southern gal and we like everything fried. I've never liked deep fryers because of the sheer amount of oil required and the resulting mess. I use an electric skillet that was my Mom's. It has to be at least forty-five years old, from Sears Roebuck. Only about 2 1/2 inches deep with a four inch lid, it's perfect for seafood, chicken, potatoes, or even Twinkies (OK, can you tell I'm from the South?) If you're cooking for a crowd, you'll need to cook in batches, but the heat control is perfect, it's safe and easy to work with, clean up is a breeze and the finished product is perfection, if I may say so myself. I think the secret is the steam release valve on the cover.

I agree with the previous post re: the Wolfgang Puck deep fryer from HSN. I got one for my husband and he loves it. We also use peanut oil for it's high heat tolerance.

quote:

Originally posted by brightcopperkettles

No question, get Wolfgang Puck's deep fryer from HSN. Here's the link along with reviews of it:

http://www.hsn.com/cnt/prod/default.aspx?webp_id=1919843&web_id=1919843&sz=0&sf=qc&dept=qc0010&cat=&subcat=&gs=&attr=181&prev=hp!sf,sf!181!dept&ocm=

I love it. It even has a way to drain the oil at the bottom and--get this--when you drain it, it automatically filters and cleans the oil. You can also purchase separately a covered stainless steel pitcher of Wolfgang's (which is huge) to store the cleaned oil in for later use. Cleanup is a breeze.

Everything this guy makes is top notch, and if you catch him when he has a program scheduled on HSN (I think the next time is in August), you can usually get free shipping on most of his stuff.

Anyway, I sure like mine.

Oh, and I use peanut oil because it can take the high temperatures without burning.

Of course, this is perfect for what I need. Of course, this info wasn't available to me when I bought "another" one...

Hey Azure. Maybe every mom in the south had one of those skillets. I have my mom's and it works like a dream. All I've done is replace the frayed cord. Not only is it great for frying (think chicken, french fries, fried eggplant etc) but it also holds the right temperature for sauteing, pan frying, cooking bacon and a host of other things. I'm a fan.... can you tell?

I have a deep fryer, but have yet to use it. Please tell me how, where do you store the used oil.

Had a DeLonghi with a built in air filter years ago when I lived in an apartment that had no external exhaust. Worked reasonably well, but took up a lot of counter space given its occasional use.

Got rid of it as soon as I had a proper stove hood -- a cast iron pot and a good thermometer works faster, better and doesn't take up space. As to the used oil, I find its not worth saving.

I have a Delonghi roto-fryer, which I'm not crazy about. Even though it has an oil drainage hole at the bottom, it's a REAL pain to clean. You would think someone could design a fryer with fewer nooks and crannies for oil to seep into.

I had recently seen Wolfgang Puck's fryer on HSN and thought it looked great, but I wondered if it would really work well. I notice someone posted that they have one and love it.

About a year ago I bought an 8-qt Lodge cast iron dutch oven and have used that for deep frying also. Made some great deep-fried jalapeno cheese curds in it.

I also use the Lodge Dutch Oven for deep-frying...

Re: Lodge Dutch oven. My mom swears that if it is to be fried, then it has to be fried in cast iron. She's an awfully good cook...but then I'm not too shabby myself, so I'm told. And I have made some awfully good food in that old electric frypan I used to have that finally gave up the ghost some years ago. All that being said, I do like my Wolfgang puck for a lot of things, but when it comes to good old Southern fried chicken, nothing but a cast iron skillet will do for this Southern girl!

quote:

Originally posted by Grillmeister

Oh, I forgot to add this on oil disposal....
They're working on ways to incorporate used cooking oils into biodiesel fuels. A "techie turned hippie"
friend of mine burns it in an old diesel truck. The thing actually has kick and smells like french fries!

That wouldn't do my diet any good. I'd find myself involuntarily pulling into fast-food joints periodically. lol

We have a DeLonghi, and it's so nice for doing quick nuggets-and-fries dinners for the kids. Makes fabulous egg rolls and crab rangoons, too. It has a drain tube for easy cleaning. And we do the same thing with the milk jugs. Just make sure the cap doesn't come off too easily. Bleah! Periodically I also scrape down the inside with a plastic utensil to get all the old cooked oil out. A big messy job, but well worth it. We tend to leave the oil in it between fries, which is about once a week.