Deep Frying Prep

[kampo]

ok i'm doing kinda a pub themed appetizer spread for my gf's bday party about 15 people or so are coming and i'm frying up about 5 or 6 different items.

So far GF has requested:

Deep Fried Pickles, Onion Rings, Mozz Sticks, Chicken Tenders, Mushrooms, and Deep Fried Apple Pies. Yes I know horribly unhealthy dinner lmao, but hey we been on a diet for the past month and been very stringent with what i'm cooking so we need a nice treat.

My question is my kitchen is small and I want to prep the night before, so I have less to do that day/night (football game on before dinner party that I ain't missing). My thinking was to prep the beer batter, and get everything battered and or breaded and then put them on wax paper and freeze them, once frozen just get them all bagged up and ready to go. day of I was thinking I could just fry them frozen. What are your guys thoughts on this? I mean resturaunts fry frozen stuff all the time so guessing there shouldn't be too many issues.

 

[Timothy]

ok i'm doing kinda a pub themed appetizer spread for my gf's bday party about 15 people or so are coming and i'm frying up about 5 or 6 different items.

So far GF has requested:

Deep Fried Pickles, Onion Rings, Mozz Sticks, Chicken Tenders, Mushrooms, and Deep Fried Apple Pies. Yes I know horribly unhealthy dinner lmao, but hey we been on a diet for the past month and been very stringent with what i'm cooking so we need a nice treat.

My question is my kitchen is small and I want to prep the night before, so I have less to do that day/night (football game on before dinner party that I ain't missing). My thinking was to prep the beer batter, and get everything battered and or breaded and then put them on wax paper and freeze them, once frozen just get them all bagged up and ready to go. day of I was thinking I could just fry them frozen. What are your guys thoughts on this? I mean resturaunts fry frozen stuff all the time so guessing there shouldn't be too many issues.

Try to get through the entire night without burning yourself or anyone else!

Oh yum city on the deep fried pickles and mushrooms! Two of my personal favorites! I"ll be over to get a dozen of each!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I suggest preparing the batter the day before, put it in a sealable container and keep it in the fridge. Also prepare everything you will be battering and deep frying and place them in zipper bags IN THE FRIDGE! I do not suggest freezing anything you are planning on deep frying. When you add food to properly heated frying oil, the temperature can drop as much as 25F. If the added items are frozen, the temperature of the oil could drop as much as 75F, allowing the food to absorb an inordinate amount of oil before it starts to cook, making it both greasy and unhealthful. On the day, take everything out of the fridge at least a half hour before you're ready to start, to allow it all to come to room temperature.

Also, fry in small batches and allow the oil to come back up to temperature before adding the next batch.

 

[GLC]

I agree. The trade-off of time saved by battering and freezing against having to fry frozen food in smaller batches may be about equal. No problem for restaurants, with their large volume fryers. Do the cutting prep and batter mixing ahead of time, and borrow a second fryer to keep things moving.

 

[pacanis]

I agree. The trade-off of time saved by battering and freezing against having to fry frozen food in smaller batches may be about equal. No problem for restaurants, with their large volume fryers. Do the cutting prep and batter mixing ahead of time, and borrow a second fryer to keep things moving.

That's exaclty what I started typing... on another computer a couple hours ago

15 people is a lot of people to be deep frying for in residential type deep fryers, be they a pan on the stove or electric. I don't know if keeping your food already breaded in the refrigerator is the way to go, the breading might become soggy or moist, but freezing the food will lower your temps too much, or add more limits how much you can put into your fryer at once. That is most definitely not the way to go.
I'm wondering if an oven-frying technique might not work for some of the food...

 

[kampo]

kinda what i was thinking could be a problem, I don't use a deep fryer when I fry. if its small batches I just shallow fry in a 14in Cast iron skillet, for big batches I've got a large 3 gallonish pot I use for pot roast I planed on using with a nice basket I found at a garage sale that fits it perfectly. was planning on using both that night.

may change to some grilled and oven appetizers...and lesson the amount that needs to be fried.