What piece of cookware do you deep fry in?

[keltin]

Originally Posted by Fisher's Mom

I actually bought a deep fryer a couple of days ago as a gift for a friend who liked my "Cool Daddy" fryer. She and I have used it the last 3 days to fry shrimp & scallops, french fried potatoes, tempura mushrooms, cauliflower and carrots and it works very well. The one I got her is a Rival Restaurant-Style Fryer and it was $35 at WalMart. Amazingly, the entire fryer comes apart and goes into the dishwasher!!! I really love that feature.

IMO, it does not get the oil as hot as I'd like for the shrimp and scallops and I think they turn out better when I deep fry them in my wok. But french fries cook perfectly in it, as well as other veggies. So if that's what you'd be using it for primarily, I think you'd be very pleased with a deep fryer.

How does it not get hot enough? Doesn’t it have a temp gauge/setting. It should easily get to 375 which is the perfect frying temp. Most oils will smoke around 450 and some at 400, so 400 is the hottest you ever want to get your oil….but 375 is typically the temp of choice.

And I also use a deep fryer simply because you can store the oil in it which is a real blessing!

[warwick.hoy]

I'll be using My dutch oven to fry in. I bought it especially for that purpose. I had one of those cheap Rivals with the drop handle. They are poorly designed. The basket is so small, an easily over crowded. The lid came off but the vessel stayed put. Not easy to clean at all. I've seen some really nice fryers on the market.

I tried a stainless steel pot once for falafel and failed miserably. Temperature drop off was definitely an issue.

[college_cook]

The key to deep frying in a pot is to manage the temp. First, make sure you batch fry in small batches. 2nd, make sure to keep your stove temp higher than you would to hold your oil at proper frying temp. For example, if you're frying at 350, then set your stove such that your oil would heat to 380-400 if left alone, this will help to compesate for the temp drop.

[Robo410]

cast iron or carbon steel ... a dutch oven, a deep saute, or a wok, depending on what I'm cooking...size shape amount.

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by AllenOK

Use the heaviest, biggest pot you have (a Dutch Oven is great for this), and as much oil as is SAFE to use (allow for displacement and bubbling).

I agree with what Allen said that the more oil you have in the pot the less the temperature will drop when you add food ... so you should have at least 1/2 a pot full of oil. And as far as how much is safe ... NEVER fill the pot more than 2/3 full of oil - that is the MAXIMUM upper limit of safe.

I, too, suggest using a cast iron pot if you're not going to use a deep fryer - and yes do use a fry thermometer. And, like college_cook said - you want your burner set to a point where it would heat the oil to about 40º-50º F above your target frying temp ... and why things like the old Fry Baby and Fry Daddy fryers were such crap - there was no temp control. But - that can be difficult to judge ... which is why a deep fryer with an immersion heating element and thermostat control is such a great thing.

Deep frying is messy - and it does require a bit of extra cleanup.

[CharlieD]

I do have deep fryer too, but use a plain pot a lot. I went to restaurant supply place and was suggested to buy a set: an aluminum pot and the SS strainer that fits right inside. Works very nice together.

[goodgiver]

Truly love my cast iron Dutxch Oven and my deep fryer thermometer. Can't go wrong with iether one. I do realize that a deep fryer can be a pain in the ?????? to clean up. Good luck

[Tiresmoke]

How do you guys dispose of the used oil?

[keltin]

Originally Posted by Tiresmoke

How do you guys dispose of the used oil?

I save it in an old gallon jug and add a little bit to dry food for the outdoor critters that DW keeps feeding! For large amounts from my outdoor fryer, I’ll take it to a local restaurant and they let me add it to their grease dumpster. Lately, there has been a lot of interest in using used oil as a Diesel additive, so there are recycling centers starting to pop up that will take used cooking oil.

Oh, and Welcome to DC by the way!

[VeraBlue]

Originally, I used a small stock pot. Eventually, I got an actual deep fryer. That thing is a tough nut to keep clean, and the oil tends to rot if you don't use it often enough.

In the last couple of years, I've been increasing my cast iron collection. The shelves are looking weary from holding all this stuff, but nothing and I mean nothing fries like cast iron.