Tired of used frying oil filtering mess

[Caslon]

I've really made frying chicken wings and fries nice and neat. No longer is there powdered coating mix, oil mess on the counter and such. I've got a Presto Cool Daddy Fryer and have perfected the whole operation to be really easy and most of all, not messy (like it once was). So what was usually the messy part (preparing and cooking) is now neat and tidy. Now i find that the really really messy time consuming part is straining and saving the frying oil. Almost every method I've used requires pots, funnels, cone filter holders and the like. I end up having to hot water wash the oily pot, funnel or holder to get it back in the 2qt container the oil came in. That's more time and mess than preparing cooking and cleaning the fryer!

Straining the oil for later use has become the chore I've got to make easier. It's just not that quick and easy for me.

Has anyone tried ways that were too messy and time consuming and found new ways to do this frying day chore (besides just chucking the 2 qts of oil)?

 

[Katie H]

Hmmm, Caslon. I've never found this job messy or time-consuming.

I keep at least one one-gallon Gatorade plastic bottle/jug for used oil. Of course the container is thoroughly washed and dried before the oil is put in it.

I have a huge metal strainer that I put over a (just as large) pot or bowl, then I line the strainer with paper coffee filters. After the oil has cooled down I simply pour it into the strainer. Let the oil sit until morning, then put it into the Gatorade bottle.

The strainer and bowl go into the dishwasher and I'm done. That's how I do it.

 

[GLC]

I kind of split the difference between tossing it after one use and trying to finely filter used oil. I use the Presto 06006 8-cup (oil) model, although with only two people, not always with the full amount of oil.

I don't fry a lot, mostly potatoes. Otherwise, I'm not doing real rigorous filtering, so I plan for two or three fry dishes over about two weeks, avoiding serious flavor conflicts, and filter with a common wire strainer into a temporary container and back into the fryer. And when I want a seafood dish during the oil use period, I make the seafood that last use and in general try to make any series run from the least taste transferring to the most. If one is a meat, it becomes the last or next to last before seafood. Since I mostly use it for potatoes, this isn't much of a problem, and there's little to filter anyway. I don't have any set number of times for reuse or any set maximum time to keep used oil. If it smells off or looks like it's darkened too much, it goes out.

I use peanut oil for its stability. But I just don't obsess about the partially used oil and try mainly to control the presence of too much food debris that will stink up the next batch. But I don't think there's any totally neat way to go about it. It's not any more mess and trouble than the cleanup job after braising meat.

 

[Caslon]

Hmmm, Caslon. I've never found this job messy or time-consuming.

I keep at least one one-gallon Gatorade plastic bottle/jug for used oil. Of course the container is thoroughly washed and dried before the oil is put in it.

I have a huge metal strainer that I put over a (just as large) pot or bowl, then I line the strainer with paper coffee filters. After the oil has cooled down I simply pour it into the strainer. Let the oil sit until morning, then put it into the Gatorade bottle.

The strainer and bowl go into the dishwasher and I'm done. That's how I do it.

Right now I have a large plastic funnel that attaches nicely to the top of the used 2 quart container the oil came in. I'm trying to just use the funnel and an efficient way to strain the oil. Placing a cone filter in the funnel will just clog up at the bottom pointed part and not drain. If I could keep the cone filter offset from the sides of the funnel somehow, that might work. I might buy one of those restaurant type wire cone filter holders and cut off the two side extensions that allows it to sit on a pot. That might keep the filter away from the sides of the funnel to allow filtering to occur easier. I saw an oil funnel for sale that has groove channels in the funnel sidewalls to allow the oil somewhere to go, good idea but the funnel isn't the size I want.

 

[pacanis]

I'm a chucker. I use it 6-12 times, depending on what I am frying, then chuck it. For as often as I deep-fry that still gives me a long use of my peanut oil.

 

[Caslon]

I googled around and found a german made funnel with removable cleanable mesh insert. The funnel is designed to fit a mason jar mouth. Reviewers liked it for filtering fryer oil. I'm somewhat skeptical of its filtering capabilities. $20 on Amazon.

 

[FrankZ]

Amazon.com: Kuchenprofi 18/10 Stainless Steel Funnel with Filter: Kitchen & Dining

I got one for Christmas. So far it has been useful for filtering fats (which is why I was given it).

 

[PrincessFiona60]

How much oil are you talking about, Caslon?

Amazon.com: Cook N Home 1-1/2-Quart Stainless Oil Storage: Kitchen & Dining

 

[Caslon]

All the oil catchers-screeners on Amazon had one drawback or another for my purposes, but thanks.

You know what? Haha, I'm gonna stay with my funnel. I cut out the screen at the bottom and will suspend some filtering material (nylon for finer filtering) held on by a rubber band. The funnel snout stays snugly in the container. It takes about 4 pours to do 2 qts. I bought this funnel originally on Amazon for this purpose, but the bottom screen wasn't wide enough.

 

[Caslon]

Addendum: I mentioned my using nylon mesh fabric. I tried some but the oil drained thru fast and wasn't well filtered. I'm now looking for a"non-woven" bulk roll of paper filtering material to get better filtering.

Something the size of a roll of paper towels but for filtering oil would be great. I can only find such material (in rolls) from China, minimum order... 10,000 rolls. The only woven material fine enough for filtering oil I can find is, panty hose? lol.

What size do I buy, lol. What degree of sheerness?, lol. That should make for an interesting chat with the sales lady.

I should just go with using non-woven material to strain the oil, to drape into the funnel, if I can find some of that anywhere.

 

[GLC]

No rolls, but restaurant supplies have oil filter cones. Larger, like 10" cones, since they're for commercial systems, and the wire cone form is that size. Also various sizes of rectangular sheets.

Fryer Oil Filters / Holders / Test Paper Strips

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Addendum: I mentioned my using nylon mesh fabric. I tried some but the oil drained thru fast and wasn't well filtered. I'm now looking for a"non-woven" bulk roll of paper filtering material to get better filtering.

Something the size of a roll of paper towels but for filtering oil would be great. I can only find such material (in rolls) from China, minimum order... 10,000 rolls. The only woven material fine enough for filtering oil I can find is, panty hose? lol.

What size do I buy, lol. What degree of sheerness?, lol. That should make for an interesting chat with the sales lady.

I should just go with using non-woven material to strain the oil, to drape into the funnel, if I can find some of that anywhere.

Just buy the cheapest knee-high hose you can find. They usually have a pair for .99 cents. Two filters each pack and they will stretch over the funnel.

 

[Alix]

Caslon, buy a package of kneehighs. Use one and then either wash or toss. Works like a dream.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

How about cheese cloth? Double or quadruple up if not fine enough to catch all the bits.

 

[Caslon]

I'll try both cheesecloth and knee high nylons, thanks.

 

[Chef Maloney]

What Happened?

I'll try both cheesecloth and knee high nylons, thanks.

yea? so how did it work out for ya?

 

[Cheezy]

Old thread alert..!!!

Hi everybody... This is my first post here, but a topic I'm passionate about. The method I find to be easiest is to pour to cooled oil into a wide mouth jar. Then I hold cheesecloth over the mouth of the jar (rubbeband/cooking twine). You can double the cheesecloth if food particles are too fine. Then sipmly pour oil into another wide mouth jar, leaving all debris behind.

Easy peasy tip from Cheezy...