Do you use a deep fryer?

[fan-of-fans]

We have had a few Presto Fry Daddys over the years. We really don't do much frying anymore, most frozen items like fries or fish we bake. The only time we use the fryer anymore is if we have a fish fry. It was a mess to clean and I think health-wise we are better off baking items instead. Plus there is no smell.

I guess people do still use deep fryers as there are a number on the market, some even similar to commercial countertop fryers which I noticed was a trend that started around the early 2000s.

I would guess those fryers would require quite a lot of oil compared to a small Fry Daddy. Some models do seem to have a drain which drains the oil into a drawer container below the unit.

 

[petek]

We have a Fry Daddy but seldom use it anymore as well. The latest trend seems to be those air fryers or Tfal rotating ones.

 

[superocd]

Yes, but seldomly. My wife and I are OCD and frying in the house is a big no-no, so on the rare occasion we want to deep fry something we do it out on our deck with a Fry Daddy (or do regular frying with an electric skillet for something like bacon, burgers or fish). However, living in the PNW (rain) and being married to a nagging (just kidding) wife who is a health nut and an RN in the cardiac unit pretty much precludes the opportunity for frying.

Out of all of the fryers out there, the Fry Daddy seemed the easiest to clean. I just wished it was dishwasher safe. In fact, when I bought it I was pretty sure that it was dishwasher safe much like the electric skillets and griddles are, but completely forgot that the tstat is in the base at the bottom. Even still, it beats a fryer made of plastic with tons of crevices.

 

[launderess]

Have a vintage cast iron Wearever "chicken" frying p

That is nice and deep, along with a "Chicken Bucket" pressure deep fryer (also by Wearever), and finally a Dazey "Chef Pot" that also deep fries; none of them have seen regular or any use in years.

Haven't made fried chicken or any such thing in donkey years. Besides the health issues, cannot abide the smell (that lingers) and mess that comes afterwards.

Even for steaks that once loved doing in a cast iron skillet then finishing off in oven, now go in the broiler.

 

[ea56]

I’m with you Launderess, I seldom fry anything now either. It’s been at least 2 years since I fried chicken. I love using the broiler, especially since I found out that I don’t need to leave the door open on our oven when I broil, hence no odors! I also have a Hamilton Beach Contact Grill that is wonderful for hamburgers and boneless chicken breasts or pork chops.

And I make homemade oven fries, instead of french fries and we like them better than french fries. I just wash and dry russet potatoes, one per serving, leave the skins on and cut length wise into 8 wedges each, sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour about 2-3 tbls.of oil onto the potatoes that have been placed on a baking sheet, toss to coat with oil and place flat side down, and bake in preheated oven at 425 F for 15 mins, turn potato wedges over and bake another 10 mins. No grease smell from frying and these oven fries taste really good.

When I do fry anything, I use no more than 1/2 inch of oil, instead of deep fat frying. Of course if I were to make donuts I’d need deep fat, but the last time I made donuts Reagan was president!
Eddie[this post was last edited: 12/29/2017-01:38]

 

[lordkenmore]

Add me to the list of people who haven't done any deep fat frying in a long time.

 

I had, at one point,a small Presto fryer that I found at Goodwill. By small, I mean small. It the smallest eletric fryer I ever saw--a better match for a single person living alone than typical fryers (including models from Presto). I can't honestly remember using the thing...although I have a memory that suggests that I did use it.

 

In any case, it would have been 10+ years since I did any deep fat frying, with, or without, the Presto.

 

My last period of deep fat frying that I definitely remember was done on the stove, and it was French fries and IIRC onion rings. That was 25+ years ago. Sad, now that I think of it, because I liked both...

 

For me, it wasn't an issue of worries of fat (although I do have concerns arise fairly recently about how healthy cooking oil is...). It just seemed that I drifted away from deep fat frying. In the last 20 years, I've been mostly a "keep it fast and simple" cook.

 

One other factor: deep fat frying wasn't something I grew up with. My mother had a fryer, but it broke when I was young, so anything traditionally fried was either prepared some other way (e.g., Shake 'n Bake for chicken, frozen French fries), or purchased already made (e.g., donuts).

 

I think the only reason I might have had a phase with doing it with that Presto (assuming I did use it) was just because it would have been a new toy...

 

[lordkenmore]

Another thing I dislike about deep fat frying...how much oil it uses, and the cost of buying that oil. I suppose it might only be $2 of oil if one bought a store brand...but even at the best of times, I've been cheap...

 

[spacedogb]

I have the TFal Actifry and I don't find its that great of a fryer.

 

[launderess]

Crisco Helps

There is a myth that good fried chicken requires lots of oil; it doesn't.

My family is from the south and there isn't anything mother and her people, nor daddy's side of the family don't know about frying chicken. All you need is chicken, some flour, a bit of seasoning, and enough fat/oil/lard/Crisco to reach about half way up a cast iron frying pan.

Since good lard is nearly impossible to find any longer, one sticks with Crisco or peanut oil for frying. Thankfully no one is allergic to nuts, however if making anything fried for a group or people not personally known, will use another type of fat/shortening to be on the safe side.

Most important thing about any frying is oil must be at the right temperature. Too cool and instead of nice crust you get a greasy mess because food will absorb. The other way (too hot) not only burns things, but outside cooks much to fast and you end up with dark (or burnt) outsides and raw inside. *NOT* something you want with fried chicken.

You see that brown paper bag Miss Minnie uses? That could be my mother, either grandmother, various aunts and whoever else was going to fry anything from fish to chicken.

 

[spacepig]

Growing up in Louisiana, almost everything was fried growing up, but the only deep fryer we owned was one to cook a turkey. Like Launderess said above, my grandmother used a cast iron skillet with oil about 1/2 way up the chicken. She would dredge the chicken in water and then flour. My mother (her daughter), used a magnalite pot, and did virtually the same thing, except dredging in milk before the flour.

I purchased a deep fryer as an adult, but use it mostly to fry things like french fries or chicken nuggets when we want something fast. We subscribe to things like Hello Fresh and Home Fresh, and they typically call for frying in a cast iron skillet as stated above.

 

[frigilux]

On the rare occasion food requires deep-frying, I use a 4-quart saucepan and a candy/frying thermometer on the range.

The electric model I once had (a Rival, maybe?) was slow to recover the correct temperature after food was added.

 

[iheartmaytag]

I have a Fry Daddy in the basement

The last time I remember using it was New Years eve 2004 when I made blooming onions.

Other than that when I fry chicken I use a cast iron chicken fryer on the countertop induction burner. I like to use peanut oil, as it handles the higher temps better without stinking up the house. Most of what I fry anymore is catfish. Once in a very great while I will do actual fried chicken, but most of the time I "oven fry" my chicken, or use the air fryer.

I do still love me some KFC or Popeyes chicken though. Hey, you aren't going to live forever.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Several years back I got a tiny deep fryer/cooker from the thrift store. It has a small square basket and is a Dominion/Hamilton Beach Tall Fry. It would use a very small amount of oil, but it's brand new and I have never used it. Unfortunately someone must have swiped the lid and instructions before I got it, because my neighbor that worked there at the time, when I told her I bought it, said that they were with it originally.

A lot of frying, mainly fish, fries, etc, I remember being done on the stove in a textured aluminum dutch oven like pot. Personally, I don't want to fry on the stove. I'm sure it's probably not all that difficult to be sure the oil is at the right temperature, but I'm afraid of the fire risk of overheating the oil, or that it will spill over and ignite. With an electric fryer, most of those issues are eliminated.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

We had a DeLonghi Roto Fryer for about 10 years.  They're really only big enough for two people, and it doesn't take much oil to fill it.  I was very impressed with the machine, and it was pretty easy to clean.  After 10 years of use it really needed to be disassembled for a complete cleaning, but we decided to trash it and we haven't replaced it.  One of the reasons I we did away with it is the current price of peanut oil.  The other reason is that my partner has to watch his cholesterol.

 

[panthera]

I love deep fat fried food.

But I only fry outside. Too stinky, too dangerous.

 

[parunner58]

We have the Waring Pro fryer and I love it. Used mainly for chicken and home made french fries. The frozen stuff, I just convection oven them. It comes all apart and goes in the dishwasher except the heating element. I have had the old Sunbeam, which are fantastic, T-fal, which was ok and I think a Presto fryer. My T-fal and Presto were dishwasher safe. But out of all the Waring is the best one, fast recovery and easiest to clean.

 

[petek]

I remember seeing those Waring Pro.. so I just googled them.. and was led to a site selling Cuisinart fryers which look the same.. Turns out Conair who owns Cuisinart also owns Waring.

 

[strongenough78]

My Mom got me a Gran Pappy fryer a few years ago and I love it. I use it whenever I fry chicken or french fries. Even those frozen hash brown patties come out so good in the fryer. We recently found her Fry Baby she's had since the 70s. We use it for smaller portions of whatever we want to fry. It still works although I think it needs a new cord. We don't constantly eat fried foods but when we do, might as well make it easy and fun.

 

[scoots]

My Mom had a Dormeyer 6000

She bought one early in her marriage, so when I first start having kitchen memories, this appliance was kept over the refrigerator and never used so far as I know, except for a single batch of doughnuts.

When I got old enough to appreciate machinery in the 70s, I asked about it. She bought it in the early 60's because she came from a poor family and my father's salary permitted her the discretionary money to buy what she'd never had before. It was also a tremendous learning moment for her not to be swayed by what the Jones' had, and to scrutinize advertising claims.

While it did work perfectly and was built like a tank, she regretted the purchase right away. It used *vast* amounts of oil that could not be used for anything else. Dripping hot oil made it a challenge to use, and she was terrified that I might pull on the power cable and get scalded.

She kept it on the shelf for years and eventually threw it out with out me knowing it. About 5 years ago I purchased a similarly lightly used one on eBay for $30 I think. I fell in love with it as a piece of machinery all over again, but *Instantly* saw for the first time what my mom talked about with the amount of oil required.

To this day it sits ... again ... over the refrigerator. Perhaps one day I will answer my hankering for a deep fried Monte Cristo sandwich (Curse you Shrek for putting THAT in my head), but until then I think I'm going to stick to regular sandwiches.