Deep fryers

[Condi]

Does anyone still use a deep fryer these days at home? I remember my old Grandad had one which made the most amazing chips, he also had open coal fires and eventually died from throat cancer having smoked his entire life, so never made the heathiest life choices, but recently I've found a few things which really need deep frying, like falafel for example. It's possible to cook them in a frying pan with a large amount of oil, but this seems incredibly inefficient and also doesn't cook them all evenly. So, for a deep fryer, how long can you leave the oil in it before it needs to be changed? Realistically it's going to be used a few times a month, and it's expensive to waste a litre of oil every time.

[Zetec-S]

We had one at uni, used it purely for chips, probably 3 or 4 times a week between us. Changed the oil maybe once a month. Didn't kill any of us, but the oil was pretty grim, no way I'd do that these days. I'd say after 5 or 6 uses at most...

[Frybywire]

I have this. Don't use it a lot, but some things have to be deep fried.

https://www.tefal.co.uk/Semi-professional/Tefal-Ol...

[cml24]

Frybywire said:

I have this. Don't use it a lot, but some things have to be deep fried.

https://www.tefal.co.uk/Semi-professional/Tefal-Ol...

I think I'm sold on that one!

I used to own one at uni, and it would be used every weekend whilst watching football. We'd start at the lunch time kick off, watch the scores come in at 3pm, and then the evening game, supported by large quantities of beer and fried food. Just throwing in bags of cheap chicken dippers, onion rings etc.

The house would stink, but i wonder if the tefal (with a lid) would be better.

And I agree, some things are just much better deep fried.

[soad]

Scotch Eggs!

[Mahalo]

We have a deep fat fryer very similar to the Tefal one. It is used to produce beer battered fish, tempura and chips.
We don't tend to use it much these days. Chips are better done in an air fryer and we don't use vegetable oil anymore. Filtration is fine to remove fried food particles and batter but it does not remove the taint you get in the oil which then taints the fried food in a subsequent frying session. This is particularly so if you deep fry seafood.. You then have to change the oil, wash the deep fat fryer and refill with fresh oil. As these deep fat fryers are large that ends up being quite a lot of oil the price of which has shot up over recent years.

[The Gauge]

Frybywire said:

I have this. Don't use it a lot, but some things have to be deep fried.

https://www.tefal.co.uk/Semi-professional/Tefal-Ol...

That ^^ is the daddy of chip fryers. Think there are two variants so check if buying. The ability to deposit the used oil into the storage tank reduces odours, but means you can’t drain beef dripping into it as you’ll never get it out.

[Mobile Chicane]

I have used a (cheap) electric deep fryer but decided that for the amount of deep fried food I actually cook, it isn't worth the hassle of cleaning the thing. Oil residues which get into the internals stink, and the basket is impossible to clean properly.

But, pakoras can't be done well in any other way than deep-fried, so nowadays I use a wok plus a tea strainer for scooping. The used oil (when cool) is filtered through kitchen paper and then decanted into a bottle. Yes, it's a faff.

[The Gauge]

Frybywire said:

I have this. Don't use it a lot, but some things have to be deep fried.

https://www.tefal.co.uk/Semi-professional/Tefal-Ol...

That ^^ is the daddy of chip fryers. Think there are two variants so check if buying. The ability to deposit the used oil into the storage tank reduces odours, but means you can’t drain beef dripping into it as you’ll never get it out.

[Gone a bit AMG]

The Gauge said:

Frybywire said:

I have this. Don't use it a lot, but some things have to be deep fried.

https://www.tefal.co.uk/Semi-professional/Tefal-Ol...

That ^^ is the daddy of chip fryers. Think there are two variants so check if buying. The ability to deposit the used oil into the storage tank reduces odours, but means you can t drain beef dripping into it as you ll never get it out.

I’ve got one of these, they’re a great kitchen gadget.

[theguvernor15]

I air fry everything, purely because our oven is pants on our cooker & the air fryer heats up way quicker.
(I cheaper out & bought a 900mm W range when the previous unit broke as we intended to refurb the kitchen).

A little deep fat fryer is miles above an air fryer for things like chips, they do stink though.

[Peterpetrole]

Frybywire said:

I have this. Don't use it a lot, but some things have to be deep fried.

https://www.tefal.co.uk/Semi-professional/Tefal-Ol...

oof that's wicked

[AlexC1981]

I bought a small one and went through a phase of using it, but ultimately it was too much of a faff with cleaning and disposal of all the oil.

I made the best puddings I have ever had in my life with it, which was a battered Snickers bar served with vanilla ice cream. It was so so good...

Edited by AlexC1981 on Thursday 11th September 16:45

[raceboy]

Between this and the 'do you like a drink' thread I can't believe I've made it past 50
We have an older Tefal similar to this one
I'd say it gets used about once a week, we tried an air fryer, and for a lot of things it's great, but proper fresh chips just have to be deep fried.
The one we have has a sieve like filter in the bottom so you can easily remove 'bits' from the oil, and shock horror I bet the oil only gets changed about every 6 months. #howamInotdead
The other amusing thing is it thinks 1Kg is 4 portions.....

[soad]

Seems there’s options like this for oil disposal?

[raceboy]

seems like a load of unnecessary faff, I just use an old funnel out the garage to pour the old oil into an empty 2 litre pop bottle and chuck it in the general waste bin, job done.
Give the fryer a rinse out, fill up and you're ready to go.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

Frybywire said:

I have this. Don't use it a lot, but some things have to be deep fried.

https://www.tefal.co.uk/Semi-professional/Tefal-Ol...

Used to have one very similar to that when I was a kid. I used to make my own chips from scratch sometimes, and they are still the best chips I have ever tasted.

I can't remember how long we used the oil for, but it would be clear from the smell that it was time to change it. I remember we would pour the old oil into the oil bottles and once it settled the bottom two inches would look like lard.......

The fresh oil would never make as good chips, it would take a few cycles before they tasted the best again.

I stopped using one as it stinks the house out, is a pain to change the oil and clean, it isn't exactly healthy and oven chips got much better.

[raceboy]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

I stopped using one as it stinks the house out....

Always use ours under the hob extraction hood, solves the problem nicely.

[AndyAudi]

raceboy said:

seems like a load of unnecessary faff, I just use an old funnel out the garage to pour the old oil into an empty 2 litre pop bottle and chuck it in the general waste bin, job done.
Give the fryer a rinse out, fill up and you're ready to go.

It’s maybe a Scottish thing but… Our recycling centres have facilities for used cooking oil, a lot of deep frying done up here!

Another Tefal operator with tank & filter, bonus is they strip down easily to bits for cleaning & go in the dishwasher too

[raceboy]

AndyAudi said:

It's maybe a Scottish thing but our recycling centres have facilities for used cooking oil, a lot of deep frying done up here!

Apparently not just a Scottish thing

https://www.nottinghamshire.veolia.co.uk/recycling...

Still more faff than chucking it in the bin though, wouldn't dream of pouring it down the drain, that's got disaster written all over it.