I asked about this in the Appliance Forum, and on the advice of folks there I got the Waring Professional DF250 counter-top deep fryer. About $100, Target had it.

I use it for tempura, french fries, fried dumplings, fried rice balls, very occasionally fish.

It takes about 20-30 minutes to get ready - put it on the counter, pour in the oil, and wait for the oil to get really hot, like 375F+. I clip a cabled thermometer probe to the side of the tub, to monitor temperature.

You can only cook a modest amount of stuff at once - say, 15 thick french fries or 5 pieces of tempura - while keeping the oil really hot. More if you're okay with the oil falling 340F. So you are going to be cooking in batches, but usually only 3 or 4 batches, and each batch only takes a few minutes.

When you're done, wait for the oil to cool before cleaning up. I usually make it the last task, after all the dishes are done. Simply pour the oil into old wine bottles set in the sink, using a metal funnel with a wire mesh strainer, like a tea strainer, in it. Avoid plastic bottles or plastic funnels, since eventually you're going to get impatient and clean up when the oil is still hot-ish, silly as that is. Then simply wash the tub, basket, lid with a soapy sponge like any other cookware, wipe the heating element with a paper towel, and put it all away. Takes maybe 15 minutes to put away the oil and clean up the machine, longer the first time of course.

I've heard people say they get several uses from a batch of oil, more if its tempura, dough, or veggies; less if its meat or fish. I've been using my oil 10 times or more, and it seems fine.

The only qualm I have about it is that, if you place the fryer on a normal-depth counter, the handle sticks out past the counter edge, so a careless person could bump or snag it as they walk by. I place the fryer sideways on the counter, feels safer but is slightly less convenient. If you have little kids in the house, you might think hard about the safety issues.

I like this fryer a lot. It doesn't get used daily (clutching heart), maybe every month I'll get in a deep frying mood, bring out the machine, and use it a few times over a week, then put it away. I usually leave the oil in it during that week, unless I've fried something very messy that left lots of glop in the oil.

I deep fry so little that I've stuck with using the wok.

So I guess I have no equipment help but I can help you on used oil disposal.

FOG, (fats, oils, grease) are tough on your home plumbing and/or garbage. They are also tough on the treatment plants.

But a home FOG digester is easy enough to make and I will attest that they work.

Basically an in ground composter, you dig a hole a bit larger and a bit deeper than your pail/barrel/whatever. You line the bottom with drain rock or broken cement chunks and place the barrel which you have perforated with many holes all over the bottom and 2/3 up the sides such that the top just clears ground level. Fill in around the sides with more drain rock and make a non-skid lid and there you have it.

I use a square of plywood larger than the barrel opening with 2x4 cleats screwed to it. These cleats fit inside the top of the barrel, leaving you a smooth plywood top that won't move if you walk onto it or bump it.

Inoculate it with a clump of compost and just start tossing stuff you wouldn't ordinarily compost into it. It eats FOG, poultry carcasses, rib and chop bones, fish and shellfish remains. I've even put clam shells into mine but they take a while.

If it becomes whiffy and the only times mine has is after a crab party when we overloaded it, you just toss in a flake of hay or straw or the contents of your paper shredder.

Positives: stuff just liquefies and goes away, you cut way, way down on stinky garbage, if you fish the worms around it are amazing and it takes your fish entrails.

Negatives: we've had one in two homes now, over 20 years and at each home they finally filled up, both times around the 10 year mark. (Family of four). To get to the bottom stuff, the finished compost so to speak, you have to scoop out the top layer of whatever you put in there. I try and con the kids into doing that. They are getting smarter tho.

Oh, and they consume dog and cat poop too, if you want. In fact anything organic that you don't want to compost normally will go in. We used to put old underwear in so the kids could watch them dissipate.

The biggest con is having to go over and chop down the growth that thrives all around the unit. We have a sick plant, we just pop it into the ground by the grease pit (what we call it) and in no time its healthy and about twice as tall, bushy, whatever.

OK, back to deep fat fryers.

You might consider (instead of a deep fryer) getting a deeper-than-average electric frypan. The advantage would be that it has a thermostat built in to keep the oil temp fairly stable.

Something like the one at the link. However, I don't have that one so I can't say yea or nay about it. Still, when I was growing up my mom delegated the fish frying duties to me--she banished me to the back porch with an electric frypan, and I got really good at frying fish in one of them.

Here is a link that might be useful: deep electric fry pan

I have a Fry Daddy and though it is serviceable, my next plan is to do what Arly suggested - a super deep electric fry pan where you can control the temp. I would stilll double check with a thermometer, but it gives you a target when you are first heating things. One of the dishes I want to be able to make is a twice fried potato that cooks at 2 different temps - I think the fry pan would make it MUCH easier.

As far as recyclling the oil, I filter through a coffee filter in a sieve and into an empty plastic oil container. Yes, you do need to be SURE the oil is cool, but I don't want to be messing with straining hot oil anyway.... I am too much of a klutz. LOL!

A

Don't the new table top home fryers have thermostats?

They do but not thermometers so you need to add one to know when your oil is back up to temp, unless you are quite experienced.

I received a waring "PRO" for christmas, I find that most of the parts (except the heating element of course) go in the dishwasher. I donÂt deep fry often but when I want fries, I want them homemade. IT DOES REQUIRE QUITE A LOT OF OIL. I bought a large square container (plastic) and after the oil is cool enough, I strain and refrigerate.
Of course if frying fish and such I pitch the oil. I have been pleased with the results but, after reading some of the other posts I will probably try a thermometer when I use it next time.

I mostly use a deep cast iron dutch oven and a thermometer to deep fry in, but I do have an electric skillet and I do use that for things like donuts, because I can get 6 in the skillet instead of only three....

I don't have a deep fryer.

Annie

Is there an outside-the-fryer mess to contend with -- or does a mess of that sort indicate operator difficulty?

I always worry about grease fires, has anyone had that problem? (I hope not!)

I have a little-used Fry Daddy that we bought to make potato baskets/nests. I even have the "nest-maker" tool, which is two nested wire sieves, about 3" in diameter. You put some shredded potatoes into the outer nest, spread them out, insert the inner nest, close the latch, and fry. We used to have chicken a la king in these at a restaurant and loved it. If I weren't so afraid of the mess and the potential fires, I'd give it a try. Any words of encouragement?

Jim:
I like to give you a " go ahead " but I had one a few years ago and we gave up on it.
I might still have it in the basement.
To me it wasn't worth the trouble, for the amount it was used.

The oil had to be screened, plus it was only used for a short time and discarded.

I use the cast iron Skillet now, it does a good job.
Lou

Alice, I don't seem to have a lot of spatter, there is some but not a significant problem. I mostly get it with high moisture foods, like raw potatoes when making french fries, but I think with the nests you'd have to do them one at a time and that should cut the spatter way down.

I've never had a fire from deep frying, not even when we still owned the bar and grille and had commercial deep fryers going all the time. The only grease fires I've ever had were things like hot bacon grease in a skillet and an occasional batch of paraffin when trying to cover jam with paraffin instead of just canning the darned stuff.

Annie

In europe, we use these -see link. I've never heard of anyone setting their house on fire with one. I have a small one as we rarely use it. You can tell when they're hot enough as there's a light that goes out / comes on to tell you so no need for a thermometer.

Here is a link that might be useful: fryers at amazon

I got the De'Longhi Roto Fryer (D895-UX) based on a friend's recommendation and am very happy with it. It does not take long to heat up, is easy to clean and seems to use less oil than most. It's also easy to filter the oil but I reuse the oil only one time. The only drawback to this appliance is that it's one more thing to store:)

"...use it a few times over a week, then put it away. I usually leave the oil in it during that week..."

That would be a likely plan for me. I presume the oil gets refrigerated between uses then disposed of at the end of the week. Does the cooking vessel come out for storage? Are there fryers which don't need to be drained; where the cooking vessel is designed to serve as a storage container?

So, fryer users, why do you use a deep fryer when an ordinary pot will work?

Thanks for the info on your "grease pit", Metaxa. That is a very useful idea.

Jim

check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7eXzuPXYms

dcarch

Jim:
You seem to do a good job, with your cooking now.
Why would you want to change ???
Lou

PS:
Didn't get the holes fixed in the Copper Skillet yet.

''That would be a likely plan for me. I presume the oil gets refrigerated between uses then disposed of at the end of the week. Does the cooking vessel come out for storage? Are there fryers which don't need to be drained; where the cooking vessel is designed to serve as a storage container?

So, fryer users, why do you use a deep fryer when an ordinary pot will work?''

I don't refrigerate the deep fry oil. Bacteria is not likely to survive the >370F temps. The oil is not kept around long enough to go rancid. That's my experience, anyway. But I don't see the need to refrigerate any oil, so possibly my nose just isn't that sensitive or I tend to use oil that is more stable.

On the Waring, the tub is simply a rectangular stamped steel tub with a lip. There is no cover, I suppose you could use plastic wrap if you were going to refrigerate it, but it would be a pretty bulky thing to put in the refrigerator.

Versus an ordinary pot . . .
- The fryer doesn't take up a burner, during the days when I'm not using the oil but haven't put it all away yet. I only have four burners.
- The tub is a relatively deep and narrow vessel, so you can get coverage with a reasonable amount of oil.
- The fryer basket is a handy way to load up your tempura/whatever, neatly immerse it in the oil all at once, remove it all at once, and drain it over the oil before tranferring to paper towels.

It is just a convenience thing. I can't imagine the deep fryer does anything a pot couldn't.

Thanks, dcarch!

Everyone should spend 35 seconds viewing this video.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Oil Fire

"Why would you want to change ??? "

That's what I'm trying to figure out. That and "if" I want to change.

From time to time I have enjoyed deep frying some foods using a regular cooking pot. For a while I've wondered if a proper deep fryer would facilitate the process by making it easier or better. At the moment, I'm tending to think I can accomplish what I want by using a larger amount of oil than I have previously, using a digital probe thermometer I already have, getting a fry basket to fit a pot I already have and working out an oil filtering and storage routine.

Jim

When it comes to frying you need to talk to a Cajun.....

Get yourself a "flash fryer". That is a fryer which is designed to heat the oil itself and not the vessel holding the oil. The electric version keeps the heating element about an inch off of the bottom of the oil vessel. Any breading that falls off of the food as it fries will fall to the bottom and under the heating element. IT WILL NOT BURN because the breading that falls off is not directly heated. So....... your frying oil remains fresher, lasts l longer......because the breading never burns. This type of fryer is sold at Walmart.

Also, it is nice to have a Grand Daddy. The heating element of this fryer is built right into the vessel. I'm not 100% sure of the name. I'm too lazy to go into my back kitchen and get the information. It comes in two sizes. I'm talking about the one that is a bit larger. Well this Grand Daddy (or whatever) makes excellent tasting deep fried Cornish hens. I deep fry turkeys (outdoors) around the holidays and deep fry Cornish hens (indoors) at other times. If you have not Cajun deep fried turkey or Cornish hens.....you don't know what good eats you are missing.

Dan

I would never use an ordinary pan for deep frying because of the safety risks. Too scary!

Jim: That was me in the Video, lol.

I was a Fireman for about 14 years until I moved here.
When I left,I was Lieutenant of the 100 foot Ladder truck.

All you have to do is keep a lid handy when frying, if you are afraid of a fire.
Never had a problem with that.

Real problem most of the time is a person gets all excited
and don't think, before they act.

If you are not in a hurry get a few more Pro's and Con's,
on the Deep Frier.

Lou