I reuse mine a lot, and I have a Cool Daddy with temperature control, and so the oil never gets too hot. If you ever get the oil beyond its smoking point, I believe it is not reusable.

I have also fried hush puppies and potatoes in the same oil that I used for frying fish, but they were for the same meal.

I also am not sure of the best way to dispose of used oil. The last oil I disposed of I put in a container that went into the trash. I do not pour it down the drain, and I certainly do not pour it out in my yard.

I reuse my oil at least once, and I am always drawing on it when I skillet-heat a veggie burger or something. I filter it then either freeze it, or pop it in the fridge.

I have a wood/coal stove, so to get rid of it, I soak papers or cardboard in the oil and use it for heat.

I reuse mine several times, use out of it for pan frying, etc., then last use is for frying fish or onion rings.

Disposal--use it for starting fires in the outdoor fire pit. We have a wooded lot so there is always debris that needs to be burned. The used oil really helps to get a fire going when the materials are damp.

I use peanut oil, which does not absorb food flavors, maybe use it a couple more times, and then put it in a coffee can which then joins all the other dredges.

Good advice to use as fire pit fuel... and your fire smells good ;)

What I'd like to add to the discussion... can what you normally deep fry be cooked in an Air-Fryer type machine (top 10 air fryers of 2016 - https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-air-fryers?id=bng), which uses only a T. of oil, as a less dangerous, and even more cost-effective option? Just something to think about.

Without exception, used oil is a health danger, whether one decides it's a "safe" economical idea to do so, or not. There's lots of information on the subject when you look, so please don't take my word for it. Check for yourself, if you are interested.

Not only the chemical changes and the cell-damaging free-radicals (which you can't see and are dangerous enough), but if the used oil isn't strained and stored properly, there can also be issues with bacteria growth, like Clostridium botulinum, which is the bacteria that causes botulism, a potentially fatal food poisoning.

-Grainlady

If you plan on getting much re-use out of the oil, you almost have to filter it--especially if you've used it to cook anything with any breading. Otherwise, the next time the oil is heated, that sediment burns and hastens the demise of your oil.

Won't the reheating to deep fry temperatures pretty much guarantee that botulism is not something that is on the radar? I certainly would not be using used deep fry oil on a salad...

I get the free radical thing but consider the usual deep fried food scenario in a restaurant where the fryer full of used oil stays heated for hours and hours vs a home kitchen deep frying situation. My thrice used oil is bound to be less 'dangerous' than the fryer fat down at the neighborhood burger joint. Plus, I hate the mess of deep frying so it's not something I do very often.

ci-lantro - The handling of, and cross-contamination from, the potentially "tainted" oil is where the danger is. I have an example in my files of a woman who opened a jar of home-canned carrots and transferred bacteria from it to her eye when she rubbed her eye. A friend who transferred Salmonella from an egg via rubbing his eye....

And about that thrice used fat VS the neighborhood burger joint... As Grateful Dead member, Jerry Garcia, once said, "The lesser of two evils is still EVIL! ;-)

-Grainlady

thanks everyone!! how do u store your used oil? room temp, frig, freezer?? should i strain immediately after use?? DH fries his wings and other than that, only chicken cutlets. we are not big on frying, but for his wings, a must (for him)!!

great idea for using used oil in fire pit, that's very doable for us....thanks again !!

A number of people run their diesel cars and trucks on used vegetable oil. Don't tell me this forum "...ain't got no heart."

Unless I fry something like potatoes, I don't re-use oil. How do I get rid of it? I burn it with my newspapers, feed sacks and other paper.

I just was scanning through Kenji's new book last night,& he discussed oil a good deal. He said if you are deep frying on the stove, you can reuse the oil-whether cooking chicken or potatoes-up to 8 times, but you must be meticulous about removing debris from it before storing it. Run it though cheesecloth or heavy paper towel. If it starts getting dark, don't reuse. According to him, restaurants can get away with reusing their oil for a long time because their fryers don't heat from the bottom-can't remember exactly his reasoning, something about the bottom burning more. Countertop electric deep fryers use the same concept, so you can reuse the oil even more than the 8 times. Temperature control seems to be the thing. Recommended peanut oil. He says he disposes of his excess oil through a company that converts the oil to fuel, but if you don't have that option, to pour it into an empty bottle & put it in your trash. Small amounts he puts in his disposal. And store at room temp, either in its original bottle, or an empty soda bottle.

I love this book, just an interesting read. A large book, but most of it is devoted to the science of cooking. Most of the recipes are almost for a learning cook, like how to fry an egg or burger, although some recipes are kinda detailed & more steps than I would bother with. Like cooking steak fries 4 times or more. Some things he says go against what I hear from other chefs on TV, but he explains his reasoning & I found that interesting.

I strain the oil through paper coffee filters after it has cooled, fitting the filter into a mesh sieve. I don't like messing with it while the oil is still hot although hot oil strains a lot faster. Straining the cool oil through the coffee filters can take a long time and require a couple or more of filter changes. The oil is stored at room temperature in glass jars.

I'm sure there are lots better and more expedient ways to do it but I deep fry so seldom that I'm OK with the plodding process using stuff that I already own.