Best Deep Fryer For Home Use???

[phatch]

Induction heldps hit target temps and has excellent recovery.

 

[millionsknives]

Yeah a wok doesnt use much oil. Cold food will drop the temp fast but the small volume also comes back up to temp fast. Well if you have a proper wok burner anyway- I am running 120k btu outdoors

 

[larry hayden]

I only used enough oil to cover the 8 wings. I'm cooking on my home stove, glass top electric. I can deal with the temp control if it weren't for the splattered oil everywhere. I had a candy thermometer in the oil the whole time, so I could play with the controls as it dropped or raised. After a couple of batches I could see how it was fluctuating and adjust the controls ahead of time. It didn't even seem like it was splattering much, but to look at my stove it was like an oil bomb went off. I might have to try the discontinued model deep fryer and hope I get a good one.  

 

[flipflopgirl]

Dig thru your cabinets and find a lid that will fit inside the wok ... large enuf that it doesn't sit in the oil obviously.

After you drop the wings slap in on until the popping slows down then remove.

You will still have a bit of a mess but not nearly as bad.

mimi

 

[millionsknives]

Get something like this

 

[larry hayden]

I have one of those but it isn't nearly as big as the wok. Not sure how if it will sit on top properly without trying to slide into the oil. I will give it a shot next time. 

 

[flipflopgirl]

When the fisherman fries I move everything that is within 3 feet of the stove.

The rest (cabinets mostly) I protect with paper towels.

If you try this don't use duct tape as it can leave a bit of adhesive behind.

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

mimi

 

[larry hayden]

 
When the fisherman fries I move everything that is within 3 feet of the stove.

The rest (cabinets mostly) I protect with paper towels.

If you try this don't use duct tape as it can leave a bit of adhesive behind.

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

mimi

LOL yeah, that is exactly the kind of hassle I am trying to avoid which is the real reason for my response in this thread. I wish I could find a nice dedicated deep fryer with a lid. I honestly have very little experience deep frying, but recently have found an interest in it, especially considering our love of good wings and fries on football Sunday. Also my wife has really started getting into canning and preserving so we are experimenting with different kinds of sauces etc, but I don't really want my kitchen covered in oil every time we want to try a new deep frying recipe. 

 

[halb]

Gee, I dunno. At home I use a small stock pot with about 3/4 gal of oil. I have a basket that fits inside the pot perfectly. I fry at 350 deg and I never notice a mess. Ok, maybe a light film in the glass stove top and under the hood but nothing anywhere else. Maybe it's because I have a decent exhaust fan and hood.

 

[larry hayden]

 
Gee, I dunno. At home I use a small stock pot with about 3/4 gal of oil. I have a basket that fits inside the pot perfectly. I fry at 350 deg and I never notice a mess. Ok, maybe a light film in the glass stove top and under the hood but nothing anywhere else. Maybe it's because I have a decent exhaust fan and hood.

Yeah you must have one hell of an exhaust fan. Does it have it's own gasoline engine? I jest. There was way too much oil splatter for any exhaust fan to handle for me. I have a similar sounding stock pot with a basket that I might could use, but we usually use that for pasta. I would also have to use a LOT more oil than what was being used for the Wok, and I was using coconut oil so its expensive lol. I may just try to find an oil screen of some type big enough to fit over the wok. I'm going to figure out something. We actually wanted wings again yesterday to test out some new sauces, but neither of us were ready to douse the kitchen in oil again. 

 

[flipflopgirl]

I am totally opposed to using the hardware store for kitchen supplies but...

Can you not source some (uncoated) heavy gauge aluminum mesh and make one (a splatter screen)?

Heck make several...one to fit every cooking vessel you are likely to use for frying at some point in time.

Altho.....

I still think a lid (if your kitchen is anything like mine there are several that would fit stuck in a cabinet somewhere) doing double duty is the way to go.

mimi

 

[halb]

 I would also have to use a LOT more oil than what was being used for the Wok...

That may be your problem too. Shallow frying, especially if what you are frying has water content is going to splatter because the water explodes into steam. A deep pot of oil tends to mitigate the splattering. I can't think of any commercial fryer that has a cover and if they had the problems you do they would need to have someone there just to mop up the oil. Also, a fire extinguisher was mentioned. The proper extinguisher for today's fryer oil is a type K (not to be confused with purple K). A type K extinguisher uses a wet misting agent the same as what the hood fire suppression system uses.

 

[cheflayne]

Use a large inverted colander for a spatter guard. One size fits all. It will fit a wok. It will fit a pot.

 

[larry hayden]

 
That may be your problem too. Shallow frying, especially if what you are frying has water content is going to splatter because the water explodes into steam. A deep pot of oil tends to mitigate the splattering. I can't think of any commercial fryer that has a cover and if they had the problems you do they would need to have someone there just to mop up the oil. Also, a fire extinguisher was mentioned. The proper extinguisher for today's fryer oil is a type K (not to be confused with purple K). A type K extinguisher uses a wet misting agent the same as what the hood fire suppression system uses.

Well, the reason I chose the Wok was because the overwhelming response to the original OP question about a good deep fryer for home use was a Wok, and that one of the benefits was using less oil because of the shape of the Wok. I found that to be true as I had no issue covering a good portion of wings, but a good portion was about 8 wings at a time, what I didn't find to be true was that by using a Wok and less oil that the oil would splatter less. So while I did fry a really good batch of wings, the mess was too much to deal with if I do it very often. 

As for commercial fyer's, I would say you are right, they typically if ever will have a cover, but then again they are in a commercial setting and their entire cooking area is stainless steel etc, and they have a lot of ways to easily clean the area around them. That isn't the case at home. Several home use fryer's have covers but the problem seems to be getting a good one that can heat to the proper temperature to cook well, and continue to do that for longer than a month or two. The Wok seemed promising, but it wasn't all I had hoped for. I'm not done yet. I am determined to find a solution. Will keep you all informed. 

 

[halb]

Take your pick- http://www.webstaurantstore.com/14389/electric-countertop-fryers.html

 

[larry hayden]

 
Take your pick- http://www.webstaurantstore.com/14389/electric-countertop-fryers.html

Hmm, there are a few nice ones that I might consider. Where have you been all this time lol? I have my eye on the Waring WDF1000. Anyone have any experience? My primary concern is that it gets to the temp it says it will. That one says it will go to 390 degrees. I understand that some get back to their proper temp quicker too which is a huge advantage, but I figure I can only expect so much from a home type deep fryer. Although this one does say "commercial", Its on the lighter side of commercial. 

 

[halb]

Sorry, no experience with them but I have also been considering one. I would say that the higher the wattage the faster the recovery. 1800 watts is the most you will find in a 120 volt fryer, the Waring WDF1000 is 1800 watts. One review said that the plug burned up which isn't surprising since 1800 watts puts it at 15 amps, too much for a 15 amp circuit. (Not dangerous if you do but it will probably trip the breaker after awhile.) So make sure you plug it into a 20 amp circuit and the receptacle you use it with is in good shape (not loose or worn out) or the plug and receptacle will get hot. This fryer should really have a 20 amp plug requiring you to plug it into only 20 amp circuits.

Hell, for only 99 bucks I would look at the Avantco F100 too.

 

[larry hayden]

 
Sorry, no experience with them but I have also been considering one. I would say that the higher the wattage the faster the recovery. 1800 watts is the most you will find in a 120 volt fryer, the Waring WDF1000 is 1800 watts. One review said that the plug burned up which isn't surprising since 1800 watts puts it at 15 amps, too much for a 15 amp circuit. (Not dangerous if you do but it will probably trip the breaker after awhile.) So make sure you plug it into a 20 amp circuit and the receptacle you use it with is in good shape (not loose or worn out) or the plug and receptacle will get hot. This fryer should really have a 20 amp plug requiring you to plug it into only 20 amp circuits.

Hell, for only 99 bucks I would look at the Avantco F100 too.

Hmm, that is actually worth considering and now makes a lot more sense as to why you don't really see any home deep fryers with more power and people complaining that their fryers won't heat up properly or end up not working. They are literally running at max capacity. They put a 15 amp plug on this specifically so it can be used in the home, which doesn't do the fryers any favors and will probably cause the user more headaches. They say you can only pull 80% of the maximum, which would be 1500 watts on a 15 amp plug. I actually put a 20 amp circuit in the garage to run a treadmill, and then made a drop cord for it, so I "could" possibly put a 20 amp plug on the fryer myself and use it in the garage, or even pull the drop cord from the garage into the kitchen to use the fryer, but that might become a pain in the butt after a while. On second thought I may have to reconsider the Wok again. 

 

[halb]

Just a bit of information. Actually at least two 20 amp circuits have been required in residential kitchens since the 50's. So unless your house is very old you should be OK. Easy enough to check your circuit breaker panel to see what supplies the kitchen counter receptacles. As for the 15A plug, some electricians install 15A receptacles on 20A circuits in kitchens and that's OK to do but it would cause problems with something like that fryer if it had a 20A plug. So to to eliminate problems they make them with a plug that will fit into a 15A receptacle. But you really need to understand from the specs that 1800 watts needs a 20A circuit and they really should say so. (80% of 15A=13A so 13A is the max load on a 15A circuit.)  With 15A plugs both blades are parallel to each other- your normal everyday plug. A 20A plug has one blade turned sideways so you can't insert it into a 15A receptacle. A 20A receptacle has a "T" slot on one side (and I know you have seen these). It will accept both a 15 and 20A plug. It's OK to put 15A receptacles on 20A circuits but not OK to put 20A receptacles on 15A circuits.

If you wanted to up the ante you could have a 220V/20A receptacle and separate circuit installed (like for an air conditioner) and get one of those bigger fryers. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif  

 

[larry hayden]

 
Just a bit of information. Actually at least two 20 amp circuits have been required in residential kitchens since the 50's. So unless your house is very old you should be OK. Easy enough to check your circuit breaker panel to see what supplies the kitchen counter receptacles. As for the 15A plug, some electricians install 15A receptacles on 20A circuits in kitchens and that's OK to do but it would cause problems with something like that fryer if it had a 20A plug. So to to eliminate problems they make them with a plug that will fit into a 15A receptacle. But you really need to understand from the specs that 1800 watts needs a 20A circuit and they really should say so. (80% of 15A=13A so 13A is the max load on a 15A circuit.)  With 15A plugs both blades are parallel to each other- your normal everyday plug. A 20A plug has one blade turned sideways so you can't insert it into a 15A receptacle. A 20A receptacle has a "T" slot on one side (and I know you have seen these). It will accept both a 15 and 20A plug. It's OK to put 15A receptacles on 20A circuits but not OK to put 20A receptacles on 15A circuits.

If you wanted to up the ante you could have a 220V/20A receptacle and separate circuit installed (like for an air conditioner) and get one of those bigger fryers. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif  

Yup I understand electricity to a degree, I just don't do it all the time so it gets fuzzy until I read it again. I have 20 amp breakers but no 20 amp plugs, so I guess I'm fine in the kitchen without the 20 amp plug. When ever I get to the point of building my own house I plan to have those options for my kitchen.