How do you deep fry?

I really don't do it. But I want to make the Asian chicken bite recipe. how much oil do I use. How do you do it without making a big greasy mess?

I'm going to try that recipe tonight, too. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? I've only deep-fried food a couple of times and then used my electric skillet, but it worked just fine. Here are some tips I found on cdkitchen.com:

Deep-Frying Tips

* The oil must reach a good temperature to brown the exterior of the food quickly while cooking it. That temperature is almost always between 350F and 375F degrees. To be sure the oil is right use a frying thermometer.

* Use canola oil for frying. It is low in saturated fat, has a high burning point, and does not detract from the flavor of the food you are frying.

* Avoid crowding food that is deep-fat-fried. The food must be surrounded by bubbling oil, and you must keep the temperature from falling too much. If you add too much food to a small amount of oil, the temperature will plummet, and the food will wind up greasy and soggy.

* Never fill the pot more than halfway with oil; this will prevent bubbling over when the food is added.

* Dry food well with paper towels before adding to the pot; it helps reduce splattering.

can I keep the lid on if I use an electric fryer to cut down on the splatter? How much oil do I use? I almost never fry anything.

My electric fryer 's directions say to never lower or raise the basket of food with the cover off.All frying is done with cover on.Make sure your food is very dry and that will help prevent splatters. Pat

No, I don't think you should keep the lid on. I just cover my table (that my skillet will be sitting on) and anything else remotely in the way with some kitchen dish towels. The splatter really isn't horrible, but you will want to either move things away from the skillet or cover them.

What kind of pot are you using? If you're using an electric skillet, you'll want to make sure the oil comes up only about halfway; you don't want it to overflow when you put in the chicken or have the oil spill. This means, of course, that you'll probably have to turn your chicken. You do use a lot of oil; I think last time I used almost a full 1-1/2 qt. bottle.

I am a novice fryer though. Others on the board probably will have more expert advice.

Good luck.
Laurel

Oh, I see you're lucky enough to have a fryer. In that case, yes.....the cover definitely has to be on. I have an electric skillet so that's different.

L.

Here's another tip I found:

How can I reduce splattering?

The food you are going to deep-fry should be at room temperature. This reduces the drop in the temperature of the oil when you put it in, lessening the chance of splattering. You might want to dry the food with a paper towel before adding it. If the food to be deep-fried is in a sauce, use a slotted spoon to let it drain before adding it to the wok. Similarly, if the food is batter-coated, make sure all the excess batter has dripped off before placing it in the hot oil.

The only thing we fry is okra and that only once or twice a year, so, I got a small Fry Daddy to use. It is easy and not messy at all.

The Crisco website, www.crisco.com, has some good deep frying tips, too.

I'm curious about what kind of fryer you have, muttdog. Some fryers are made with covers that need to be closed and then some, like the one my mom used to have, just had a pan and a basket and weren't meant to be covered. I think the covering bit depends on your equipment and I wouldn't want to steer you wrong. Do you have instructions with your fryer?

Laurel

Muttdog, if you have an electric fryer, follow your manufacturers directions on whether to put the cover on. I have had two different fryers in the past, one had me put the cover on (it had a filter built into the cover) and the other told me under no circumstances should I cover the fryer (this one had a glass cover).

Now if you are frying on top of a stove with a pot of oil... I would say no cover because you cannot control the heat as well as with an electric fryer and I wouldn't want it to boil over.

Hope this helps.

Valerie

I used to have a Fry Daddy type covered fryer. It didn't make a greasy mess in the kitchen, but the house still reeked, in spite of the filter system. Now we have a turkey fryer that my husband sets up outside. Keeps the mess and smell out of the house.

I don't know what kind of fryer I have..I think it's like a crock pot with a basket that I can use to deep fry. I have to go look in the basement o see if it has a lid...I think it does if ita crock pot.

I don't like to deep fry and with this recipe I "shallow" fried the chicken. I poured about 1/2-3/4 of an inch of oil in a deep skillet. There is much less splattering and you just need to flip the chicken over to brown the other side. They got nice and brown and crispy this way.