Mini Deep-Fryer
Wired blogged about this mini deep-fryer last week, and at first I was quite taken with it. Who wouldn't want a small, easy-to-store deep-fryer that uses only a quart of oil rather than a gallon or more?
But then I remembered the deep-fryer episode of Good Eats, in which I seem to recall Alton Brown talking about heat recovery—that you need a good amount of oil so that the food, when dunked, doesn't lower the oil temp so far that your goodies don't fry properly.
Then again, if you're only making a single serving of fries or one chicken wing at a time, I suppose this thing might work. Still, if cooking for one is sometimes lonely, deep-frying for one is just sad. Deni Mini Deep-Fryer, $44.99, from chefscatalog.com
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12 Comments:
I wonder who could test such a gadget... :)
After all, I've been looking for a better way to fry up my aunt's homemade empanadas... losing the crispy bits is too much disappointment to bear!
Nikki Goldstein at 9:57AM on 08/04/09
I prefer a multi use gadget which is why I like the presto kettle multi cooker.
http://www.amazon.com/National-Presto-06000-Electric-Multi-Cooker/dp/B000Q96F22/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1249395120&sr=8-3
I cannot say enough about this thing. It deep fries, it can be that extra pot when you have all your burners occupied. I have made chili in it. My friend uses it for simmering hot dogs in kraut. It is cheaper than a deep fryer and it is multi use. Temp goes up to 400 degrees.
JerzeeTomato at 10:16AM on 08/04/09
"Deep Fat Fryer for One" sums up America's obesity problem perfectly...
Truff at 10:16AM on 08/04/09
Aww. I imagine a bachelor's very small Thanksgiving with a deep-fried quail.
Michele Humes at 10:24AM on 08/04/09
I don't think I've ever in my life wanted to *fry* a single serving of anything. It's a rare occasion that I bring out the fryer, but when I do, nothing is safe. I fry platters of stuff. Usually happens when I'm keeping my nephews.
syd888 at 11:04AM on 08/04/09
Mmmm. Deep-fried quail.
I can't see how food could not come out greasy from this-- it's way too small, and almost any size food going into that little oil is going to reduce the temperature so much that much oil is going to penetrate the food. Even the amount of fries in the photo wouldn't come out properly.
In contrast, my deep fryer holds a gallon and a half of oil. Of course it only gets used for special occassions, or a special weekend treat, as filtering that much oil for reuse is a bit of a pain. But the results are very much worth it.
Mmmm. Proper, twice-fried French Fries (four minutes at 300F, drained, then three minutes at 375F).
MarvinDog at 11:08AM on 08/04/09
I did a doubletake when I saw the website, chefscatalog.com. The first thing I saw was chefscatalog.com. My mind is always in the sewer.
We have a Fry Baby that is probably that size, maybe even smaller. It works all right, the 2 times we've used it in the past few years. We really need to donate it since we have an extremely small kitchen. I'm not into deep fried foods like my husband is. He prefers to use a stew pot to deep fry because of the ease in cleaning. Our Fry Baby doesn't have a separate oil well, so you have to tip the entire thing to dump the oil.
I don't understand the link to our problem with obesity by frying alone versus frying for more than one. Seeing that this fryer is little and would probably be more of a hassle to make 10 batches of fried x, I'd think this would be a nice deterrent against making large batches. :)
My thought is if you always eat small portions, you'll prepare and/or eat small portions with or without the little fryer. If you have poor control over portion size, you'll prepare and/or eat whatever sized portions with or without the little fryer.
Cassaendra at 11:38AM on 08/04/09
I've tried a few of the available fryers, but not this particular one. Having said that, I now subscribe to a few rules for frying:
1. Gas beats electric every time.
2. Cast iron is better than any other metal for frying; I have heard that this is due to its ability to evenly distribute and hold heat.
3. The more oil the better--i.e., immersion is best for frying most things.
Having said that, I do not have access to gas in my neighborhood without installing a huge propane tank underground, which costs a fortune and sounds really dangerous to me. I can not use cast iron very successfully on the glass cooktop I now have. When I switch back to the older coil-type electric cooktop, eventually, cast iron becomes possible again.
I can make a pretty mean chicken-fried steak using the glass-top if I use a large, teflon frying pan and good peanut oil. As for wings or regular fried chicken, I use a deep pot (Dutch oven-type but not as wide) but the results are not very good. Neither did I find that any of the electric fryers I tried were very good at these items, either. I use them out on the porch as they tend to steam-up the kitchen. The oil is messy to remove, even with the "easy remove" features that most of them have these days, and the clean-up process is a pain. The various filters and so forth that they use are expensive.
I have taken to making fresh fries in the oven, going out for fried chicken and wings, and until I replace the cooktop, I guess that's the way it will have to be.
richopp at 12:10PM on 08/04/09
@richopp:
Why do you have trouble frying in cast-iron on a glass cooktop? I have a glass cooktop and have no problems with either cast-iron cooking or deep frying. I do use a candy thermometer to regulate the heat and NEVER overcrowd the pan.
duncan1205 at 12:45PM on 08/04/09
@richopp:
When you replace your cooktop, get an electric induction cooktop.
Buckethead at 12:53PM on 08/04/09
I have a small 2qt electric fryer, and it definitely has trouble keeping the temp up after dumping in the food. I'd have to imagine a 1 qt version would be even worse. I really want to upgrade to a 4 qt model for the better temp control and to fry larger batches, but don't have the space for it currently.
JGordon at 12:55PM on 08/04/09
Buying a kitchen gadget geared for one reminds me what a loser I am.
Fatfudge at 2:48PM on 08/04/09