Draining oil after the fryer cools down can be precarious. The basket is uniquely shaped to accommodate large poultry, while the handle on the basket, along with the lifting hook, makes it safer to lift foods out of hot oil. Dry with a towel and allow to completely air-dry before refilling with fresh oil. For this reason, some models offer safety featuresa removable oil container, a scoop to remove food debris, or a pouring spout for dirty oilthat simplify the process. The Fry Daddys lower wattage worked well for its compact size. Most Stable Temperatures: Bayou - Classic Four Gallon. Of all the fryers we tested, only the T-Fal Ultimate EZ Clean has a filtration device built-in. Its a well-constructed unit and was the only fryer that actually reached the optimal 375F (in fact, it actually reached 383F). For the most part, electric deep fryers are generally safer than propane fryers because there is less risk of oil splattering. Things like overcrowding your basket or dropping frozen foods into the oil will cause the temperature to dip, so keep an eye on it. Michelle Keldgord, Baker and Cofounder of BakingHow, Perfect for households with 1 to 2 people. If youre nervous about cleaning out oil, this line of fryers is known for its easy-cleaning design. The Cuisinart 4-Quart Deep Fryer has everything you'd want in a deep fryer: It heats up quickly, is easy to clean and store away, and is well-built. Read our, T-fal EZ Clean Deep Fryer With Basket at Amazon, Presto FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer at Amazon, Masterbuilt Electric Fryer Boiler Steamer at Amazon, Vivohome Large-Capacity Electric Deep Fryer at Amazon, Bayou Classic 4-Gallon Bayou Fryer at Amazon, Best Overall: Reviewers note that while it can handle large turkeys, this device is not designed to handle multiple turkeys simultaneously, even if they are both small. Although they cooked in a remarkable one minute and 18 seconds, the interiors were slightly underdone. The Spruce Eats / Photo Illustration by Chloe Jeong / Retailers below. The Bayou Classic is well-constructed from stainless steel, and although it took us about an hour to put the fryer together, it wasnt difficult. 84% of 7,500+ Amazon reviewers rated this product 4 stars or above. When the oil is cool, if you have a fine-mesh strainer, gently skim the surface of the oil and pick up any floating food particles; for example, bread crumbs or bits of batter. Only the Cuisinart and the Bayou Classic were able to reheat the oil to 375F after food was added. Reviewed. All the food that we cooked in the T-Fal was visually and texturally appealing. Here are the best deep fryers to satisfy all your fried food cravings. Several fryers instruction manuals advised placing the food into the basket and then lowering it into the oil. Not only is this bad for your pipes, but some areas have ordinances against it. As a restaurateur and avid home cook, she knows the importance of safety when frying those golden-brown fritters out with minimal oil residue and maximum crunch. The fryer only requires five cups of oil, and the basket, once inserted, tilts downward and revolves, presumably so that the food fries evenly. Both canola and vegetable oil have a high smoke point of 400F and are good for small batches of frying. The T-Fal FR8000s patented automatic oil filtration system and storage system make clean-up easy and convenient. We earn a commission when you purchase items through our links. Basket and handle:How easy was it to insert into the oil pot? The basket is made from stainless steel and has a handle that will stay cool while youre cooking, so it will be easy to remove the basket, shake the food, or empty it after cooking. We put seven top products through a series of tests, frying over 30 pounds of chicken tenders, chicken wings, and French fries, to determine the Cuisinart CDF-200 is the best home kitchen-sized deep fryer on the market. We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. Restaurant-quality results with food crispy and not greasy at all. The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Use this site to find a recycling center near you. Reviewed and Wirecutter both picked the Cuisinart Deep Fryer. Since each side has its own power and power cord, its easy to use just one side for small jobs. We found it much easier to gauge how the food was cooking by removing the lid after a couple of minutes when the foods external moisture was mostly released. If youre brand new to deep-frying, you might want to try out a cheaper deep fryer or deep-fry on your stovetop before investing in a Cuisinart. Store the oil at room temperature in a cool, dark area. our process. Its recommended that the oil be cooled and strained before storage in the refrigerator. It doesnt have an internal filtration device, but the pipe allows you to easily drain the cooled oil through a lined filter into a storage container. It has a smoke point of 390F (none of the fryers we were testing heated above 375F) and is completely neutral in taste. Smaller baskets can be convenient when youre frying different things at the same time; however, if you want to fry multiple foods at once in a large basket, you can simply remove something thats done cooking by pulling it out with a pair of tongs. The lid is hinged and removable for easier cleaning, and the drain valve makes it simple to remove all of the oil after cooking. However, we did find that in almost all cases, we could not rely solely on the fryers thermostat. While it might cost a few extra bucks, this brand makes fryers that heat well and offer a wide variety of features. If you plan to deep-fry larger quantities of food on a more frequent basis, youll want a fryer that is reliable, sturdy, and maintains temperature. The Cuisinart has a sleek, brushed stainless steel casing and comes with a basket that easily held two-and-a-half pounds of chicken wings and two pounds of chicken tenders. Bayou Classic 4-Gallon Bayou Fryer. Its inability to reheat the oil to the optimal frying temperature once food was added contributed to our rating the T-Fal as the runner-up, but overall it is still a great pick. Many brands produced multiple deep fryer models, so we avoided doubling up unless it had some unique features warranting testing (like the two Presto units we tested). On another test, we lowered the thermostat to 340F, but it didnt register that the oil had hit 340F until it was actually 350F. Since the deep fryers we tested had varying capacities for oil and food, before testing we needed to calculate a ratio of how much oil to food would be equitable across the board for all of the fryers. The Cuisinart and Hamilton Beach are approximately the same size, and although the Cuisinart performed best, the Hamilton Beachs rather shoddy construction could be the reason why it struggled to reach and maintain a temperature higher than 355F. Presto 05420 FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer, Best Extra-Large: Take the following steps to re-use your deep fryers oil: If youre just using the fryer for French fries, the oil could probably be used six to eight times; four to six times if youre frying chicken or fish. When turkey isnt on the menu, of course, it can handle a neighborhood fish fry, chicken wings for football Sundays, and fresh French fries for a party. When outside of the kitchen, he enjoys woodworking, photography, videography and figuring out how to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Just as important is how quickly the oil reheats to the desired temperature after the food has been added to the oil. Dispose of it in the trash can. Her work has appeared in Bon Appetit, Wine Enthusiast, Allrecipes, and more. The Cuisinart CDF-200 was formerly manufactured by Waring (model DF250B) and Waring deep fryers are available for purchase at the time of this writing, but only while current stock lasts. This deep fryer checks all the boxes, including a removable 1800-watt immersion heating element that can heat the oil quickly and recover the temperature after food is added. One of the least-liked tasks when it comes to deep fryers ishandling the used oil. If your oil is still usable, theres a snap-on lid, so you can keep the oil right in the fryer to use the next day. Most oil needs to be changed after 10 uses. Donna Currie is a food writer and blogger specializing in recipes and kitchen gadgets. I suggest working in small batches, but someone familiar with deep dryers might want a bigger model to fit more foods. Michelle Keldgord, Baker and Cofounder of BakingHow. The Best Cooling Racks for Producing Top-Notch Eats, We Researched the Best Turkey Fryers for the Crispiest Bird, The Best Food Steamers to Cook Meat, Veggies, and More, The 7 Best Pressure Cookers for Quick and Easy Meals, The Best Electric Skillets That Do It All, The Best Meat Tenderizers for the Juiciest Steaks, The 7 Best Camping Grills for Your Outdoor Adventures, The 10 Best Small Kitchen Appliances for Compact Spaces, Here Are the Best Countertop Ovens, Tested by Our Experts, We Researched the Best Instant PotsHere Are Our Top Picks, The 7 Best Electric Grills, According to Lab Tests, The Best Portable Grills When Youre on the Move, The 7 Best Cotton Candy Makers to Bring the Carnival Home. Dimensions: 16.46 x 18.43 x 14.8 inches | Capacity: 10.57 quarts | Power: 1650 watts, Look for safety features like automatic shut-off and break-off cords. If oil is properly filtered and stored, it can last up to three months. If the oil smells or starts to bubble when reheating then its turned rancid and needs to be discarded. For frying, you will also want to choose an oil that is neutral tasting so it doesnt affect the natural flavors of the foods youre frying. Its high wattage (1800 watts) helps heat and reheat oil quickly. Probably the most important thing to consider is safety, especially if youre a novice fryer. So, if youre going to invest in your home kitchen and purchase a deep fryer, you want to make sure its an appliance youll use regularly and maintain. You can adjust the temperature from 175 to 375 degrees with a simple dial, and a second dial lets you set the cooking time up to 30 minutes. The Cuisinart CDF-200 is by far the best of the deep fryers we tested. Many deep fryers also have a nonstick coating, or the frying basket, lid, heating element, and other parts are removable. We scoured hundreds of individual reviews to discover what features were important to home cooks, and what made good or bad units. Some online reviews cite leakage from the corners of the plastic storage box, but we did not have this issue. Unfortunately, despite its stylish design (it was the most aesthetically pleasing of all the fryers), we needed to constantly turn the food to ensure uniform cooking. Wirecutter. If you're looking for even easier cleanup, the T-fal FR8000 EZ Clean Deep Fryer With Basket is a surefire bet. However, after that, youll need to stay on top of keeping it stocked. The clarification removes the butters fats, resulting in a pure fat with a high smoke point of 450F. Chicken and fries were all dark golden with crispy exteriors and soft or juicy interiors. Its important to look at models that come with a built-in thermometer or consider buying a thermometer separately. The Bayou Classic is a great choice for someone who needs to fry large quantities of food and has the extra yard space to store this unit. The deep fryers that reached the initial heating temperatures of 360F and 375F were the Cuisinart CDF-200, Presto Fry Daddy, and the propane-fueled Bayou Classic. The Bayou Classic comes in three sizes: two and a half gallons, four gallons, and nine gallons. Excellent for frying large quantities and different types of food at the same time. Propane deep fryers are definitely a tool for an experienced home cook that is familiar with deep-frying. All rights reserved, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window). All of our reviews are unsponsored, so we earn money by using affiliate links. Sometimes baskets and other containers in the deep fryer are dishwasher-safe, so consult your manual before washing. With the Hamilton Beach Electric Deep Fryer, proper insertion of the baskets and their handles was awkward, and the baskets fell into the oil causing a dangerous splatter. Do not pour it down the drain. In most cases, cooking times were either considerably longer or shorter than the times recommended in the instruction manuals. Basket size:Depending on how many people youre cooking for, youll want a fryer that can hold a sizable portion of food so you dont have to keep frying in batches. Throughout the testing, we continually checked oil temperature with both a candy/deep-fryer thermometer and an instant-read thermometer, and none of the thermostats accurately set and maintained the temperatures required for deep frying. The V-bottom design keeps the base temperature cooler than the top frying temperature, so you don't burn your batter. Grapeseed oil is also not as costly as peanut oil and can be purchased in two-liter (a little more than eight cups) jugs. My all-time favorite is vegetable oil because it works with any deep-fried item. Although the oil does need to be filtered and drained into a receptacle, the unit is very easy to clean and, excluding the heating element, is dishwasher safe. Cleanup is more difficult, but for large quantity frying nothing else came close. Heating and reheating times were 15 to 20 minutes longer than other competitors. Once everything was hooked up, we poured in the oil and turned on the propane at a medium level. When food was lowered into the oil, the heat of the oil dropped, and although the oil reheated to only 348F maximum, the temperature was high enough for excellent results. The type of oil used for frying is another key element to achieving perfect and crispy fried foods. It proved to be more accurate to continually test the oils temperature manually with either a candy/deep-fryer thermometer or an instant-read thermometer before and after food was added to the oil. The only fryer we tested with built-in oil filtration, making it easy to clean and store for future use. Texas State Fair food competitions brought the wonder of crispy fried lettuce balls with fresh cobb salad ingredients inside. Most recipes require at least 375 degrees, although 400 or 450 degrees is ideal. Except for the Fry Daddy, all of the fryers had some parts that were dishwasher safe and other parts that could only be cleaned manually. The older version of this fryer included the Butterball brand, so you know it can handle turkeyand, in this case, it can handle a bird from 16 to 18 pounds. Also, the Bayou Classic is somewhat difficult to clean due to its size. Also, consider how easy cleanup is, such as a detachable drain. Ifdeep-fryingis a passion, this deep fryer may be the answer. We tested the 4-gallon, Model #700-701. We called T-Fal and confirmed that the oil should indeed be cooled before switching the knob to the drain position. We fried one pound of fresh and frozen fries, dividing them into equal portions into the small baskets. Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.35 x 7.5 inches | Capacity: 1 quart | Power: 1200 watts, When deep frying, I prefer to keep things relatively small and room temperature. Each tank holds a bit more than 10 quarts and the two rectangular baskets hold just over 6 quarts, so theres plenty of room to cook for a crowd. There are many larger, gas-powered deep fryers available that are meant to be used only outside. To begin, the oil never reached the optimal temperature and hovered between 310F and 340F. If you're typically cooking for large gatherings (or maybe fryingyour turkey for the holidays), look for a larger fryer with a roomy oil chamber. The Hamilton Beach Electric Deep Fryer (35034)comes with three baskets; one large and two small, which enables you to fry two types of food simultaneously, for example, fries and onion rings. Bryan is our cooking and kitchen expert, with more than 15 years of experience of cooking and testing kitchen products. During our research, we spoke with Waring on the phone. The size of your deep fryer will determine how much food can be fried at once. However, certain steps need to be taken after each use. The baskets retractable handle makes it easy to store within the unit when not in use. The Cuisinart has a maximum oil capacity of 16 cups, so using the Fry Daddys food-to-oil ratio as the base, we calculated 16 ounces of French fries (a one-to-one food-to-oil ratio), 40 ounces of chicken wings (five-to-two food-to-oil ratio), and 32 ounces of chicken tenders (two-to-one food-to-oil ratio). Just make sure your kitchen can afford the counter space, even if you only have the device out when youre using it. Ease of cleaning: There are two components: 1) is the fryer dishwasher safe? This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Your Best Digs saves you time and money with reviews of the products you need. Too big of an item or frozen foods can cause the exterior to get overly crispy while the interior is still left uncooked. While it does not offer temperature options, that may not be a huge loss if you aren't used to having them. The more budget-friendly options tend to struggle to maintain heat and might not be as durable. The T-Fal deep fryer is unique for its ingenious, patented internal oil filtration and storage system, which truly does make cleaning up the ultimate EZ clean. As with all of the fryers we tested that had a viewing window, due to the splatter of oil and steam during the cooking process, the window is virtually useless. Carrie Honaker is a freelance writer specializing in food, wine, travel, and culture. Beloved Chain Restaurants We Might Sadly Lose In 2022, How to Roast a Chicken (+ Easy Pan Gravy! Splatter guard:All of the fryers we tested, except for one (the Presto Fry Daddy), had sufficient protection from oil splattering when food is added. It has a large frying basket that can accommodate two and a half pounds of food. Good price for the overall quality of the fryer, Thinly cut russet potatoes (for fresh fries). The frozen French fries, raw chicken wings, and battered chicken tenders were lowered into the heated oil per each fryers instruction manual. Any food particles in the oil will hasten spoiling. If you want to eliminate unhealthy fats from your diet, you might try air frying instead. If youre health-conscious and want an alternative to frying your food in quarts of oil, you might consider looking into an air fryer. Not for the novice, propane fryers are usually much larger than their electric counterparts and pose more risks. All of the food fried with the Fry Daddy was crispy with no oily after-taste. Sometimes the first tank is included. Its retractable basket handle makes storage easier. This is the most common type of deep fryer in home kitchens. All fryers needed monitoring with a separate thermometer, but the Bayou Classic was best at maintaining temps so it produced the best results. The Cuisinart produced great, non-greasy results in the chicken and fries cooking tests. An internal thermometer, which needs to be installed, works reasonably well, although we did find it had a variance of five-to-ten degrees from the temperatures we continually took with the candy/deep-fryer thermometer and the instant-read thermometer. If youre in the market for an outdoor propane fryer to cook large proteins, this brand is the way to go. Best for Enthusiasts: Bayou - Classic Four Gallon. If you're looking for a budget option, you can't go wrong with the Presto FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer, which is also super simple to use. Use a soapy sponge or rag to clean the inside and rinse with hot water. Masterbuilt MB20012420 Electric Fryer Boiler Steamer, The Best Turkey Fryers for the Crispiest Bird, Best Double Fryer: Carrie Honakeris a food writer who has an unnatural love for crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, homemadecorn fritters. Many customers love how easy it is to use: Simply turn it on, let it heat up, and start cooking. Never pour used oil down the drain. Dimensions: 12.8 x 8.2 x 8.5 inches | Capacity: 1.5 liters | Power: 900 watts. If you dont want to pull all your food out of the fryer at once in a large basket, look for smaller baskets, which will allow you to cook multiple things at once. Her work has appeared in many publications, including Bon Apptit, Allrecipes, and Wine Enthusiast. He thoroughly enjoys discovering the best, whether its ingredients or equipment, and finding products that can stand the rigors of daily use.