Deep fryers! [General]

2008 Feb 26
The month of February seems to be the month of craving food of questional nutritional value. Because of this, it's also been the month of *really* wanting to get a new deep fryer, since if I had a new one I'm convinced that I'd use it more often.

The one I have now I picked up from Loblaw's almost five years ago. It works well enough, I guess, but it's pretty slow to heat up, and has a submersible element. Every time I use the thing I spend another week cleaning up after it, since I have to let it cool down, wash the element, wash the basket, and filter the oil back into its container so I can use it again. It's not fun, I tell ya.

What that means is that I'm in the market for a fryer with a hugeass capacity (better heat retention) and an integrated element (fewer things to clean). I don't mind filtering the oil myself, personally.

Any suggestions? What do Ottawan Foodies have?

2008 Feb 26
I got the new T-Fal fryer with the auto filtering system. It works pretty well, but the temperature is a bit off, I have to check it to make sure. The filtering is fairly slow, and made a mess one time, but it's been fine the other 4-5 times I've used it so far. Almost the whole thing is dishwasher safe, so cleanup is pretty good.

2008 Feb 26
Personally I don't use one anymore, found the cleaning and filters a bit annoying, and the one that I had just had a general temperature for everything. Now I use a pot and a thermometer, and believe me I don't leave it alone. Best thing we ever got was a super high power kitchen fan, it's very silent and makes a world of difference when cooking everything from fish to indian type foods and oils/grease smells.

2008 Feb 26
Momomoto - I no longer own a deep fryer, I just don't cook deep fried foods anymore. BUT, If I was to purchase one I'd consider the new T-Fal EZ Clean. "The Man" and I took a cooking lesson and the school we went to had just purchased it. The Chef said she loved it. Seeing as we were making Steak & Frites that day, we got to use it. It was clean cooking, and really felt safe to use (something I'm always afraid of with hot oil). But the nicest features were clean-up. The oil filters and drains from the unit, and you can then store it for future use, Also, the entire unit (which is stainless steel) comes apart in such a way that it can go in the dishwasher, BONUS! (And we all know how much I love washing dishes, LOL). They sell at most large retailers, and are under $ 150.

2008 Feb 26
We have a T-fal without the filter. I filter using SS funnel and coffee filter. SLow but you don't have to be attending it all the time. The T-fal works well. Not an immersed coil, and the inner pot comes out and can be put in the dishwasher.

2008 Feb 26
I should have mentioned that I don't have a dishwasher ;)

Zym: do you find that it holds heat well enough? Capacity lacking at all? I do the whole cheesecloth-funnel thing, so I know what I'm getting into from that respect. I ask because the T-fal ones look tempting, but I really hate only having enough room in the basket to do, like, a potato's worth of fries at a time.

2008 Feb 26
Momo, in my EZClean TFal, I've done 5 (russet) potatoes at a time, so it's definitely big enough.

2008 Feb 26
I feed our family of 4 with fries out of one batch, and there are usually leftovers. I find the capacity just fine.

2008 Feb 26
I just looked and mine is called the T-Fal "Family Deep Fryer". I think we got it at costco a few years ago now

2008 Feb 26
The T-Fal ones are looking more and more appealing. I guess you get extra space in the oil by not having the element submerged directly in the oil, like it is in mine.

Thanks for the help!

2008 Feb 26
Oh, and I don't have a problem with heat retention. Mind you when you first submerse the basket you do lose heat - that's just physics. But I usually preheat the oil to higher than required to compensate.

2008 Sep 25
UPDATE! - My old deep fryer kicked the bucket a couple of months ago, and I spent an inordinately long time shopping around, to no avail.

I ended up buying a cheapie 3-litre Bravetti fryer from Canadian Tire for sixty bucks, because I had no luck at all finding the T-Fal "family" one anywhere. (Huh. I should have asked my parents about whether or not they've seen them at CostCo recently, since they've got a membership and I don't.)

Anyhoo, it's a bit of a compromise from what I really wanted in a fryer. On the one hand, its element is under the oil reservoir, meaning that there are only two parts to clean (reservoir and basket), rather than three (reservoir, basket, and heating assembly.) The downside is that the reservoir isn't removable, so it makes a bit of a mess when you pour your used oil back into its container. I should fashion some sort of magnetic pouring spout for it so it doesn't drip all over the place.

FYI, for straining the oil out I picked up a cheapie stainless steel funnel from Princess Auto that has a screw-in filter element. I sandwich a piece of folded-up cheesecloth under the first filter in order to catch any smaller particulate.

Does a good job so far. Makes fries like a pro. If I get four years out of it like I did my last one, I'll be happy.

2008 Oct 6
I too have been thinking about getting a deep fryer - especially since we got some cash from our wedding! And I am down to 3 models all of which seem to have shortcomings:

The T-Fal easy clean - Downside from many reviews I have read online is that it never gets hot enough and drops rapidly in temperature.

A Delonghi Exlcusivo (I think - I saw it at Home Outfitters). The reviews for delonghi deep fryers seem all over the place so I am not certain about this one at all.

The Waring Pro. This is the one I am leaning towards. Most reviews seem to note the 1800 Watts power but some say it still does not retain heat as well as it should and that the odour is not goo (the TFal apparently has a charcoal filter).

So, what advice do people have on these above? I know there were some strong proponents of TFal - do people thinks its ok temperature wise.

Sadly, old reliable consumer reports does not have ratings for deep fryers.

Cheers

2008 Oct 7
I have the T-fal easy clean one, and don't have too many problems with it. I'd like it if it would get a little hotter, but it's fine for fries or anything else I make.

2008 Oct 7
What have T Fal as I noted above but not that one. It does not have the problems you note and we have no complaints whatsoever about it.

2008 Oct 8
I saw this 1700 Watt T-Fal Fryer at the Wally-Mart in Lincolnfields last night. $109.88 plus taxes.

2010 Mar 8
Hi Momomoto , Your fryer model seems to be a bit old. So i would suggest you to buy a new one. But keeping all the pints in mind .how does one choose the right model for the job?
High heating efficiency ideal unit for clean out services. When selecting a deep fryer at the store, consider the amount of clear kitchen space you have available near an electrical outlet. You don't want to use extension cords with a deep fryer and you don't want to place it too close to an open flame or swinging door.Another feature to consider is temperature control.Capacity is another important feature to consider in a deep fryer.

2010 Jul 16
Great: deep fryer cut out halfway through a batch of fries, not two years after purchasing it. I doubt I've used it more than ten times.

Any new ones come around recently? Or should I suck it up and buy that ridiculous $400 Krups one from Williams-Sonoma, in the vain hope that I get what I pay for?

2010 Jul 17
Actually, how's this for Providence? The deep fryer I was using was recalled, so I'm going to try my luck at returning it to Canadian Tire for a refund!

www.esainspection.net

It, errr, may have been recalled by the time I bought it, which makes me wonder how I even got to own it in the first place.

2010 Jul 17
Good luck Momo - Canadian Tire used to be good with stuff like that, here is hoping they still are

2010 Jul 17
Thanks, Zym. I'll keep you posted. I pulled the receipt out of my filing cabinet, and I'm hoping that'll help my case. I did indeed purchase it the day after it was recalled!

2010 Jul 19
Success! Full refund, no questions asked. I brought in a copy of the recall notice and my receipt, and they cross-checked it with their system (at least I think that's what they were doing), and that was that.

2010 Jul 19
Good to know there is still good customer service out there!

2010 Sep 14
I finally bit the bullet and bought a new deep fryer. After weighing the benefits and drawbacks of using a pot of oil, I came to the conclusion that, for me:

- I'd rather not use the extra element
- I'd rather have the temperature electronically controlled rather than dial-at-the-back-of-the-stove controlled

And the horror stories I've heard about the T-Fal Easy Clean leaking oil and being slow to come back up to temperature were enough to make me not take the risk.

So I shopped around and almost bought the $400 Krups from Williams-Sonoma, but came to my senses and ended up buying the Waring Pro that medicinejar talked about above. Model number DF250BC.

I saw it at Home Outfitters for $160, but C.A. Paradis has it for $120.

Waring is a Cuisinart brand, and the next iteration of deep fryers will be called Cuisinart instead.

Why did I pick this one over all the others? Well, it was a bit of a trade-off.

The bad: the element is submerged, rather than being built into the unit. A little messy, and it's an extra part to wash, but it may not be the end of the world I thought it to be.

The bad: still has that two-foot breakaway cord that I think is an industry standard. They may claim it's so that nobody gets tangled up in it and immolates themselves, but I know it's because they like to frustrate me while I'm trying to plug the darn thing in.

The bad-but-I-don't-know-yet: it may have smell problems, as mentioned above. I don't remember if my old Bravetti had a charcoal filter, so it may not be any worse than I'm used to.

The good: 1800 watts is the most I've seen on a non-commercial brand. I can't see how the temp rebound could be any slower than any of the other ones I've had, so I'm not going to lose sleep over that.

The good: the fry basket is wide and deep. I think it's got twice the surface area of my last one, which means I should easily be able to do four big-honkin' Russets at a time when it comes to fries. Probably room for only one schnitzel, though, more's the pity :)

The *really* good: there's a pour spout for emptying the oil. It's a little groove in one corner of the oil container.

Given my frying track record, it'll probably be a long time before I actually use the thing, so I'll keep you posted.