I have to say that newspaper in the vicinity of a stove is a spectacularly bad idea. If the food you are frying has been dried properly, splattering should be minimal and a splatter screen takes care of the rest.
I also prefer peanut oil, since canola has a corn flavor that I find unpleasant. Also, you don’t need to deep fry. You can shallow fry in a heavy skillet, just like for fried chicken. Or you can oven fry, which comes out just as good IMO.
I just use any old pot with a thick bottom and high sides. Fill it up 1/3-1/2 way (usually an entire bottle of oil). My prefered cooking fat of choice is peanut oil – it has a high smoking point, and I prefer deep frying my wings at higher than 375F, closer to 400F. (Probably about 385-390 if I wanted to be exact). Bring your wings to room temperature before deep frying.
For about 30 bucks, you can buy a fryer from WalMart.
We always used newspaper but I guess it kinda depends how your stove area is set up. With ours (and, I suspect, most), if the flames are touching the newspaper then you’re probably on fire too. But maybe I shouldn’t be arguing with someone called Chefguy.
Hmm, so should I invest in a decent cast iron skillet w/ splatter gaurd or a fry-daddy…decisions, decisions.
How well do thise work anyways? Anyone care to compare to stovetop methods?
Second vote for the wok here, works like a charm. The shape reduces splattering and uses less oil. Use peanut oil, has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point. I recently did a beer batter fry up with shrimp, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, onions and red bell peppers and it was stellar, no splash, no splatter, easy to regulate the temperature.
I’d be more concerned if my UN was “Fireguy”.