# Just got a small deep fryer- what should I fry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658 "2010-09-05T02:27:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/41 "2010-09-05T16:04:47Z")
[Falafel!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12660567) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/42 "2010-09-05T16:05:50Z")
A very small turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/43 "2010-09-05T16:10:16Z")
> [@Shot\_Clock](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > Egg rolls… > > **Diogenes** , what temp oil and for how long? I’m gonna try these tomorrow. The spring rolls that I make I fry at 180 C for as long as it takes to turn them slightly brown. If you’re frying frozen spring rolls, they’ll take longer to brown, and then fry for about two minutes longer. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/44 "2010-09-05T17:01:18Z")
> [@Shot\_Clock](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > Egg rolls… > > **Diogenes** , what temp oil and for how long? I’m gonna try these tomorrow. 375 F, for about 5-10 minutes. Basically, until they float. I suggest trying it with egg roll wraps first, rather than spring roll wraps. Spring roll wraps are thinner, and tear a little more easily. Egg roll wraps are more forgiving to learn on. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/45 "2010-09-05T17:15:12Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > [Falafel!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12660567) Pay particular attention to post #29. 🙂 Tempura. The best I’ve found is made from corn starch and egg. I owe that, too to someone on the SDMB. I second okra and sweet potatoes for tempura breading. A nice dipping sauce may be made from soy sauce, wine and sesame oil. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/46 "2010-09-05T21:16:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I tried making plantain-like chips out of thin banana (not plantain) slices, but that was a failure. Everything just got stuck together and stayed mushy, instead of getting hard and dry like the commercially-made chips. I think commercial banana chips are made by dehydration not frying. ---
**Author:** ![Kilmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@Kilmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilmore)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/47 "2010-09-06T02:38:12Z")
Mushrooms ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/48 "2010-09-06T02:48:21Z")
> [@Jaledin](#): > > > [@alphaboi867](#): > > > > Dill pickles. Slices work better than spears. > > No kidding? Do you give them a batter dip or dredge or just straight in the oil? What’s a good size slice in your experience? > > Sounds kinda interesting. It is interesting, and good, especially with some good ranch dressing to dip 'em in. But unlike **alphaboi867** , I prefer the spears to the chips. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/49 "2010-09-06T05:25:34Z")
I tried doing tempura broccoli once, just for the hell of it. My wife liked it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/50 "2010-09-07T06:16:24Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > 1. is there any satisfactory way to prepare a big batch of fries and store them for later eating? (I tried leaving most of a batch in the fridge, but they lost all their crispiness); and 2) how many times can you use a batch of canola oil and/or over how long a period of time, provided you never expose it to meat or dairy? French fries are tough. I won’t vouch for the health and safety of my method, but it worked for me. Being solo, I usually deep fried in a small pot not much bigger than whatever I was frying. I would plan my meals so that I’d have two or three deep-fried meals in a row and reuse the oil for that. Then I’d use whatever was left over the course of the next few days as my regular cooking oil. Using this method, I was able to deep fry pretty often without wasting much oil at all. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/51 "2010-09-07T06:25:01Z")
Frozen Milky Way or Snickers bars. Double batter them, first in wet batter, then dry, then wet. Use your fingers or tongs to slowly lower them into the hot oil until the batter has started to firm up, then they will float. When the the coating is browned all over, they should be warm and gooey inside. Also, fried lobster tail. Split the tail, get it wet, and roll in dry batter. Drop in the oil. It should float when it’s done. It won’t take long for tails from a 1 to 2 pound bug. Claw and leg meat works, but it doesn’t always take the batter as well as the tail. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/52 "2010-09-07T14:43:25Z")
White Wings! Cut a chicken breast into 4 or 5 strips. Wrap each strip around a small cube of monterrey jack cheese and a couple slices of jalapeno. Then wrap the whole thing in a slice or two of bacon. It should make a ball maybe an inch, inch and a half wide. Hold everything together with a couple toothpicks and drop it into the fryer for a few minutes. Serve with tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/53 "2010-09-07T16:43:25Z")
Just some musings: Maybe coat lil smokies or some breakfast sausage links in cheap Blueberry"complete" pancake batter and deepfry. I’ve kind of wondered how to do “Pizza on a Stick” and think you could make a pretty good version by using cubes of low moisture mozzarella cut from a brick along with cherry tomatoes and pepperoni slices skewered on a stick and coated in a beer batter. And maybe a little higher class and more elegant, “pizzaola purses”: Take a large slice of good salami and in the center spread a small dollop of a ricotta mixture made with grated parmagiano or romano and an egg (sort of like lasagna filling). Roll a small cube of low moisture mozzarella along with half a cherry tomato tigthly in a sage or basil leaf and put that in the center of the “salami purse”. Draw the edges of the purse together and affix with toothpicks, deep fry like tempura in a light rice flour and soda water batter. Although, this sounds good to me, the mechanics of it might be a different thing… I’m thinking there might be some cheesy leakage and coherence problems, but with a little experimentation and perhaps reconstruction, I’m sure one could get it to work. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/54 "2010-09-07T17:03:42Z")
Another easy thing to do is mozzerella sticks. Just get some mozzerella, cut it into slim sticks, then double bread them with eggwash and bread crumbs. 375 F. They only take a minute or two to brown and float. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/55 "2010-09-07T17:29:11Z")
I was in a restaurant a couple weeks ago and they were offering “crispy mashed potatoes” as a side dish. In a vain attempt to not tempt myself with french fries I chose this option. Good lord, heaven on a plate. Wrap mashed potatoes inside a wonton wrapper and deep fry. Serve covered in cheese, sour cream, chives and bacon bits. I ate every bite and contemplated licking the plate. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/56 "2010-09-07T18:31:22Z")
You could always make deep-fried [tacos](http://www.foodfacts.info/extras/snl-taco-time.shtml). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/57 "2010-09-07T21:57:41Z")
Oreos. Dip them in pancake batter and toss them in until they float. They taste like hot gooey chocolate cake. Very good but very rich. I made four and only ate three before it got to be too much. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/58 "2010-09-07T22:34:23Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > You could always make deep-fried [tacos](http://www.foodfacts.info/extras/snl-taco-time.shtml). 😉 While that is indeed an excellent and funny skit, there is such a thing as deep-fried tacos, and they’re called tacos dorados, if you’re interested in Googling up some recipes. My favorite ones are filled with mashed potatoes–it’s such a perfect marriage of textures. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/59 "2010-09-08T05:39:06Z")
Ho, Bracchiole!! I think I just came up with a synonym for the mob mistress. Yo, BadaBing, the ol’ Salami Purse!!! ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658/60 "2010-09-08T05:45:26Z")
N’ hey, before you judge, I’m just following in the Putanesca vein. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-small-deep-fryer-what-should-i-fry/552658.md?page=4)