Okaaaaay… I’ve just made hush puppies in the ol’ cast-iron skillet. Now what do I do with the used oil? I don’t feel like frying chicken or fish, even if I had any. It seems a shame to throw it out, as having had things cooked in it it must have developed ‘soap’ and it would be good to cook something else in.
I don’t deep-fry very often. When I do, it’s not all that deep. I just toss the oil. But now I want to know: can this used oil be kept? Let it cool and put it in a jar? Keep it in the fridge? The freezer?
Filter it using a tea strainer or cheesecloth to get rid of most of the burned bits and just keep it in a bowl near the stove at room temperature. You can use the oil for normal pan-frying or stir-frying as long as the dish doesn’t have too delicate of a flavor (otherwise the flavor would impart into the food). Kept this way, it should last at least a couple weeks.
While the oil was still warm I poured it into a handy spaghetti sauce jar, put on the lid, and stuck it in the fridge. I won’t be able to take any time cooking until Saturday. Maybe I’ll fry some chicken. (Catfish I like baked.)