7
my food doesn’t get as crisp as I’d like and sometimes is unevenly cooked. What am I doing wrong?
You may have overfilled the fryer. If too much food is fried at the same time, the food will not get crisp. Do not fill the basket
more than
2
⁄
3
full.
If your food is unevenly cooked, you may be frying foods that are not uniform in thickness or size. Try frying foods of equal
size and thickness as they will fry more evenly and at the same speed.
Helpful Hints
Before deep frying, always remove excess moisture or ice crystals from food by patting dry with toweling. even small
amounts of moisture may cause the oil to spatter, pop, boil over, or erupt.
When breading foods, use commercial breading, finely ground bread or cracker crumbs, corn meal, a mixture of corn meal
and flour, pancake mix, or prepared bread mixes.
Use only heat-resistant utensils in the fryer as most plastics or rubber will become damaged from the hot oil. Do not leave
metal utensils in the fryer as they will become hot.
After each use, strain oil through a filter or a double thickness of cheesecloth to remove the accumulated residue.
The number of times the cooking oil can be reused will depend on the food that is fried in it. For example, the oil will need
to be replaced more often if fish, chicken, or food coated with bread or cracker crumbs is fried frequently.
It is time to replace the cooking oil if any of the following occur: the oil is dark in color, has an unpleasant odor, smokes
when it is heated, or foams excessively during frying.
Frying Timetable
The following times are approximate and based on the maximum recommended amounts of food. Fill the basket no more
than
2
⁄
3
full for most foods.
FOOD
QUANTITy
TEmpERATURE
TImE
Cheese
,
frozen nuggets
6 cups
375°
2 to 3 minutes
Chicken
Chicken strips
Raw, serving size pieces, breaded
6 cups
4 to 5 pieces
375°
340°
2 to 4 minutes
13 to 18 minutes
Donuts*
(fry without the basket)
3 to 4
375°
2 to 3 minutes
Egg Rolls,
frozen, thawed
3 to 4
375°
5 to 6 minutes
Fish
Frozen, battered/breaded
Raw, breaded
3 to 4 pieces
3 to 4 pieces
375°
375°
5 to 7 minutes
3 to 4 minutes
Onion rings
Frozen, battered/breaded
Raw, battered*
6 cups
3 to 4 large pieces
375°
340°
3 to 4 minutes
1
1
⁄
2
to 2
1
⁄
2
minutes
Potatoes
Frozen french fries
Raw fries (see page 8)
6 cups
3 cups (basket ½ full)
375°
340°
375°
11 to 13 minutes
6 to 7 minutes
10 to 12 minutes
Shrimp
Frozen, battered/breaded
Raw, breaded
6 cups
6 cups
375°
340°
5 to 7 minutes
2 to 4 minutes
Vegetables, raw, breaded
*
5 to 6 pieces
340°
1 to 3 minutes
*These foods are best when fried in small quantities.