Do you still use a pan filled with oil to fry chips?

[BatFaceOwl]

Or maybe you've got one of those deep fat fryers that would sit on the side filled with rancid old oil (although I'm remembering my grandmas here and maybe they wasn't the norm with them!)

Anyway, with the rise in popularity of air fryers I wondered if anyone still did stuff the 'old fashioned' way?

I've never cooked chips in anything other than the oven or an airfryer

Yes absolutely I do

You can't beat deep fried chips but it's not worth the trade off of the lingering smell so I've never had one. Love my air fryer though

Not since the 70's when we were growing up. It stunk the house out and set fire quite a few times.

We do double - or sometimes triple - fried chips made from real potatoes in a pan on the hob (actually a huge wok), as imho chips are only really good if they're deep fried in oil.

Years ago we had a deep fat fryer but I actually prefer cooking them this way (or rather I let DH do it as I'm a bit scared of causing a fire).

We both hate oven chips which taste - and smell - rank, tried frozen chips in the deep fat fryer once but they were awful too and haven't heard good things about chips cooked in an air fryer.

I buy M &S frozen triple cooked chips and these are the best with the advantage of being gluten free . I’ve made it to my late 50s without ever frying a chip and have no desire to do so .

Have a air fryer. Taste best fried. I'd rather have chips much less often but deep fried. We use any pan then filter the oil back into a fryer oil pot with kitchen roll. I think the air fryer chips aren't nice but weirdly it does the best roast potatoes. Its the turning I think?

I nearly died in a chip pan fire when I was two years old.

Oven chips only here!

I first used one of the old lard filled chip pans when I was about 12 (without supervision) and now I deep fry chips in a wok. 20 minutes in 3-4 inches of oil.
Oven chips are the work of the devil.

Floralnomad

I buy M &S frozen triple cooked chips and these are the best with the advantage of being gluten free

Aren't all chips gluten free?
Unless they've got some ersatz "crispy coating" or something (vaguely thought Burger King's have that?).

@LaMarschallin , no they are not , although things are improving . Often things ‘may contain’ and that’s no good for coeliacs .

Surely that would be lard rather than tallow?

Floralnomad

I hadn't realised - yes, I can see that must be a proper pain. I suppose I rarely buy chips and when I do, since I'm fortunate enough not be coeliac, I don't check.
I do have diabetes but I think coeliacs have it much worse from the point of view of having to check everything.
Glad the M&S chips have come up trumps for you

DH and his mum deep fry onion bhaji, puri, samosa etc in a wok full of oil on the hob. Fills me with alarm and makes the house smell but "tradition" . . . They won't even contemplate a deep fat fryer (not sure it would work tbh).

A house near me burnt out completely in a chip pan fire a few years ago.

I've never done chips in oil. I remember those public safety information ads about putting out chip pan fires by smothering them with a damp tea towel rather than running outside with it. Subtext: Chip pans catch fire all the time. If you deep-fry chips in your kitchen you'll probably burn down the whole house and it'll all be your fault.

Apologies if that sounded flippant. It's obviously a very serious hazard.

No.i do them in air fryer.
Par boiled then covered in oil and shaken so evenly coated then cooked for 25/30 mins

Mostar

I remember those public safety information ads about putting out chip pan fires by smothering them with a damp tea towel rather than running outside with it.

I remember them well. Our neighbour obviously didn't take it in because one afternoon his wife had left the chip pan heating up while she went to hang out the washing...
I feel so old all of a sudden - this sounds like a Janet and John book:
"Look, John, look! Mummy has put the chip pan on!"
"See Mummy hang out the washing. What's a tumble dryer, Janet?"

Anyway. Mrs Nextdoor's husband was supposed to be keeping an eye on things, but briefly had his attention diverted ("Look, John! See Daddy gaze at page 3 of the Sun") and the pan caught fire.
The utter twonk picked it up, opened the back door and threw it out as Mrs Nextdoor was returning

Luckily, she wasn't too close and just (just!!) had a few splashes on her legs, but it could have been so much worse.
I remember it vividly because we had to have their sons (urgh! Boys!) round at ours that evening while she was in A&E.
I'd never use a chip pan, but am fairly confident about the deep fat fryer.

Mind you, I always warn DH when I'm using it - in case he gets the urge to stick his hand in it or something, I suppose.

I love fried chips! We've had a chip pan but we now have a Tefal fryer that drains and strains the oil between uses which makes it last longer...oil is so expensive at the moment and it's takes 3L min to fill it so it's only for treats now...sadly.

I do occasionally - as a treat!

Same 😂 I’ve never deep fried anything in my life. My parents still have their chip pan, which only sees the light of day on Boxing Day when they do cold cuts, chips and pickles. They’re the best chips but so much faff (and peril).

I have an electric deep fat fryer. The oil is drained off when it isn’t being used, so it doesn’t go rancid. It probably gets used once a year.

Nobody I know does this. My mum ditched the chip pan about 1980. For a while, fire brigades were running "chip pan amnesty" schemes as they were SO dangerous.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/4300012.stm

The only person I know who has a deep fat frier machine is MIL, and she has recently shelved it in favour of an air fryer.

I’m with CompterInitiateJump , my mum had a deep pan of lard for chips. I remember being fascinated by the lard melting and going see through freeing up the chip basket when I was small. The chips were great. Mum did change the lard, I remember her doing that too. I don’t care for oven chips.

We have just finished some triple cooked skin-on chips (Maris Piper) that are delicious.

I have a huge stockpot pan, and basket . They go in the DW easch use and the oil is filtered back in the bottle when cold , so nothing to burn.

They are beyond all oven chips , I don't have an air fryer.

(I do sometimes make potatoe wedges with Lakeland good-with-everything salt )

Ah the old chip pan full of lard I remember it fondly. The pan itself was burned black but the chips my DM produced were heavenly. I used to love tinned corned beef sliced, new potato chips and some lettuce and tomato from Dad’s allotment with Heinz salad cream. We also had the frying pan of lard. I have mentioned this on here before. The frying pan of lard used to sometimes have tiny mouse footprints in it. It was just heated up and the bacon fried in it. Often wonder why the mice didn’t venture into the chip pan.