To have never deep fat fried anything

[KnittedBlanketHoles]

Not the sort of thing I grew up with. My daughter raves about dff chips though and so I'm tempted. I have about £30 I could blow on a fryer and Argos is the most convenient store. Do I want a round plastic one or a rectangular metal one, and why?

The four I've been looking at are www.argos.co.uk/product/4234920 www.argos.co.uk/product/4234528 www.argos.co.uk/product/4234865 www.argos.co.uk/product/9075919

But then is deep fat frying only for... I don't know... (whispers) 'bad' people?

My mum would think I've turned into a commoner if I bought one (ignoring the fact that I already currently live in social housing). I think I have some serious hangups. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with deep fat fryers is there, so why does it feel like an unreasonable thing to spend money on and bring into my house and life? Especially when it would make my daughter happy...

I suggested to DD that I buy a basket that can go in any stove top pan but apparently it's just not the same at all and I just don't get it. That suggestion was met with derision, a roll of eyes, and the implication that I am an alien.

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MNHQ

I love my DFF

It's a Russel Hobbs one I got from the local electrical shop

Cost me around £30. It's black and I can use it with the lid closed so it heats up quickly and cooks quickly too

Coconut oil is the healthy alternative

There are lots of healthy alternatives but for proper tasting chips...it is Lard or beef dripping.

for proper tasting chips...it is Lard or beef dripping

Gottagetmoving

I know

We rarely had chips either growing up, it was oven chips when we did. I've never dff anything and neither did mum....more's the pity

I used to have one in a shared house and I made the most amazing chips I've ever tasted in my life. I also worked in a fast food restaurant at the time, and I would frequently recreate items off the menu at home. Oh, the good old days

I've never had one in my own house, though. I'm not keen on the lingering smell of grease.

"Bad people?" Judgemental twat.

I can't recommend an air fryer enough. Not least because you only have to put in a tiny bit of oil and don't have to deal with the dirty oil disposal or the smell of keeping it around. I would encourage you to look for secondhand ones on eBay. Or buy a basket to go in a pan for now and save up for an air fryer.

OMG Bluntness and Vodka - did you miss the bit where OP says she had an eating disorder, or are you being deliberately obtuse?!

If your daughter prefers chip shop chips to oven chips, and you want the convenience but not the faff / danger / smell - freezing chip shop chips and reheating them for 10 mins in the oven at around 180C works surprisingly well :)

'DHs Gran had a chip pan with no handle that she used to move with a tea towel when hot'

Bloody hell! She must have had nerves of steel and hands of asbestos.

I don't have a dff either, my kids are deprived . It's proper potatoes cut into chips and done in the oven here, we all l9ve them. I hate the smell of dff on people and in houses tbh, I always know when dds been in a particular friends house because I can smell the frying on her when she comes home.

Sorry to ask a stupid question, but what do you do with all the oil afterwards? It can't go down the sink and I imagine pouring it straight into the bin is a recipe for disaster. Do you have to faff around finding a load of old bottles to chuck it away in? I'd love to have a go at homemade doughnuts but the oil thing stops me.

I had a DFF but didn't like it. For cooking eg chips which should always be cooked twice - fried until soft then taken out and drained, only putting back into the pan for a final blast when ready to serve, I prefer a saucepan with a mesh basket - easy to see what's cooking in the saucepan - can use heat level of your choice etc - like this: www.argos.co.uk/product/8615088?CMPID=BPLA01&_$ja=tsid:72554|cid:273131658|agid:1192970153819811|tid:kwd-4578160259760392|prd:8615088|crid:74560640097894|nw:search|dvc:c|st:|mt:becmpid=BPLA01&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Homeware%7C%7CMed&utm_term=4578160259760392&utm_content=Homeware%7C%7CKitchen%7C%7CCookware

It's down to personal choice I guess.

I've never deep fried anything either. Never felt the need.

CoffeeWithMyOxygen

Either down the sink with plenty of Fairy Liquid or [see image] after dark.

That is one of the pains in the arse with DFFs.

As long as you haven;t overheated the oil though, it will keep for months and months between uses.

Fat down the drain solidifies and caused fatbergs which clog the sewer systems and cost thousands to shift.

Please dispose of the fat responsibly.

Bag the fat, don't pour it down the drain!

never down the sink...ffs!!

milk cartons hold plenty just keep one of those.

I adore deep fried food, so I do not have a DFF! ....if i want something deep fried its in a heavy pan, with the jam thermometer in to monitor the temp.

The faff keeps my menu relatively dff free :o

i do adore churros though!

The idea of chips deep fried in coconut oil is just wronger than wrong.[barf]

It's the waste of oil that puts me off having a deep fat fryer. That and the lack of space for one. I do have an actifry, but that sits on top of my tall fridge because it takes up so much space.

How did your mother cook chips, if not in a chip pan?

I love this. How is it possible that one's mother did not cook chips in a chip pan when one was growing up? Er, simple. Put them in the oven or don't eat chips. That was my childhood anyway.

Have you never been to a chippie or had chips from a café or restaurant?

While it seems that the OP actually rarely has done this, I took her to mean that she has never personally deep fat fried anything, not that she has never eaten anything that has been deep fat fried. In which case, again, I am in the same club, though I do like Fish & Chips. If I make them though, they all go in the oven.

If you use oil, just keep the bottle to pour the oil back into when it's finished with (and cold!)

If you use solid fat, keep old foil trays to pour it into to solidify.

I make 'naice KFC' with ours with free range chicken and buttermilk.
And I use an old milk carton for the cold old oil.

I want chips for dinner now.

The best chips are deep fried in lard... 😋

Unfortunately fryers scare me so I haven't had proper home made chips since I was a nipper. And my mum won't make them at hers for me because she hates the smell. 😭 Bad Mummy!

Get a philips airfryer, it will change your life!

I have just put on some chips because of this thread. I've no chippan so just a big pan of oil at the back of the hob and the windows open. I often threaten to buy a dff but I'd end up frying everything! Better I don't. I often make onion bahjis in a frying pan and just turn them over to get both sides. Quite good for making a saturday night curry at home a bit more like a takeaway iykwim?