I can’t imagine how long it would take (and how much spatter) there’d be from having to fry a batch of onion bhajis or of pakoras in such a tiny fryer. For deep frying food, bigger is better.
I checked what was recommended by professional food reviewers. One that came up regularly was the T-fal FR8000 Ultimate EZ Clean, somewhat more expensive than the Presto, but with an adjustable thermostat, a timer, a large frying tank, and oil filtration system, frying will be quicker and better. Read the reviews for both units, the Presto and this one.
Bonus for Canucks: the price from amazon.ca is lower, when you factor in the exchange rate.
I don’t think it would actually work for coconut oil. The method relies on the fact that the oil remains liquid when chilled, but the gelatin doesn’t. As the gelatin starts to firm up, it sinks through the oil, scraping out all the crud, before setting at the bottom. Most of the coconut oil I run into is solid at room temperature. Gelatin is still loose at that point. So the oil is going to set before the gelatin can sink through it, collecting up the bits. The fat is gonna set before the gelatin can, so I would think its not going to work. You’ll end up with the gelatin still evenly mixed through the fat. Even if it does work after a fashion, the coconut oil will set up on you and it’ll be a bit different separating out the gelatin layer. Sort of an “unmold and slice” situation.
I did it as a joke, because some friends were doing a “you bring it, we’ll deep fry it” schtick.
The gag was that if you actually put a whole squash in five gallons of smoking hot oil it’d be pretty similar to setting off a fragmentation grenade. Perhaps my sense of humor is juvenile. But Liz didn’t blink an eye, she just chopped up the butternuts and spaghetti squash and chucked them right in and it was delicious.
Mark’s right about the timing being extremely important, too.
This looks exactly like how eggs can be used to clarify sap in the process of making maple syrup. The eggs congeal they trap the debris, and surprisingly this doesn’t impart any egg flavor to the final product.
Effectively the same idea. But some of the gelatin and water stay suspended in the oil. So it becomes cloudier and thicker under refrigeration, and it bubbles lightly as you heat it up. Looks like a glass of ginger ale as you come up to temp. I’ve been shocked at how well it works.
I hated Brussel Sprouts until I started roasting them.
Cut in half or quarters, cover in Ghee or Coconut Oil, salt pepper or if I am feeling really festive, adobo. Roast at 350 in a pre heated pan until they are crisp.
For Christmas I go one step farther and make some lardons of bacon and reserve some of the left over fat, take the roasted sprouts and toss them into the bacon fat and toss to coat. Add in the bacon and drizzle on your favourite maple syrup. Let it sit in the pan for a few seconds and try to resist eating the whole batch then and there.
What I do is cut them in half and pan sear them in my cast iron skillet just a bit with some salt and pepper, garlic and carrots then finish them in a hot oven to roast. Comes out really good. Add some balsamic at the end.
We’ve got a tiny cheap fryer and it takes forever to do a batch of somosas but we get no splatter and clean up is pretty easy. We used to fry them (among other things) in an open wok which would oil mist the whole kitchen.
