The One Tool You Should Never Forget When Deep Frying Food

In most fast food restaurants, you're going to see those giant, industrial deep frying vats filled with hot oil and the french fries or chicken you've just ordered. You likely don't have one in your home kitchen, nor do you need it for simple deep frying. If you have a spacious pot like a Dutch oven, then you've got an easy way to make deep-fried food at home. You just need oil and soon-to-be fried food, right? That's almost true — we spoke to Lynne Just, chef and manager of the consumer test kitchen at Hamilton Beach, who insisted that you should never deep fry without one extra gizmo — a specialized thermometer. 

This important tool helps you measure the temperature of the hot oil while your food is frying, and exact measurements ensure your food is properly cooked, Just says. "If the oil is too cool, then the food will absorb the oil, leaving it heavy and unpleasant," she said. "If the oil is too hot, the food can appear cooked on the outside before it is cooked on the inside, or it can burn." Just says she would never try deep frying anything without one — you can't simply eyeball the temperature of meat frying in oil.

Deep frying and pan frying are not the same, and you're going to specifically need a thermometer that is built for deep frying (don't use a normal meat thermometer). Conveniently, these tools are often called deep fry thermometers, or sometimes candy thermometers, because the process of making this sweet treat also involves submerging foods at high temperatures. "This type of thermometer is high-heat tolerant and made for accurately reading the temperature of the hot oil," Lynne Just said. Whereas your average meat thermometer might not go past 200 degrees Fahrenheit, deep frying versions can reach that range of 325 to 400 degrees you need for frying — and it's long enough to safely dip into your pot without placing your fingers at risk.

In any case, once you've got one, using it is straightforward. Many models come equipped with clips so you can easily attach them to the inside of your pot, with the sensor placed at the bottom of the oil, where it can get a precise reading. It's easy to find thermometers with either analog or digital displays. If you splurged on a specialized deep fryer for your kitchen, those often include oil thermometers as part of the design, but if you're using a pot from your cookware collection, a simple deep fry or candy thermometer is inexpensive and necessary for a home frying operation.