Tricks to get the perfect fry

Frying food is often considered an unhealthy option, since we add more oil to food than using other types of cooking. Today we are going to see that not all are disadvantages and how we can make and enjoy a good fried food.

Frying food is a very traditional option, with a gastronomic value that we should not underestimate. Fried foods not only gain in flavor but we can also achieve a very attractive texture and try to limit oil absorption as much as possible.

The art of frying (because frying well is an art!) presents a great paradox: it is often thought that it is better to fry with little oil, in order to limit in some way the oil that the food will absorb. But our recommendation is to fry using a good amount of oil , so much so that we can fully immerse the food in the oil.

The intention is to form the crust as quickly as possible to seal in the food. Thus, we achieve a good texture and we will limit the amount of oil that the food absorbs.

Iron skillet Mineral B De Buyer

In addition, the crust manages to maintain the nutrients of the food, which is why fried foods end up preserving nutrients better than those cooked with other techniques (boiling, for example).

To get the crust to form quickly, the key is to fry with very hot oil . If we use little oil, it cools in contact with the food, so the crust formation process takes much longer to form, and the food absorbs oil and loses nutrients.

For this reason it is important to completely submerge the food and not fry many pieces at the same time . The more food we put in the oil, the more we will reduce the cooking temperature. It is convenient to find a balance between the amount of oil we use and the food that we can put at the same time.

It is also important to use a good virgin olive oil (it can withstand temperatures better than sunflower oil) and never let it exceed 190ºC, as we do not want to burn it.

We can reuse the oil but it is convenient to separate the one we use for the fish and the one we use for the meat. The oil picks up a lot of aroma, and it will permeate the food. This in itself is not bad at all, since it can enhance the flavors if we know how to use it to our advantage. It is always very important to leave the remains of food in the pan when we recycle the oil ( oil collectors may be convenient for you).

For frying it is highly advisable to use iron pans , and not non-stick. The reason is that the high temperatures that we require to fry can damage both the pan and the non-stick coating (bad for the pan and for our health). An iron frying pan does not have any coating and is thick and robust so it will withstand the high temperatures that frying requires without problems.

The pan that I find ideal for frying and the one that I always recommend is the De Buyer high frying pan or the De Buyer deep fryer with basket , which are tall enough to submerge food. They will also serve you to brown meat, sauté vegetables or give it the usual use of any iron skillet.

De Buyer High Frying Pan and WMF Skimmer

Another alternative that I really like is to use a cast iron saucepan like the one from Le Creuset, and submerge the food one by one.

Following these small guidelines you will get a good fried. Remember that the most important thing is to seal the food, so it is vital that the food is fried quickly in plenty of hot oil. You can also dry it at the end with a little kitchen paper.

One more thing before finishing, is to tell you that to remove your food from the oil, if you do not use a basket, it is highly recommended to use a slotted spoon instead of using tongs: with the tongs, it is easy to squeeze the croquettes, dumplings, vegetables .... and break or deform them. With a slotted spoon you can carefully pick them up from the oil without breaking them, and at the same time you can drain them from the oil before transferring them to the plate or tray where you will serve them.

I leave you to finish with a trick to reuse the remains of food from the oil or the oil itself when we want to get rid of it: we can put food remains and used oil in a container (a glass jar) together with the kitchen paper soaked and other paper or cardboard that we recycle in the kitchen (the cardboard itself from the finished paper roll). This boat is going to come in very handy for taking out remains and soaked paper and using them to light the fireplace or wood stove in winter. You know I love recycling!