Tricks to get the perfect fry

Frying food is often considered an unhealthy option, as we add more oil to the food than using other types of cooking. Today we are going to see that it is not all 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 flavour 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 , enough so that we can completely submerge the food in the oil.

The idea is to form the crust as quickly as possible to seal the food. This will give it a good texture and limit the amount of oil that the food absorbs.

De Buyer Mineral B Cast Iron Skillet

In addition, the crust manages to retain the nutrients of the food, so fried foods end up preserving nutrients better than those cooked using other techniques (boiling, for example).

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

For this reason, it is important to fully submerge the food and not fry many pieces at once . The more food we put in the oil, the more we will reduce the cooking temperature. It is important to find a balance between the amount of oil we use and the food we can put in 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 best to separate the oil we use for fish and the oil we use for meat. The oil takes on a lot of aroma, and it will permeate the food. This in itself is not bad at all, since it can enhance the flavours if we know how to use it to our advantage. It is very important to always leave the food scraps in the pan when we recycle the oil (you may find some oil recyclers useful).

For frying, it is highly advisable to use cast iron pans , and not non-stick pans. The reason is that the high temperatures required for frying can damage both the pan and the non-stick coating (bad for the pan and for our health). A cast iron pan does not have any coating and is thick and robust, so it will easily withstand the high temperatures required for frying.

The pan that I find ideal for frying and the one I always recommend is the De Buyer tall frying pan or the De Buyer fryer with basket , which are tall enough to submerge the food. They will also be useful for browning meat, sautéing vegetables or for the usual use of any cast iron pan.

De Buyer Deep 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.

By following these few guidelines you will achieve a good fry. 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 bit of kitchen paper.

One more thing before finishing, I would like 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 skimmer instead of using tongs: with tongs, it is easy to squeeze the croquettes, empanadas, vegetables... and break or deform them. With a skimmer you can pick them up from the oil carefully and 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'll leave you with a trick to reuse food scraps from oil or the oil itself when we want to get rid of it: we can put food scraps and used oil in a container (a glass jar) together with soaked kitchen paper and other papers or cardboard that we recycle in the kitchen (the cardboard itself from the finished roll of paper). This jar will be very useful for removing scraps and soaked papers and using them to light the fireplace or the wood stove in winter. You already know that I love to recycle!