a bowl to get rid of any leftover detritus.
Keep It Moving
Ever notice how when you’re in a cool swimming pool, if
you stand still, you’ll feel a little warmer until someone
swims by and creates a current around you that cools you
down again? Well, the opposite thing happens with cold
food in hot oil. If you allow it to sit still, a pocket of cooler
oil will develop around pieces of food, reducing the
effectiveness of the fry. By constantly agitating the food and
moving it around, you’re continuously exposing it to fresh
hot oil. Your food will fry more evenly, and come out
crisper than the simpler dunk-and-sit method. A wire-mesh
spider or a pair of long chopsticks is the best tool for this
job.
Choose Your Oil Wisely
The best oils for deep-frying are relatively cheap, flavorless
oils with high smoke points. Flavorful oils like sesame oil or
extra-virgin olive oil contain compounds that cause them to
smoke at far below the effective frying temperature for most
foods. Other oils have their adherents, but peanut oil or
peanut oil cut with a bit of lard, bacon fat, and shortening is
my frying medium of choice. See “All About Oil,” below
for more details.
Drain Quickly, and Use Paper Towels!
While it may seem logical to drain fried foods on a metal
rack, it’s actually far more effective to drain them on a
paper-towel-lined plate or bowl. When they are set on a