Best value/health deep frying oil?

#1

Hi All - I’ve just purchased a deep fat fryer and I’m looking for an oil to fill it with that isn’t going to break the bank or ruin my health. My first considerations were avocado oil or coconut oil but both seem pretty darn expensive here in the UK, I don’t really want to have to spend £20-£30 just to fill up my fryer… therefore I have a couple of questions:

  1. has anyone found a cheap source of either avocado or coconut oil, perhaps where I can buy it in bulk or bigger containers online?

  2. does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative, cheaper oil that would keep the costs down without killing me? beef tallow? lard? if so do you buy it in bulk anywhere e.g. 2 - 3 litres at a time?

Grateful for your help!

Tom

(Duncan Kerridge) #2

How about this?

https://goo.gl/AV9CVc

(Allie) #3

Lard, it’s only about 40p per block and makes things really crispy.

(Ellen) #4

As @Shortstuff said, Lard is your friend, or Beef Dripping.

(Allan L) #5

Lard. I use it in my deep fat fryer. Cheap as chips from ASDA / Tesco etc.

(Dean Stamford) #6

I use peanut oil, which isn’t perfect health wise but is very cheap, has a high smoke point and doesn’t draw in the foods flavour.
If you’re going to go Lard (and other fats solid at room temp) make sure you check you have the right type of heating element. This will kill certain types of fryer.

#7

Ah, thanks all, what type of heating element do I need?

#8

FYI this is what I bought. Q&A said solid or liquid fat is fine…

Tefal easy pro

(TJ Borden) #9

I’m going to continue the echo, lard.

I got my fryer a few months ago and started with tallow, but it was pretty expensive, so I switched.

(Buddy Amoroso) #10

Where do you buy lard? Does it have to be grass feed organic?

(Ellen) #11

Pretty much any supermarket (or your local butcher, if you’re lucky enough to have one) will have lard & dripping, pretty cheap as well. I’ve never seen grass fed organic, it might be out there but likely much more expensive, and I doubt it would really make a difference.

(Stephen Miles) #12

Lard or dripping is best, plus much easier to clean your fryer. Unlike cooking oils!

(Mike W.) #13

Beef tallow.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

Here in my area, beef tallow is cheaper than lard. I buy the trimmed beef suet for dirt cheap and render it down. Strain out the solids, and the liquid that’s left is the tallow. Pour it into a container and let it cool. It will turn white as it solidifies.

Lard is essentially the same thing, only from pork. In my area it’s very hard to find without preservatives and other additives.

#15

Great, I think my local butcher sells beef tallow, I’ll check it out.

Now I move on to a more specific about using a deep fryer :slight_smile: …so on the model I have the heating element is exposed and immersed in the oil/fat. I know that when I’m filling it with new fat I’m supposed to melt solid fats first then pour them in… obviously when I’m done with it I presume if I don’t empty it then the fat would solidify in the fryer around the element etc. If I want to reuse the fat, can I just strain it and leave it in the fryer like this? i.e. next time I use it it will be full of solid fat - can I just turn it on in these circumstances and let the element melt the fat? If I can avoid having to keep melting and pouring boiling fat from one vessel to another that would be great!

(Mike W.) #16

I have a Mason jar in my fridge of tallow from a brisket I smoked. Good. Lord

(Gail P) #17

Thank you for this great idea! Deep fat fryer filled with lard … the possibilities are endless.

(Mike W.) #18

I don’t have an exposed element fryer, but with my fry daddy, I just let it cool, pop the lid on and wait til next time.

(TJ Borden) #19

Yep… that’s why I love my frydaddy. The only thing I’ve noticed is because I fry so much pork belly, I occasionally have to drain fat because I add to the volume so much.