I’ve been experimenting with new Keto recipes and I’m super excited to start my deep frying journey. I purchased a lovely air fryer and returned it after just a few attempts at wings and onion rings. The product was “okay” which is not good enough for me to stay engaged. I then purchased a Krups Deep Fryer (4.5L). I unboxed the fryer today with pure excitement to make my first batch of wings. I purchased a good amount of beef tallow in anticipation of this day. To my dismay, I read in the guide that cooking in “animal fat” is not recommended. After dropping a few inappropriate sentiments, I jumped online to figure out why this is the case. I found out that fryers with exposed coils are not good for animal fats because the oil hardens and that screws up the exposed heating elements. I then did what any resasonable person would do - try to figure out which is the BEST fryer on the market, easy to clean, allows animal fat and cooks hot enough to produce awesome results. There are 2 fryers that came to light - Delonghi Roto and TFal 8000. Before I go out of my way to buy my next attempt at perfect wings, onion rings and Brussels, I’d appreciate recommendations for the BEST deep fryer on the market today and why. Alas, please keep in mind my feature considerations: easy to clean, animal fat cooking, gets hot enough to cook properly. Your wisdom is greatly appreciated.
Deep Fryer Recommendations?
I have been wondering the same. I prefer the exposed coil models because they are stainless steel and not usually lined with nonstick coatings. They also heat quickly and evening. Looking forward to reading recommendations.
I really don’t understand the manufacturers issue. Within moments of turning on, the fat next to the coils is liquifying. I use tallow in mine. Never read the directions (typical male right?) but I never leave it unattended either
Fascinating! I usually avoid directions and “do what I want!” This time, I invested 5 minutes which cost me several hours. May I ask what brand you use and wattage? Lastly, my wee brain was also assuming the “stiff fat” would just melt as the unit heats…what’s the danger here?
I have this model presto cool daddy
The only reason I see not to use animal fat is because of a lower smoke point than some of the vegetable oils. I haven’t found this to be an issue.
The above mention is a hot link.
Thanks for your input.
I ended up ordering a DeLonghi from Prime last night and will have it tomorrow. I’ll update on how it goes after my first experience.
back in the day when restaurants used tallow, we would just burn off the coils… turn them on with no oil… they would smoke a little turn red and burn any residue off. there is also a fryer soak you mix with water and boil in place that cleans up the coils… we did this maybe once a week with 14 hrs a day use.
PBW (Powdered Bewery Wash) works great to clean the coils. And it is cheap.
Okay, so I received and used my DeLonghi Roto Fryer last night. My chicken wings turned out fantastic. This particular fryer is a “coils hidden” type. It kept the head extremely well and my wings were done in about 18 minutes using the chicken setting. It has a filter that helps to reduce odor/steam. Because I live in a high-rise condo, I was super concerned with setting off the fire alarm (which I do baking bacon in the oven). I put the vent on high and went to town frying and great news, my neighbors didn’t get an unexpected fire drill. It has a drain to put the oil back into the jar when done. It was a little messy my first time out but it should be much better next time. Overall, the cleanup was pretty easy. I’m definitely happy with this purchase and look forward to onion rings and other amazing foods.
I ended up getting this model at Kmart (Australia) for $59 and then needed to fill it with 4kgs of fat…beef fat…! Thanks @Brenda!
Nice! I’ve used mine once since I purchased it - I like it a LOT but I’m just not a huge fan of the clean-up. I don’t think I’ll ever get around that so I’m going to just have to suck it up and deal! 
Which Oil did you use? I haven’t purchased my fryer yet but I was thinking of using lard or Tallow.
I’ve gone the Tallow route because there’s less smoke (apparently) than with lard. I live in a highrise condo so managing smoke is a BIG deal for me. I did have to keep the fan on high during cooking even with Tallow so I don’t think I’ll be experimenting with lard any time soon. 
@Chris_Bair - have you tried the fried cheese from Caveman Keto? That looks incredible!!
Also, did you buy the filter/cone combo…just wondering what you think. Since DeLonghi comes with a tube to drain, I think this setup would be great to filter right back into the jar(s) to keep the oil longer.
Cheers!
I have - I had marginal success with freezing monzarella sticks, wrapping them in bacon and then frying - a lot of the cheese gets out and gums stuff up. Tastes amazing though.
Edit: I did get the cone filters, they work well but I haven’t used them very often - I need to fry more!