[0 - 3] - I'm Adrienne Cheatham, I am a professional chef
[3 - 4] and today I'm gonna show you
[4 - 8] everything that you need to know about deep frying.
[8 - 9] [cooking oil simmering]
[9 - 12] We are talking the right type of equipment,
[12 - 13] the right types of oil
[13 - 17] and everything you need to get fully cooked, crispy results.
[17 - 22] This is deep frying 101. [upbeat music]
[22 - 24] There are several different types of frying.
[24 - 27] Stir frying, pan frying, shallow frying,
[27 - 29] technically sauteing is a type of frying
[29 - 31] but deep frying is where it's at.
[31 - 34] There are things that can go wrong when frying.
[34 - 38] It can be undercooked on the inside, burned on the outside,
[38 - 41] greasy exterior, raw soggy interior.
[41 - 45] But if you get it right, it is the best
[45 - 47] most delicious result you will ever get.
[47 - 50] First things first, let's talk about equipment
[50 - 54] and oil, chapter one. [soft music]
[54 - 56] Whenever you're deep frying,
[56 - 58] you wanna have all of your equipment set up and ready
[58 - 61] because things move very quickly.
[61 - 63] You don't have time to go look for a piece of equipment.
[63 - 65] You need to have it there waiting.
[65 - 67] First is the vessel for the oil.
[67 - 71] You want something that's heavy, distributes heat evenly
[71 - 73] and has a nice thick bottom.
[73 - 77] I like enamel cast pots like this one.
[77 - 80] So these utensils are for lowering items into the hot oil
[80 - 82] and taking them out.
[82 - 84] You may not need all of them
[84 - 86] but these are the standard pieces of equipment
[86 - 88] that work best to keep you safe.
[88 - 91] I have a slotted spoon, large tongs,
[92 - 96] a spider, small tongs or tweezers
[96 - 98] and chopsticks for delicate items.
[98 - 102] The other most important piece that you need is a tray
[102 - 106] lined with paper towels to dismount your fried items onto.
[106 - 108] The paper towels are gonna absorb any excess oil
[108 - 112] and you need a place to put them as soon as they're ready.
[112 - 113] And also salt.
[113 - 115] When you're frying savory items,
[115 - 118] you wanna season them as soon as they come out of the oil
[118 - 120] while it's still warm and moist.
[120 - 122] I have a candy thermometer
[122 - 124] for keeping the temperature of the oil.
[124 - 127] Candy thermometers are meant to clip onto pots
[127 - 129] and go up to high temperatures.
[129 - 130] So they're ideal for this.
[130 - 133] You could also use a meat thermometer
[133 - 135] but you just wouldn't be able to leave it submerged
[135 - 137] in the oil the whole time.
[137 - 140] Last but certainly not least is the oil itself.
[140 - 143] I like to use an oil that has a high smoke point,
[143 - 146] vegetable oil, avocado oil,
[146 - 150] anything within the range of 445 to 500 degrees.
[150 - 154] That way you know that your oil will not start to burn
[154 - 156] before you've cooked all of your items.
[156 - 158] Now that we've covered the basics
[158 - 164] and our station is all set up, let's get frying. [soft music]
[164 - 167] You can literally fry just about anything
[167 - 169] but today we are gonna fry shrimp.
[169 - 172] We're gonna do battered and breaded.
[172 - 173] We're gonna start with our battered
[173 - 175] because typically with batter,
[175 - 178] you wanna fry at a slightly lower temperature
[178 - 179] than with breaded.
[179 - 181] So we're gonna fry these at about 360
[181 - 183] and are breaded at 375.
[183 - 184] So for the battered shrimp,
[184 - 188] I'm literally just gonna drop them into the bowl of batter
[188 - 191] and one by one, pick them up by the tail
[191 - 195] shake off the excess, and go right into the oil.
[195 - 196] [cooking oil simmering]
[196 - 198] Water and oil hate each other.
[198 - 200] That's what all this noise is about.
[200 - 200] [cooking oil simmering]
[200 - 201] When you're frying,
[201 - 204] you always wanna keep an eye on your thermometer.
[204 - 207] You wanna lower and raise the temperature to keep it steady.
[207 - 209] When you're heating up your oil,
[209 - 211] it's okay to turn it up to high heat
[211 - 214] to get it up to temperature but then once you've reached it
[214 - 216] turn the flame a little bit lower
[216 - 218] so it doesn't just get higher and higher
[218 - 219] because then you risk
[219 - 220] [glass breaking] [flames blowing]
[221 - 225] Nobody wants a big pot of oil to burst into flames.
[225 - 228] They only take about 30 seconds to one minute to cook.
[228 - 231] Right when you see them fully pink around the outside
[231 - 234] and curled in, you know that they're cooked.
[234 - 237] Dismount them and season them immediately
[237 - 239] while they're still warm and moist
[239 - 241] and the salt will actually stick to them.
[241 - 244] For chicken thighs or a larger item,
[244 - 246] they're gonna take much longer to cook.
[246 - 249] So you wanna go longer at a lower temperature,
[249 - 250] closer to 350.
[250 - 253] But if you have something that's small and cooks quickly
[253 - 256] you wanna go fast at a higher temperature.
[256 - 259] That way you get the inside fully cooked
[259 - 261] without burning the outside.
[262 - 264] Our oil is up to temp at 375.
[264 - 267] I'm gonna start dropping in our breaded shrimp.
[267 - 270] One of the most dangerous things when people are frying
[270 - 273] is having excess moisture get into their oil.
[273 - 276] So you wanna make sure that your items are on the dryer side
[276 - 277] before putting them in their oil
[277 - 280] to prevent a lot of bubbling and splatter.
[280 - 283] For the breaded shrimp, you're looking for the same thing,
[283 - 285] a golden brown exterior
[285 - 287] and this is gonna take about a minute
[287 - 289] maybe a few seconds over.
[289 - 291] So one of the other important things to note
[291 - 294] when you're frying is not to overcrowd your pot.
[294 - 296] If you put in too much at once,
[296 - 298] it's gonna lower your oil temperature.
[298 - 300] And when your oil temperature drops,
[300 - 302] your food is gonna soak up oil
[302 - 304] instead of cooking immediately.
[304 - 306] So you'll wind up with greasier heavier food.
[306 - 310] And if your oil is too hot, you're gonna burn the outside
[310 - 312] before the interior is even cooked.
[312 - 315] This looks so golden brown and delicious
[315 - 319] and I really just wanna eat this shrimp. [soft music]
[319 - 321] Now that we're done frying,
[321 - 326] let's talk about what happens with all this oil. [soft music]
[326 - 330] You can reuse your frying oil between three to five times.
[330 - 333] It really just depends on how dark it's gotten
[333 - 335] and how much debris is in there.
[335 - 337] If you strain it out, when it's cool
[337 - 340] you'll get much longer life out of your oil.
[340 - 342] But if you bring your oil to too high of a temperature
[342 - 344] it'll start to degrade quicker.
[344 - 347] So you wanna watch for billowing smoke.
[347 - 348] When your oil gets smoky,
[348 - 350] you know it's getting too hot and burning
[350 - 353] and you might have to throw it away after that use.
[353 - 355] The only proper way to discard oil
[355 - 358] is to put it in containers with tight fitting lids
[358 - 359] and throw it in the trash.
[359 - 361] It can really mess up plumbing system
[361 - 363] so you never wanna pour it down the drain
[363 - 364] or down the toilet.
[364 - 366] Although that's what I was taught growing up
[366 - 370] is that you put your oil and flush it down the toilet.
[370 - 371] So seriously, frying food
[371 - 374] is one of the most delicious cooking methods
[374 - 376] that yield some of the best results,
[376 - 379] consistent, beautiful color all the way around.
[379 - 381] So if you're not frying at home,
[381 - 383] I don't know what you're waiting for.
[383 - 385] As much as I don't want to, I'll share this one.
[385 - 389] Does anybody wants some shrimp? [upbeat music] Hmm.