T-Fal3.5L Stainless Steel Deep Fryer with Basket, 1700W, Oil Filtration, Temp Control, Digital Timer, Dishwasher Safe Parts

I'm a Senior. I use to own a Snack Food Manufacturing Company. I made Potato Chips and Fried Pork Rinds just for 2 items. As a teenager (so many years ago) I worked for several major Fast Food restaurants who made fries and learned the best way to make them. Therefore with this experience I know exactly how to make good fried foods. Fries, Fried Chicken, Shrimp Fritters, Fried Shrimp, Fried Okra, Fried Zucchini, etc.This Fryer works great. What I mean is that it holds the proper temperature during frying. When any food is to be fried and goes in either frozen or at room temperature.. it will immediately drop the temperature of the oil. This fryer has a fast recovery. That means it's thermostat is excellent and as it sees a drop in temperature it immediately turns on the element(s) to keep the temperature where it should be.I also like the method T-Fal has invented to clean the fryer. It's easy to drain and strain the oil and clean the frying bowl. The fry basket is large and I can get two potatoes worth of fries in one basket. For these reasons I highly recommend this fryer. Below is some info for a novice in the proper way to fry fries and other items.Fries:» Use a high quality potato slicer which you can purchase here on Amazon. Otherwise cut your peeled potatoes 1/4" thick. Wash them in cold water and agitate the slices until you see the water turn milky. This is taking the potato starch out of them.» Dry the fries on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. I actually have a small fan that I use just like we did in the fast food restaurants in the old days. This reduces FOAMING and even loss of oil. When wet products are placed into the hot oil you'll see foaming as oil and water don't mix. In fact, as the water turns to steam it drops the temperature of the oil which means a longer frying time and makes the fryer work harder to keep the temperature up to the correct frying temperature. Note also as the water turns to steam tiny (micro) drops of oil cling to it and you'll have a 1% or 2% drop of oil each time. And where does that oil go? Into the atmosphere and it will cling to your filter or wall or anything else. Dry your fries as much as possible.» Fries should be fried twice. Bring your oil up to 350f for the 1st frying. Place a basket full of dried fries into the oil for 3 to 5 minutes. Your NOT going to cook them all the way through. This is a BLANCHING method. This will drive most of the moisture out of the fries and make them crispy for the 2nd frying.» After blanching for a few minutes bring the fries up out of the oil and let them cool down to room temperature. I spread mine on a bakers rack which sits on a big baking sheet (found here on Amazon).» Bring the oil up to 375f for the 2nd frying and fry them for 2 or 3 minutes until they turn golden brown. They will be nice and crispy.» There are 2 Secret Ingredients that makes my fries taste so good... Lawry's Seasoned Salt! Yes, it's much better than plain salt and can be found here on Amazon. The 2nd ingredient is TALLOW. Lard is rendered pig fat. Tallow is rendered Beef fat. It has no smell and is pure white. It almost lasts forever! You can purchase it here on Amazon in buckets. For the average fryer you'll need 2.5 lbs to 3 lbs. It's pricey but for a reason. It's EXCELLENT and it's healthy. And here's a secret from the old days. That restaurant with the Golden Arches.. you know the ones.. Before the mid-80's - they use to fry their fries in TALLOW and 7% Peanut Oil. I do too! You need the peanut oil to just cover the heating elements at the bottom of the pan. Why? Tallow is kind of like lard in that it is soft white but not an oil UNTIL it gets hot. So if it's directly on the heating elements it will smoke! Don't do it! Put in the Peanut Oil first then put in the Tallow until the oil rises up to the Max line inside the frying bowl. For several years I've been purchasing the Peanut Oil in 1 Gallon containers from Amazon. It's an excellent product and arrives fast. This is what made our Fries so tasty back in the day. If you study Tallow many doctors will even tell you how healthy it is. There are video's about it on the internet.How about frying Shrimp, Okra and Zucchini or Chicken? Here's a great product also found here on Amazon. It's called Louisiana Shrimp Fry. Actually the Louisiana Chicken Fry also seems to be the same ingredients.. just a change in the package labeling.» Take 5 tablespoons of the Louisiana Shrimp or Chicken Fry and mix with 1/2 cup of water. Place your Shrimp or Okra or Zucchini or piece of Chicken into this mixture.» Next place the rest of the dry ingredients (Shrimp or Chicken Fry) into a breading bowl or 1-gallon plastic bag. Remove your whatever you're going to fry from the liquid mixture and place into the breading bowl or bag and shake vigorously to coat the item.» Bring the temperature of your oil up to 350f. Fry the shrimp for 2.5 minutes (not to exceed 3 minutes) and 3 minutes for Okra or Zucchini till golden brown. For chicken it will take longer depending on what part of the bird you're cooking. Use an instant read thermometer.This will give you some of the best Southern style food you've ever tried.

I purchased the 1 liter mini deep fryer. This fryer is surprisingly excellent. The oil heats up fast and most importantly, the unit holds the temperature really well.As far as the size, I don't think you'll be able to submerge a large chicken wing or large leg. However, if you are frying up fish, shrimp, small veggies, hash browns, this unit will serve you well.I've fried several pieces of battered fish with this unit and my fish came out immaculate.To clean the unit is very easy because the heating element is contained under the non-stick tub. Remove the hinge lid (it pops out). Wash the lid. And for the cooking unit, *DO NOT* submerge it. Fill the deep fry tub halfway with some soapy water, wash, and then rinse the tub out. You can rinse the tub under the faucet but don't submerge the entire unit in water. Wipe the outside with a damp soapy rag.I reach for this unit very often over my large deep fryer because of the efficient oil usage and quick clean up. I will be purchasing another one of these. These little guys can fry.

This is genius. It's very big, and takes up a lot of counter space, but it filters out the oil and leaves the bits and pieces when can be cleaned out or cleaned out to use for gravy. Then all of the parts that get dirty can be popped in the dishwasher. So far, no sticky pieces, and I love it. Military. I will say that you need to be careful about the oil you put in. The oil level had gone down and I added some more, but I couldn't completely see the max line. I think I overfilled it a little bit. As you can see from the picture, the holder is very full. If I had put much more, it would have overflowed.

Loving it so far, I especially love the filter and automatic drain. After that. I love that it is very responsive in it's thermal control. My last deep fryer would cool when I dropped food in and take a while to heat up again. This fryer quickly gets back up to temperature.As far as complaints... I am hoping the company recognizes one thing and improves... Can you make the tub deeper? The max fill line is just simply too low. It's pretty large already anniversary hate to say "make it bigger," because the larger the tub, the larger the reservoir/drain pan needs to be. But if you like massive chimichangas like I do, its not deep enough to submerge. If the width were narrower and the fryer were taller, I know people might complain it's big. But only having an inch of usable oil is not really enough. It also leaks occasionally... Might be the way I pick it up... If you shake it around, it will most definitely make a mess, but even when I move it very carefully it can leave spots of oil to clean up.I most definitely recommend it, there's nothing like it, but I do hope improvements are made and I can continue to buy future fryers from them.

I love it. I cant believe ppl are whining about it. The sides are hot. Get over it already. Its a deep fryer. Of course the sides are hot. I have had no leaking. That was my biggest fear. Ppl complaining that the temp fall to quick. Stop putting to much in. I cook enough fries for 3 ppl in 2 min. If you need more then cook another batch. Will be doing fried chicken soon. If I have problems I will update my post

As advertised, it is very easy to clean. Pretty quick to heat up and recover temp after adding food. The max fill line is not about the oil overflowing. The max fill line is how much oil the container underneath can hold! Do not over fill or you will have oil all over your counter and floor. The drainage will not stop if the storage container is full.

This fryer makes great fried foods. You can make alot in a short time. The bottom container is great for cleaning the oil and being able to use again