Deep frying

[Guest guest]

I often deep fry chicken wings in goose fat. How bad is that, health-wise?

For a long time I didn't have a deep-fry thermometer, so my only guide to

temperature

was smoke. I always tried to keep the fat from smoking. I noticed it sometimes

took a very

long time for the wings to get brown and crispy.

Recently I got a thermometer. I discovered that the goose fat smokes at a pretty

low

temperature - around 220*F. The " deep fry " label on the thermometer is up around

370*F.

I have noticed that above this temperature the fat starts to smoke again.

So, how bad is it to fry between 300 and 360? (I don't have that much control of

the

temperature on the stove). And is it reasonable to " deep fry " something closer

to 220?

A second issue: I've been reusing the goose fat a lot (I strain it through a

cloth each time).

I'm sure this is bad, but I don't know if it's ok to reuse deep-fry oil a few

times. Any

pointers? I need to eat more ducks and geese to get fresh fat!

Or should I just give up and do marinated, baked wings like in Nourishing

Traditions? Any

simpler recipes for that? I think Sally's has too many ingredients. I have a

fermented hot

sauce I could use.

[Guest guest]

captainmikee wrote:

>

> I often deep fry chicken wings in goose fat. How bad is that, health-

wise?

~~~I'll let someone else answer your questions. Personally, I " fry " my

chicken pieces (wings and boneless thighs) in coconut oil. I use a

milk & egg wash, season with granulated garlic, salt, pepper and

poultry seasoning, coat with flour and drop in about 1/4 inch or so of

coconut oil. It will also smoke at a fairly low temp. So I have to

watch it. But the end result is a golden brown semi-crispy crust

coating the skin. And a delicious tasting chicken. Oh, and the

drippings make a wonderful milk based chicken gravy.

Rhonda

who did this yesterday

[Guest guest]

Mikee,

> I often deep fry chicken wings in goose fat. How bad is that, health-wise?

Goose fat is similar to olive oil and lard in that it is roughly 10% PUFA:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/619/2

I think this is a decent option if you do not use it on a daily basis.

I would suggest limiting something like this to weekends, or using

some other system to ensure that you average deep frying only on one

or two days a week.

I would try to limit your combined intake of goose fat, lard, olive

oil, palm oil, and any other oils with similar PUFA contents to 10-15%

of your total caloric intake and have the rest of your fat come from

such low-PUFA oils as butter, coconut oil, macadamia nut oil, cocoa

butter, beef fat, and lamb fat.

If you insist on deep frying every day, I would pick from one of the

latter oils, whichever has the highest smoke point, to use ~70% of the

time and use goose fat for your treat a few times a week if you like

the taste better. If you're going to be reusing fat, I think a highly

refined centrifuged coconut oil would probably be the best choice.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the rundown, Chris. By " often " I meant about once a week. Goose fat

is mighty

convenient because there's so much of it!

We don't use any batter at all - no grains in our house. Occasionally we put

crumbled

macademia nuts on them, but not often because it's laborious and expensive. DW

likes her

meat very dry, too. Maybe low temps are good for us.

Maybe I should make more of an effort to collect tallow - I have a small jar of

hamburger

fat, but I could get more from making beef stock, or ask the butcher for some

just for

rendering.

Mike

>

> Here's an onibasu discussion of reusing fat for frying, and smoke points:

> http://onibasu.com/archives/nn/60846.html

> Generally, re-using a few times is okay before taste becomes an issue.

> If you want to keep your fat fresher for re-using, then place something

> on the surface of the cooled fat to prevent contact with air / oxidation

> during storage. Plastic wrap is generally suggested; plastic wonks most

> of us out (though Glad press and seal is ostensibly safer). I would try

> waxed paper, perhaps with plastic over it. Basically you're sealing the

> fat in the jar, before you put the lid on. If you have access to

> beeswax, it would probably also work.

>

> Tallow has the highest smoke point going. When I have it, I get great

> results mixing it with other fats to pan fry, but I don't deep fry much

> because of the expense and children underfoot. The danger in frying at a

> lower smoke point is that the food will absorb too much oil before

> finishing, and become unpalatable, even for those of us who love it

> dripping down our chins. Not an issue with less crust, but with some

> batters and crumbs it will really effect the taste. Frying at a higher

> temperature allows the outside to get crispy, while the inside cooks in

> part from the steam- so frying at too low a temperature can result in a

> dried out product- all the juices from the meat end up in the fry oil.

> Lower temp frying can be great for nut crusted fish, or other coverings

> that burn easily. If you observe carefully, you can see the point at

> which the frying fat begins to swirl and make a pattern similar to legs

> on a wine glass. That movement happens before the smoke point.

>

> Many folks try to avoid the acralymides (sp?) produced by high

> temperature cooking, but when you're married to a chef you must carmelize

> the sugars in the meat (and leave the center raw whenever possible).

>

> Desh

> ____________________________________________________________

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