• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

7. Fry in fat no deeper than half the height of the food.

Immersion-Frying: Dunk ’n’ Dredge

This is my personal favorite breading method because it requires no mixing or measuring and generates a really great crust.

Target foods: seafood such as calamari and bay scallops. Also darned good on portobello mushrooms that have been cut into strips. This breading doesn’t provide much in the way of insulation, so whatever food you choose needs to be relatively small and relatively moist. Squid is perfect, baby carrots not so perfect.

1. Dip seasoned food into buttermilk (low-fat but not skim).

2. Dredge in cornstarch (sifted if you have time).

3. Fry.

Why Hot Oil and Water Don’t Mix

Oil and water don’t mix—especially when the oil is hot and on top of your stove. When water meets with hot oil, it immediately (not to mention violently) vaporizes, aerosolizing a good bit of the already angry oil with it. Let a few molecules of this hit the heating coil and you will shortly find your kitchen in flames.

The entire effect is not unlike the cylinder in your car engine, but this time, you’re the piston.

This is not meant to scare you from deep-frying; it’s just to let you know that some things don’t forgive you if you don’t respect them. Vats of hot fat qualify. Avoiding such disasters means paying attention, that’s all. Don’t leave the room when you’re frying. And remember, fats heat much faster than equal volumes of water, so don’t try to guess the heat time—use a thermometer.

REAL SPARK PLUG AND PISTON

HUMAN SPARK PLUG AND PISTON

Master Profile: Frying

Heat type: dry

Mode of transmission: 90-percent conduction, 10-percent convection

Rate of transmission: very high

Common transmitters: liquid fats, such as canola, peanut, and safflower oils

Temperature range: relatively narrow, between 250° and 375° F

Target food characteristics:

• small, uniform pieces of food containing high protein and/or starch content

• foods that can be dredged, breaded, or battered such as onion rings or fish strips

• firm vegetables

Non-culinary application: fast-food french fries

Batter Up

A batter is basically a liquid version of a standard breading, or at least the first two parts of it, liquid and starch. For my money, the best batters emulate the Portuguese-Japanese hybrid style of frying called tempura. Such batters create an almost impossibly thin and light coating that is like wrapping a present in tissue paper: you can literally see through it. This is my basic batter recipe, although I do also use a beer-based batter for fish and chips and occasionally chicken fingers (you know … for the kids).

Steer clear of the blender versions of this recipe, which produce thin, overworked batter. Also, since tempura is Asian, you’ll probably serve it with some sort of salty soy or ponzu sauce, so you don’t want to oversalt the batter.

Application: Immersion-Frying

Heat the oil to 350° F.

In a small bowl, sift together the salt, pepper, and cornstarch. In a medium bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks are formed. Continue whipping while gradually adding the cornstarch mixture.

Holding the target food at the end with tongs, quickly wave the food through the batter (this type of frying is best done one piece at a time), retrieve from the batter, let it drip for a few seconds, then put it into the oil.

Using the tongs, press the food down to keep it completely submerged in the oil (to prevent the food from flipping over—if an air bubble forms on the top between the food and the batter, it will just keep rolling over). When the food has turned golden brown, approximately 3 to 5 minutes, remove the food to the draining rig. Repeat with remaining target food and serve immediately.

Notes: Previously used oil works better than fresh for this recipe. If you use fresh oil, the target food will be done before the batter has turned golden brown.

Possible target foods include: butterflied shrimp