Deep-frying is a way of cooking food quickly in very hot fat. You can use an electric deep fryer with a built-in thermostat, or a deep, heavy pan plus a deep-fry thermometer. You will also need a wire basket, or a slotted spoon or tongs for handling food.
Foods to be fried should be evenly sized and no more than 11/2 inches thick, as dry as possible, and at room temperature. Some, such as fish and chicken, brown better with a coating of flour or batter.
Fill the pan about 3/4 full, preferably with an odorless and tasteless vegetable oil (these don’t smoke at the usual frying temperatures). Set the thermostat, or immerse the thermometer, before heating the oil. If you have no thermometer, drop in a 1-inch bread cube when you think the oil is hot enough; it should brown in 60 seconds. If the oil temperature is too low, fried foods will be soggy and greasy; if too high, they will brown on the outside, but be underdone inside. At sea level recommended frying temperatures are 350°F to 380°F; subtract about 3 degrees for each increase of 1,000 feet in elevation.
Fry small batches at a time so that the fat temperature does not drop drastically when food is added. Drain food in a single layer on paper toweling. Periodically skim out bits of food.
You can strain deep-fry oil and reuse it several times. Occasionally clarify it by cooking a raw potato in it. French fried potatoes
Cut mature baking potatoes into square sticks about 3/s inch thick. Soak them in cold water for 10 minutes; pat dry on paper toweling. Heat fat to 375°F Fry the potatoes in batches, keeping each batch warm in a 250°F oven until all are cooked.