Best Deep Frying Oil?

I’ve been deep frying chicken and turkey to make crispy fried chicken. I’ve been using peanut oil or sunflower oil. I don’t think I’ve notice a difference but I wonder which kind of oil is the best in terms of taste and also maybe in terms of health.

1 Like

How can you make crispy fried chicken using turkey?

In terms of taste, I like canola oil or vegetable oil. But I also think the taste should not come from the oil, but from the chicken (buy good meat) and the breading.

In terms of health, I have no clue and honestly, if you care about that, you’ll probably not want to eat a lot of crispy fried chicken.

Well, the market was out of chicken from people panicking the first few days so I used turkey. It pretty much taste the same.

Crispy fried ‘Chicken’

:rofl:

Fried bird.

That has to be one of the most chabuduo things I’ve ever read on Forumosa!!

2 Likes

I use Canola for most things.

The best oil is one that that has a high ‘smoke point’. Mostly over 200-210 C.
Do not use ‘salad’ oil.

And depending on your taste buts. Rice bran, grape seed, canola, sunflower, peanut, corn and others.

2 Likes

I use canola now.

For me i try, likely fail, to use ones that ha e lesser deforestation issues. So aim for o es grown in already barren shit hole. So i am for canola now thinking it is mostly from places like central canada/usa where it is already beyond mucked up but also not a biodiveraity hotspot like in areas soy beans are grown, for example. In that sense(correct me if i am wrong as i really want to try and make better decisions) i avoid oils such as soy, avacado and almond oils as they have quite serious and direct impacts to opening up new land for cultivation in sensitive areas. Palm is bad too, but i have studied the biodiversity on the ground in places like Thailand, Malaysia and Borneo and although the forest destruction is horrible, the palm forests do maintain a large amount of biodiversity…just not large mammals. Where as knockin down the amazon for soy beans does not hold anywhere near the biodiveraity and sustainability that large palm trees do. A short annual pla t cannot, obviously, cater to the needs of nature like a long standing 40 year run of a tree plantation, even be it a monoculture one. Not just for oil, but for food. It has been hard cutting out soy products as a vegetarian living in taiwan, but realistically i might as well just eat beef considering the environmental damage.

Edit: Havent read into it. But have heard from countless people over the years that peanut oil has health issues. Bit skeptical, but its easily grown and produced here in Taiwan so if the flavor is alright for the dish, seems like a good one. But seems everyone has a contradictory opinion on fats/oils and choleaterol, cancer etc etc. Though peanut certainly does have the issue of fungal contamination so that is perhaps where people start their complaints?

1 Like

I use rice bran oil. It’s cheap, has a super high smoke point, and you don’t have to worry about deforestation or cutting into food production.

2 Likes

I’m from the south of spain (we produce a ton of oliva oil, like italy). I can not give you a real reason (like it will taste better than other) but in spain people use sunflower oil for deep frying, I think is a good quality-price oil if compared to better oil, like oliva oil and not unhealthy if you compared with mix oils, palm or grape oil… I know is not a reason but if oliva oil producers do it use it there might be a reason xD

Palm oil got a really bad rap a few years ago, they found some probable-carcinogen developed in it’s processing, specifically when the oil or pre-oil mixture is heated to a certain temperature. Italy went so far as to ban it from nutella.

Soybean oil recently was found to change the brain in rats in a US study.

Most vegetable oils will contain a large component soy bean oil.

The rest of these oils, corn, canola et al, are applying some heat + solvent to get the oil out of the seed. How well does the oil fare after it has been taken out of it’s protective coating, and exposed to light and air? For extra virgin olive oil they do not use solvents, which I suppose is a good thing.

In the last 10 or so years a lot of talk about how bad polyunsaturated oils are, specifically how they oxidise more readily, especially when reheated in a commercial deep frier.

During this time some scientists looked at cell membranes in the human body. What portion of what type of fats are stored in them. Well, it turns out you are what you eat. If you eat a lot of fried stuff from fast food joints, your membrane’s balance between saturated and polyunsaturated is all out of whack. And the membranes don’t just sit there doing nothing. They have some important functions, specifically around selectively letting things in and out of the cell. Supplementation with some important fats that are lacking in bad diets has supposedly helped people with arthritis.

So coconut oil stepped in to become a saviour for all the health conscious. It seemed to have a very big marketing dollar behind it. Apparently more safe because it is saturated and less easily oxidised. Then about a year ago, an article in the BMJ came out and said, “Lol, nah actually guys, it’s still artery clogging like the rest of these saturated fats.”

No idea what is best health wise, go with an environmental choice as some thoughtful posters above have suggested?

1 Like

Good insights. Didnt know about much of that.

Like you say, it is hard to know one day from the next what will be called healthy and whom is deciding the circumstances behind the definitions.

In the end, if one is looking for healthy deep fried food…not much to say. Which brand of cigarette or vodka is better for us? Its kind of a mute issue. But if one type of product mows down virgin rainforeats, the other sprays a ton of _____cides and thebother is more or less self reliant and growing in barrwn wastelands…we can choose at least the healthier for our surroundings option.

For health, seems a lot of people confused fats in food (eg plant fats and animals eaten with the rest of said plant or animal) . whereas purified oils in high concentraions and minus a good portion of the rest of the food package, it is no wonder they are generally recognised as shit (GRAS).

2 Likes

I wonder if there is such a thing as chicken oil…

You know fry chicken in its own oil…

Ya, thats the thing. Cook something in its own oil and get the other benefits of its nutrition. Cooking oil is ultra purified and people use quite a lot. Many things can be fried with much oil at all. We do fried fried with zero oil and tastes great. Also dont feel like pooping and/or sleeping after.

Sure, but you need a lot of chickens. It’s mostly used to saute, not deep fry. And it’s quite healthy accordingly.

I agree with that, so I never deep fry. Although lately I’ve been wondering if pan-fried, or high temperature dry baked foods are really any better.

You just coat fries or anything with some oil and put it in the oven. Oven fries!

Thats what i do, but i dont use oil. For potatoes i like to boil them a bit, strain then bake with some salt and spices.

I have found many things can be made without oil and taste good. But deep fried chicken and such is hard to replicate without deep frying and tastes pretty good so will never go away. Its just good that we be honest with ourselves so we limit. Today i want to eat a cancer coated heart attack. Tomorrow will want to eat a vegetable.

If the problem is oil changing properties after smoke point, and start releasing harmful substances, then oven fry isn’t really a solution. It does cut down on fat intake though.