I have a deep fryer that hasn't been out of the box since I got it over 2 years ago.  I want to finally use it tonight, but I can't think of what to make.  I want it to be a decent meal, I know just about anything can be fried.  Hook me up with something good!  I am drawing a blank when I try to decide.

Start out simple, shrimp & french fries. Cut the potatoes yourself, consider something like a waffle cut for maximum enjoyment. You can buy the shrimp alreay battered & ready to use, but I'd buy fresh shrimp (prawns) and batter them myself. Don't forget to devein the shrimp, if they're not already done. Old Bay seasoning is a natural for shrimp.

Bob

bar food and beer.

first fill with peanut oil, then take thawed and washed chicken pieces. Dip chicken pieces into a egg/milk wash, then coat with flour mixture. Deep fry for about 18 minutes, enjoy....


Flour mixture:

flour
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika
cayanne powder
black pepper
sea salt

Simple take some frozen chicken wings let them defrost  than simply pop them in take out dry and than soak in some hot sauce, vingar, butter and some spices. Yum yum.



Sorry spelling sucks tonight.

tonight?

We tried frying large pieces of corn bread on our last camping trip.  Worked great. Only takes about 30secs for a warm tasty treat.  

jalepeno poppers.  We buy the big box at sam's or go buy some oversized peppers at Krogers and stuff them with a mixture of our homemade sausage and cream cheese.

We used to eat poppers about every night watching the news until we both gained about 30 lbs.....

Now it is only on special occasions....

Invest in some good quality peanut oil.

Get a couple lbs of chicken wings.

I DISAGREE WITH THE PREVIOUS RECIPES. DO NOT COAT THEM WITH ANYTHING.

Toss em in and fry until they are lightly crispy golden. Pull wings and let cool for a couple minutes on a plate covered with paper towels to soak off some oil.

While they are frying, mix 50% Franks Hot Sauce with 50% melted butter in a large tupperware container with an airtight lid.

Put wings into container with sauce & butter and put on lid. Shake until all wings are completely coated.

Serve with very cold, chilled celery sticks and T. Marzetti's Chunky Blue Cheese dressing and a glass of IBC root beer in a frosted mug.

Tag...I am in the same situation as LPDtactical. Can't pass by all of this and future help on the matter.  

Don't forget that your kitchen is going to smell like hell for a day or two unless you have a damn good hood/vent over the fryer. Thats why I fry in the garage.

keep em coming!  I like what I hear so far.

Shrimp Tempura.

Fried Jalapeno Slices

1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 eggs
1 cup beer
1/2 quart vegetable oil
2 cups sliced jalapeno peppers

Mix flour, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, eggs and beer together in a bowl.

Heat the oil to 365 degrees.

Dip the sliced jalapenos in the batter, then place in the oil. Jalapenos are fully cooked when they float to the surface. Drain on paper towels and enjoy. Dust them with creole seasoning or Morton's Hot Salt for an extra kick.

I use the deep fryer outside so that I don't stink up the house.

Deep fried Snickers
Deep fried Twinkies


...you're gonna die anyway, might as well have fun.  

One of my all time absolute favorites is homemade potato chips, thick sliced.  Quick, easy, and better than anything you will ever buy in a bag.  Trial and error on the time, usually no more than a minute or two based on thickness.  And use the best peanut oil you can find.

I wouldn't drain on just paper towels unless you have a thick layer of them, and you change them for clean ones every couple of minutes.  Letting fried food sit on oily paper towels will hold oil next to the food, making it greasy.

Put a cooling rack in a lipped sheet pan, and drain your food on that.  The oil can drip away from the food, and you can pour the drained oil back into the fryer.

Or put paper towels down in the pan and put the cooling rack on top of them upside-down, so the paper can wick oil off the racks, but the food isn't in direct contact with the paper.

The most important things to remember when frying is to make sure you're at the right temperature, make sure the fryer is not low on oil, and fry in small batches.  If the temperature of the oil drops too much when you add the food, it will be very greasy.

Oh, and start simple!  If you've never used a deep fryer before, get a bag of frozen french fries.  They're idiot-proof as long as you don't dump them in with a bunch of ice on them.  And if you do burn a batch, no big deal.  They're cheap.

Quoted: Invest in some good quality peanut oil. Get a couple lbs of chicken wings. I DISAGREE WITH THE PREVIOUS RECIPES. DO NOT COAT THEM WITH ANYTHING. Toss em in and fry until they are lightly crispy golden. Pull wings and let cool for a couple minutes on a plate covered with paper towels to soak off some oil. While they are frying, mix 50% Franks Hot Sauce with 50% melted butter in a large tupperware container with an airtight lid. Put wings into container with sauce & butter and put on lid. Shake until all wings are completely coated. Serve with very cold, chilled celery sticks and T. Marzetti's Chunky Blue Cheese dressing and a glass of IBC root beer in a frosted mug.

50% Butter

1/2" - 1" of butter or less
Franks
Viniger (just a little)

and

For those nights that you want to party, add some Death Sauce, it usualy doesn't matter who's but Blair's is good and comes in many intensities.  Do try a small amount before adding, a very small amount.  Some of this stuff good enough for pepper spray and beyond

ya want a gourmette dinner? how bout chix cordon bleu, kiev and so on. Take boneless, skinless chix breats and pound out large and thin.

Wrap around: Ham and swiss slices for cordon bleu. A frozen peice of butter whipped with lemon juice, s&p,parsley or tarragon for kiev. Any filling will work as long as its not high in water(cooked out) and cold. Wrap around filling and freeze seam side down. Roll in flour, then beaten egg, then breadcrumbs(i like panko) and chill. Toss in fryer at 350 until colored. finish in oven until you see a bit of cheese or butter leaking from the bottom-its done.

Croque monsieur sandwich? Layer a good sliced bread with ham and swiss leaving a gap around the edges to seal(remove crust) and chill. Coat with a beaten egg and fry or (better) a white sauce with a little parmesan added. Cook till golden, drain on paper towels, slice in 1/2 or quarters and serve with powdered sugar and jelly.

All bar food is wide open as i said. Fry your own corn tortillas for nachos. Fry lightly flour dusted squid rings and tentacles for fried calamari. Wings have been mentioned a few times. Tempura fish or shrimp-_or veg; sliced yams, green beans, broccoli, onion. Fry onions rings, or french fries. Fry whitebait or fresh anchovy. Fry chicken. fry stuffed wonton wrappers or egg rolls-even better cha giao(vviet egg rolls with pork, crab, rice noodles, mushroom, and seasoning. Fry thai stuff chicken wings stuffed with pork, rice noodle, seasonings.

I'll stop now .   But i think ya get it :).
 

Need to get the British guys on the case. Deep fryers are a common, major appliance in GB. They've got all sorts of ways to deep fry everything including toast.

homemade corndogs, country fried steak, mushrooms, shrimp tempura, etc...

any more ideas?  I am cooking tonight.

Catfish cut into chunks dregged in seasoned flour. I use a blackening season mix with the flour.
I like my chunks about 2"x2" this size still gives you a moist center and still cooks pretty fast. The smaller the chunk the easier it is to over cook so watch it carefully.

Quoted: I have a deep fryer that hasn't been out of the box since I got it over 2 years ago.  I want to finally use it tonight, but I can't think of what to make.  I want it to be a decent meal, I know just about anything can be fried.  Hook me up with something good it up nigga!  I am drawing a blank when I try to decide.

Quoted: any more ideas?  I am cooking tonight.

Actually anything can be deep fried ....

Here is a basic recipe which you can use on either pork cutlets, filleted fish, chicken breast, or shrimps. Pork cutlets should be sliced about 3/4 of an inch thick in small serving pieces. Filleted fish should be sliced into thick strips just like in any fish and chips. Chicken breasts may be cut in the same manner as the fish to get Chicken Fingers. Shrimps should be shelled leaving only the tail.


PREP.
Season your choice of food above with salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
In a bowl beat one egg. Set aside.
In another bowl, place one cup flour (better if bread crumbs) and season with one treaspoon salt and pepper.

COOKING.
Dip your choice of "food" into the egg. Make sure the "food" is fully coated by the egg. lift up and let the excess drip off. Dip the same on the flour making sure it is fully coated. shake to let the excess coating drop. Drop in HOT oil. Cook until golden brown.


Dressing.
Mix two parts mayo and one part catsup. Add a teaspoon of relish if you wish. Add sugar to taste if the dressing seems sour from the tomato catsup.

Enjoy.

I use my deep fryer to make fried zucchinni all the time.  SO good.

Quoted: Invest in some good quality peanut oil. Get a couple lbs of chicken wings. I DISAGREE WITH THE PREVIOUS RECIPES. DO NOT COAT THEM WITH ANYTHING. Toss em in and fry until they are lightly crispy golden. Pull wings and let cool for a couple minutes on a plate covered with paper towels to soak off some oil. While they are frying, mix 50% Franks Hot Sauce with 50% melted butter in a large tupperware container with an airtight lid. Put wings into container with sauce & butter and put on lid. Shake until all wings are completely coated. Serve with very cold, chilled celery sticks and T. Marzetti's Chunky Blue Cheese dressing and a glass of IBC root beer in a frosted mug.

+1000

If you need more heat, add a couple drops of one of the multitude of hotter than hell sauces that don't have much flavor.

Quoted: Quoted: Invest in some good quality peanut oil. Get a couple lbs of chicken wings. I DISAGREE WITH THE PREVIOUS RECIPES. DO NOT COAT THEM WITH ANYTHING. Toss em in and fry until they are lightly crispy golden. Pull wings and let cool for a couple minutes on a plate covered with paper towels to soak off some oil. While they are frying, mix 50% Franks Hot Sauce with 50% melted butter in a large tupperware container with an airtight lid. Put wings into container with sauce & butter and put on lid. Shake until all wings are completely coated. Serve with very cold, chilled celery sticks and T. Marzetti's Chunky Blue Cheese dressing and a glass of IBC root beer in a frosted mug. +1000 If you need more heat, add a couple drops of one of the multitude of hotter than hell sauces that don't have much flavor.

varaition:

melt butter in fry pan
add fresh garlic
toss wings in garlic/butter till coated ofer fairly high heat
add Franks hot sauce to hot pan/wings
choke on resulting CS gas
toss/shut off heat

gives yuo a wing thats not slimy but more coated


Also use Panko bread crumbs for coating deep fried stuff- gives a crisper coating

I have a recipe,  for Disaster......as learned from one of the ODU college kids near the firestation.

-First, assemble all essential turkey-frier equipment parts, including propane bottle, stand and pot full of peanut oil in your carpeted bedroom, next to the bed.    This allows for easy proximity seating to cook and surf the internet at the same time.
-Second, fire up the propane!
-Third, go back outside to hang out w/ buddies in the driveway and drink beer from outdoors cooler.
-Fourth, return to bedroom to check on cooker, discover that Surprisingly the bed/ carpet and desk are on fire, w/ heavy fire and smoke!
-Fifth, run away like a scared little girly-man, and oh yeah, don't close door to bedroom to contain the fire.
-Sixth, have neighbors call the fire dept because you're too busy trying to hide the beer from certain arrival of authorities.
-Seventh, admit to fire dept that "I do it all the time and have never had a problem with it!"
-Eighth, look for new place to live because fire gutted bedroom, attic, portion of living room, heavy smoke damage throughout. And what the fire didn't hurt, we opened-up to check for extension and extinguish.

Alton Brown's recipe for battered fried fish strips.  I've made these a couple of times myself, and they are wonderful.  I've used cod and tilapia, and both came out great.

2 cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Dash Old Bay Seasoning 1 bottle brown beer, cold 1 1/2 pounds firm-fleshed whitefish (tilapia, pollock, cod), cut into 1-ounce strips Cornstarch, for dredging Heat the oil in fryer to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and Old Bay seasoning. Whisk in the beer until the batter is completely smooth and free of any lumps. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Note: The batter can be made up to 1 hour ahead of time. Lightly dredge fish strips in cornstarch and shake off all excess.  Working in small batches, dip the fish into batter and immerse into hot oil. When the batter is set, turn the pieces of fish over and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain the fish on a draining rack. Serve with malt vinegar.

Make sure you do shake off all the excess cornstarch.  Batter won't stick well to wet meat, so the cornstarch is there to create a dry surface for the batter to grab.  But if the cornstarch is too thick, the outer layers of starch will peel off, and your batter will slide off the meat.

Quoted: I have a recipe,  for Disaster......as learned from one of the ODU college kids near the firestation. -First, assemble all essential turkey-frier equipment parts, including propane bottle, stand and pot full of peanut oil in your carpeted bedroom, next to the bed.    This allows for easy proximity seating to cook and surf the internet at the same time. -Second, fire up the propane! -Third, go back outside to hang out w/ buddies in the driveway and drink beer from outdoors cooler. -Fourth, return to bedroom to check on cooker, discover that Surprisingly the bed/ carpet and desk are on fire, w/ heavy fire and smoke! -Fifth, run away like a scared little girly-man, and oh yeah, don't close door to bedroom to contain the fire. -Sixth, have neighbors call the fire dept because you're too busy trying to hide the beer from certain arrival of authorities. -Seventh, admit to fire dept that "I do it all the time and have never had a problem with it!" -Eighth, look for new place to live because fire gutted bedroom, attic, portion of living room, heavy smoke damage throughout. And what the fire didn't hurt, we opened-up to check for extension and extinguish.

That right there is why I will never live in an apartment or townhouse.  You never know what moronic thing the guy on the other side of the wall is doing.

Thanks for all the tips guys!

The wife wanted chicken so I went with the flour mix suggested by thedave1164.  turned out great.  Also made some french fries and had a salad.  Had the food on the table when the wife got home.  She was impressed and gave me a 10.  I know I am in like Flynn tonight!