What's cooking? part 4

Need some tips: I have an 8x8 sq pan filled w/ leftover mac and cheese in the fridge that I am going to cut up/coat in breadcrumbs/deep fry, and I am going out to get panko/oil/egg tonight, but how exactly do I do this w/o a high-temp thermometer? I mean I have a meat thermometer that goes to like 200-something but how do you deep fry, really?

don't!!!

get the oil up to where it is shimmery, then chuck in some panko crumbs--you want to see immediate bubbling around the crumb, and for it to brown in oh say a minute or so. If you ain't got no bubble or it is really slow to brown, crank heat and repeat.

Also, what is the best way:

1. seasoned flour -> egg -> plain panko?
2. egg -> seasoned panko?
3. flour -> egg -> seasoned panko?

xp

er that should say "i don't!!!"

i've always had disastrous experiences w/ deep frying, it's always been a huge waste of oil and set off the fire alarms and it's scary as hell and i've almost gotten burned every time i did it

oh and once you have your crumb under control, chuck in your first piece of M&C. Temp will drop, so you'll want to give it some more time to get back up to bubble/brown temp before you put in your next piece.

Don't listen to TLG; deep frying is no big thang.

flour -> egg -> panko iirc

I vote 3 also

tlg and i are on the same page
cleanup is so not worth a fried thing to eat

YOU GOT THIS STEVIE FUCK THE HATERS

I mean pretty much everything on god's green earth is worth a fried thing to eat, c'mon

cleanup and waiting for the burn to heal because there is always a splatter

you can do what you want! fry away! i just will never try it again myself.

yeah the mac is cooked so you just pull them out when the panko is golden brown. that should be plenty of time to heat the mac through.

flour egg panko
flour dries it out so egg stick, egg makes panko stick = magic

btw i love to eat a fried thing if someone else fries it!

what i am trying to say is that i am a bad fryer

fry it up, baby!

YOU GOT THIS STEVIE FUCK THE HATERS

― quincie, Monday, October 15, 2012 2:41 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

YO I'M FEELIN YOU GIRL *HIGH 5*

recipes say to season the flour so I will do that.

i mean, if you got a deep fryer .... but it uses so much oil!

why not just pan-fry each side?

silence!

let the man fry

here's where i confess that i saved up to buy a fry daddy when i was in middle school and MADE A HUGE MESS
sob sob sob

i hope your fried macaroni nuggets are pain free!

I'm with tlg and LL; I leave frying things to people with better equipment and who don't make me clean up.

i just pan-fried last nights pasta but failed to brown or crisp it :-(

http://www.iment.com/maida/favs/recipes/pasta/refried.htm

^^ awesome

I've only deep fried at home once or twice but I was fry girl at KFC in my teens so *pins medal on chest*

clean oil, test before using a la quincie
never! turn! your! back!
do not multitask when frying.
do not move pans full of hot oil.
be safe!

Ya I will be using a smallish Le Creuset if I do this; also I think what I will be doing is essentially pan frying in that I fill up the Creuset so that the oil reaches like halfway up the macaroni block, and then I will flip it over and fry the rest.

I don't think I'm ready for submersion.

paula deen says two inches of oil at 350

Yes but I have no thermometer this is the problem!

oh right

that's a good place to start imo

but if you ever do decide to go full pot/full deep fry, it's worth getting a candy thermometer just so you're on point with temperatures. you don't have to do it that way, but it's helpful if you're nervous.

but just follow quincie's advice about testing with a panko crumb, the oil will tell you when it's ready *insert sound of zen music/pan pipes*

maybe ... set the oven at 350, put the creuset in there with the oil?!? (j/k)

lol

call the fire department

the oil will tell you when it's ready

i heard this in jodorowsky's voice from holy mountain

<3

mum used to fry potatoes for sunday roast, in the half-pan like stevie's going to do

you should be able to tell from the the edge of the mac/cheese square when its' ready to turn over. keep a spoon on hand with your flipper to help counter balance

be the oil

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/2/20/1329737727793/Zen-master-Thich-Nhat-Han-007.jpg

i've only ever deep fried one thing (plantains) but i thought it was a breeze; idk

i guess it comes down to how deep the oil is? don't you only need like a half-inch of oil to deep fry a plantain chip?

i always pan fry plantains
deep frying is a very particular experience that involves a LOT more bubbling oil than you're probably used to seeing (unless you have been a fry cook)

they were little chunks not thin chips, prob used 3 inches of oil or so. i mean i'm not in a rush to deep fry chicken pieces or whatever but it didn't seem like a huge deal.

así?
http://the2ndhalf.typepad.com/andys_diner/images/2007/10/18/maduros3.jpg

lil smaller but yeah that with full oil coverage

um hello how is it that no one has yet commented on TLG's link up there???

omg I missed it

lots catsup

it was a bummer to open because I was actually pretty excited about fried pasta

it's like opening a recipe for refried beans to find that it's just someone opening a can and heating them up

On the topic of refried beans: I had the most amazing smokey refried beans at a fancy mexican joint in Houston. TBH my only experience is refried beans from a can. How to proceed? It will definitely involve some time in the big green egg to get some smoke, but. . . what the hell else is involved? Do I start from dried beans? What kind? What other stuff? Lard is not a problem fyi.

whole beans from a can with liquid go into a pan with oil. maybe 1 tbs oil / lard / drippings for every can of beans? you mash them up in the oil with a masher as they fry over medium heat. takes 10-20 minutes. that's it!