She also writes about home design, food and historical architecture. Used oil for frying fish, on the other hand, must never be used in other dishes except for seafoods. All rights reserved. Tossing it seems like a waste. Keep in mind that the oil will retain the fish flavor. it … I don't remember the source, but I read once... from a source I apparently trusted... that if oil was used to deep fry protein (i.e., fish, chicken, turkey, chicken fried steak, etc.) Turn off the heat immediately and strain out any bits and pieces of food in the oil. Don’t worry if oil appears cloudy; it will clear up once reheated. Reusing cooking oil can be a great way to save on your grocery budget and to cut down on food waste in your home. If your recycled oil is looking cloudy or has foam formed on top, it's time for it to go. Each time any oil is heated and cooled, it … It’s smelly. You then should store the oil in an airtight container in the refrigerator, shielding it from exposure to heat and excess light. it shouldn't be resused. But you may have used a whole quart of oil to fry it—and if it’s peanut oil, it cost you a pretty penny. Our usual method is to pour the oil through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter, which can take hours. Can you reuse oil after frying fish? Then, reuse your oil a few times (six if you are Gill and frying vegetarian fare, five for Makan) – but don’t be a martyr. Every oil has a specific smoking point, the temperature where the oil starts breaking down and starts, well, smoking. With cleaner-frying items such as potato chips, it’s fine to reuse oil at least eight times—and likely far longer, especially if you’re replenishing it with some fresh oil. local disposal center that accepts used cooking oil. Pull from your supply for stir fries and salads, but just be cognizant of whatever flavors the oil's taken on. If you are like most people, you probably reuse your deep-frying oil many times. Because it is more expensive than other cooking oils, many people ask us if it can be re-used after frying. Generally speaking, reusing the peanut oil is fine. The odor and taste of seafood will carry over into your new dish and flavor it almost immediately. If we have exceeded the “smoke point” in the first use, no matter what type of oil was used, it is not recommended to reuse it for another occasion. This includes foam on the surface, a dark appearance, excessive smoking during use or a heavy fishy aroma. You should try to use oil only once, if you can. Our kitchen team's advice is separate your oils to prevent bad flavor overlaps. To revisit this article, select My⁠ ⁠Account, then View saved stories. Keep watching the thermometer. Janis uses his restaurant industry background to answer the question of reusing oil in the fryer, particularly after frying fish. Ask The Eagle Ask the Eagle: Can You Reuse Oil After Frying Fish? I looked for a thread on this topic, but was unable to find one. Look for signs that your oil is ready to be tossed out. A downside to deep frying is the large quantity of oil that's often required. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Now, what really determines whether frying oil can be reused is the temperature. We don't recommend using olive oil—its high cost, low smoking point, and dominant flavor make it a bad choice for deep-frying in the first place. The frying oil is going to take on the flavor of food you cooked in it; which makes fried fish oil killer for shrimp, but not so great for doughnuts or onion rings. It’s that acrid, heavy scent you’ll pick up in front of take-out restaurants of ill-repute. // Leaf Group Lifestyle. While there’s no hard and fast rule for how many times you can reuse frying oil, you should be able to recognise when it needs replacing. Our usual method is to pour the oil through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter, which can take hours. Yes, you can reuse it. Bad frying oil might be tricky to gage with your eyes, but it doesn't have a subtle smell. You can do a fine job of frying fish and vegetables with … The number of times that you can safely reuse it will depend on what kind of oil it is, what temperature it was heated to, and for how long. But there are a few rules for happy oil recycling. The CDC recommends storing used oil for up to 3-months. How Long Can You Keep and Reuse Peanut Oil to Cook? 'Bonfire of the Vanities': Griffith's secret surgery Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Your California Privacy Rights. As tempting as it seems, do not dump grease down the drain with hot water. These include canola, peanut, or vegetable oils. Tossing it seems like a waste. If you use a batter, the oil will remain clearer overall, and can be reused again, following a straining. Because frying occurs at high temperatures, use oils with a high smoking point that won't easily break down. Buy a thermometer that can handle high heat (I have a lovely model that goes up to 400°F). Olive oil is naturally stable under heat and has a smoke point that is high enough for most types of cooking. A "broken" oil is unstable and will turn your food greasy and nasty long before even cooking it. This week, an Instagram follower wants to know if it’s OK to reuse oil after frying fish. Crack open your container and smell the oil you’re keeping periodically. Frying has everything against it. You can reuse oil after frying anything, but its generally not recommended. Here's what you need to know. Leigh holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Washington. In a lot of restaurants, fryer oil only gets changed when it starts to smoke or make food taste "off". But you may have used a whole quart of oil to fry it—and if it’s peanut oil, it cost you a pretty penny. “Keep an eye on the state of the oil,” Hunt says. At the flavor level, you’ll also want to use some discretion with reusing oil. Feel free to pull tablespoons from the container, as you would any fresh oil. As you heat up your oil, keep a hand on the range dial. In search of some guidelines on reusing oil, we fried chicken (thighs dredged in flour and cornstarch) and our Crunchy Kettle Potato Chips.We cooked both foods in identical Dutch ovens filled with 2 quarts of canola oil, strained the leftover oil after each fry, and used a kit to evaluate the oil, which turns it from blue to green in the presence of certain compounds … Whether or not to reuse oil when frying foods is an ongoing debate between chefs of all types. Here’s how to clean and store it: ① Once you’ve finished frying, let the oil cool. Okay, so you've used and reused your oil like a boss, with no decomposition or rancid smells. March 29, 2017. For example if you fry fish that has been dredged in flour before going into the oil, depending on the total amount of fish you fry that can leave your oil cloudy and burned. Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats wrote a great article about reusing fryer oil. For longer-term storage, you can refrigerate or freeze the used cooking oil. Yes, it is OK to reuse fry oil. Can you reuse cooking oil after deep frying? Serious Eats: How Many Times Can I Reuse Fry Oil. You don't just have to use your leftover fryer oil for deep frying. Thereof, can you reuse oil after frying fish? Each time you reuse an oil, it gets more and more destabilized until it decomposes. I don't remember the source, but I read once... from a source I apparently trusted... that if oil was used to deep fry protein (i.e., fish, chicken, turkey, chicken fried steak, etc.) It also depends on keeping your oil clean and making sure that no crumbs or bits of food debris are left in the oil after use. Step Five: Don't Reuse Oil Too Many Times. First, remove any food particles from the oil after frying. Robert Wolke, scientist and author of What Einstein Told His Cook, writes: “Hot oils tend to polymerize—their molecules join together into much bigger molecules that give the oil a thick, gummy consistency and a darker color.”. If you properly strain your oil, you should be able to use it about four times if you're frying something like fish or chicken. As many people have discovered, the oil needed to deep fry a turkey can cost about as much as the turkey itself, so it makes sense to recycle. If you’re planning to deep-fry your turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas, you may wonder: Can you reuse the oil used to fry a turkey? But unless that oil smoked or you used it to fry fish, it’s fine to reuse it once you strain it. The temperature will drop as new batches of food are added, meaning you'll have to pause and raise the temperature of the oil between fry batches. Generally, it's fine to reuse deep-fry oil. 0 Comments I might suggest not deep frying. It can be expensive and a bit intimidating. Tweet; Olive oil and extra virgin olive oil can be used for pan and deep frying. © 2021 Condé Nast. Depends on the method of frying. Greasy fried foods, like chicken and fish, can leave behind stronger flavors. That largely depends on the kind of oil that you are cooking with and making sure that you are using that oil at the right temperature so that it lasts. But unless that oil smoked or you used it to fry fish, it's fine to reuse it once you strain it. Copyright © 2021 Leaf Group Ltd., all rights reserved. How long you can store the oil depends on many factors including; fry temperature and how long it has been used. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. A tablespoon of fresh canola oil in a cake is much better than a tablespoon of your used fried chicken oil. How Many Times Can You Reuse Oil for … Any impurities and unwanted extras (like loose crumbs or bits of batter) are going to wreck the oil’s integrity, burning next time you crank the heat. If you want to reuse your cooking oil, you need to choose a high-quality oil with a high smoking point, and strain it through cheesecloth between each use. it shouldn't be resused. The short answer is – yes. Before we even start talking about reusing it, though, we need to chat about frying oil in the first place. If there is even a hint of rancidity or anything "off," it's time to toss it out. Strain the oil into an airtight container. When using the oil to cook chicken, you can mix it with fresh oil to help normalize the smoke point, but make sure it's the same type of oil. Billionaire breaks norms during massive giveaway. Can you reuse frying oil?Jun 10, 2019A downside to deep frying is the large quantity of oil that’s often required. It’s a little dangerous. However, it is usually not wise to use that oil for cooking a different type of food, especially when fish or seafood is involved. That batch of fried chicken—with a crust that crackles and a juicy interior—is worth the hassle. After the oil cools down, pour and store it in a sealed container at room temperature away from direct sunlight. Temperature control may just be the cause of most deep frying disasters. In it, he explains how the hydrophobic nature of oil drives moisture out of the food. First use fry oil can last well over a week if the temperature is kept to 375 °F / 190 °C and was used only a short time, as when frying a small fish. After the oil cools down, pour and store it in a sealed container at room temperature away from direct sunlight. What are the rules of thumb for saving and reusing deep frying oil? Battered fried foods leave behind light flavors too but, bits of batter residue can eventually degrade the oil. People want to know if they can reuse it after frying turkey, chicken, or fish. When it's time to toss, place the oil in a sealable bag and discard with your regular trash, or for bonus environmental points, find a local disposal center that accepts used cooking oil. However, reusing oil does pose health risks. Regardless of the amount of care you’re putting in here, you shouldn’t use oil that’s more than 1-2 months old. Since sunflower oil generates much more toxic aldehydes (and in less time) than olive oil. However, if used on non-proteins (potatoes, tortilla chips, tempura veggies, etc.) The way the oil starts looking when it starts to decompose is very distinct. It's not that you can't fry in extra-virgin olive oil, it's just that it will break down far faster than a refined oil—if it can even get hot enough to fry without smoking in the first place. Mixing different oils together also can lower their smoke points. Regardless of how many times you decide to use a batch of oil, the important thing is to employ good cooking and storage techniques to keep the oil safe and healthy. It’s messy. Most modern chefs agree that it is perfectly fine to save oil from a frying session. Telltale signs include foaming, a musty aroma or the oil smoking before it can reach the optimum frying … First, the oil takes on the flavor of whatever you fry in it, so fry similar items in … An experiment found that after the fifth time frying chicken using the same oil, the chicken started to acquire a greasy and "off" flavor (via Cooks Illustrated ) . Refrigerate oil and reuse up to 3 times. So, what happens when you have lots of olive oil left over in the pan after you’re done cooking? After the first (and each subsequent) fry, you have to drain the oil and filter it. Trump suggests he may not sign $900B stimulus bill. She is the Editor of Islands America, a travel website for visiting islands within the United States. Drape a few layers of cheesecloth in a metal strainer or chinois to filter out the smallest crumbs. It is not necessary to refrigerate used oil. Wendy K. Leigh is a travel writer and photojournalist from Seattle. If you may, reuse oil for chicken when frying dishes on the same category such as turkey, duck, geese, and the likes. There are, however, a few things to keep in mind when it comes to reusing peanut oil. Cleaning up the messy myths about frying oils. Assuming it's only used for safe food, oil will taste bad long before it will become unsafe (if it ever really does). Have a question of your own? But what do you do when it's time to say goodbye? The answer is yes, you can reuse olive oil. Introducing Ask the Eagle, where I’ll be answering your questions about everything from hunting to butchering to marriage. Turn off the heat immediately and strain out any bits and pieces of food in the oil. 2. Carefully maintaining the temperature prevents the food from getting too soggy (when the oil is too cold) or blitzed on the outside and raw on the inside (when the oil is too hot), but it also preserves the longevity of your oil. Bring the oil to room temperature, and then keep it refrigerated in an air tight container (I keep mine in a 2 quart Cambro). Epicurious may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. It'll get stuck in pipes and cause plumbing problems later on. How do you practice good temperature control? The answer is yes and no. When you throw fish into the equation, the opinions get stronger. Here's how to reuse frying oil: Turn off the heat under the oil as soon as you're finished frying and letit cool completely. Olive oil is great for frying. You know what? If you talk with anyone who has ever worked at a fast-food joint, chances are that one of the things they will tell you is how gross the commercial vegetable oil used for frying gets as it is repeatedly reused.. Make yourself a detective in finding and filtering out the nasty bits. Oil choice is crucial to making a deep fry work. After all, it can be expensive, and it might seem wasteful to throw it away! It is not necessary to refrigerate used oil. There are a couple of things to keep in mind if you plan to reuse your oil. The good news is that yes, you can — and you will probably want to! If the oil gets too hot, it'll start breaking down. Since 1995, Epicurious has been the ultimate food resource for the home cook, with daily kitchen tips, fun cooking videos, and, oh yeah, over 33,000 recipes. The best oils for frying tend to be those high in saturated fats, such as peanut oil, vegetable shortening, or lard. You’ll slowly but surely make your way through the oil, but you won’t have to worry about it getting weaker and weaker on subsequent uses. Reheating oil actually … Can you reuse olive oil? If your fry technique is off, your oil won't be reusable. Ad Choices. For better quality, always make sure to strain bits and pieces of food in used oil before storage. 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