I really like how this guy approaches healthy eating. It's not preachy, it's not condescending, no ultra strict diet of sad foods, it's realistic, flexible and acknowledges more than just the numbers. If eating one unhealthy meal will reduce the stress from a bad day, great, the stress is probably more unhealthy than just about anything you can eat. Something diet and fitness freaks never seem to take into consideration. This guy comes across as a real person.
@@Sniperboy5551dieting should be less about what you do eat and more about what you don't eat. Meaning proper portion control. Also, don't confuse hunger for craving because craving something chronically is addiction.
@@brandonhoffman4712couldn’t disagree more. Dieting shouldn’t be about what you don’t eat, it should be about what you do eat. Specifically eating less calories than you burn, eating foods that satiate and provide the nutrients your body needs while providing minimal calories, and eating foods that you enjoy. If you just eat smaller portions of unhealthy food you will be hungry and miserable. If you eat proper portions of the right foods you will not. Deep fried foods are calorie extremely dense and often are paired with carbohydrates. It’s about as counterproductive to a diet as is possible. I’m down 14 lbs in the last 6 weeks, exercise and eliminating fried food are the biggest factors in this.
@adamsteinhardt6393 we could go on forever about half filled glasses. The fact is if you're dieting, you're on your way down in size. Therefore, one should use the negative, scientifically speaking. Or in this case don't. Much like a glass being drunk is half empty when it reaches the halfway point. If the glass were being filled, then it's half full when it reaches halfway. It's science! So a person dieting should focus on what not to eat. Leaving them lots of good options of things to eat. It's all there at the store, you just need to widdle it down. Much like widdling wood, your trying to get to the good stuff inside. If you only focus on what to eat you don't learn why you don't eat certain things. There are plenty of people saying things are good that aren't. It is up to you to apply scrutiny to what you place in your body. And you need to know the truth, not to listen to my aunt swear by canola oil... because canola oil should be on the do not buy list in my book. Also, dieting is about portion control. Normally a reduction in size. Leading again to what you don't eat rather than what you do eat. Because your trying to train the brain to remove food from the plate. It's getting into the glass half full stuff again. We're trying to go down, not up. We shouldn't be focused on what to put on the plate, but what we don't put on the plate.
As a Registered Dietitian, I agree with your nutrition philosophy. There is nothing inherently wrong with eating fried foods every once in a while. You make a good point about if you deep fry at home you are more likely to have a healthier side. Thanks for sharing
As someone on my cutting phase, I always use an air fryer because oil is the most insidious source of calories 1. It seeps into every crevice of the food even if you drain it properly 2. It's the most calorie dense macro by a factor of 2 I get (mostly) similar results but without 100 calories per piece of breaded chicken. Worth it!
@@RexGalilae The results are just barely considered fried. They taste so much worse in the air fryer. Generally bland, not crispy, and the meat is often not moist. Pretty much everything I airfry I put a little bit of oil on. Making hashbrowns in the airfryer is so convenient, but without a tiny drizzle of olive oil they taste like ass. Its a nice medium ground between deep frying and plain airfrying.
@@lucass8119 I drizzle olive oil too but my point is. That's still air frying as the convection medium is mainly air Deep frying is when you submerge the thing in oil which causes oil to displace the water content inside giving the sensation of "moistness" Your meat can be genuinely moist in a good air fryer at the right setting.
As a belgian, where a fryer is a staple in every home where we eat fried food atleast once a week, often more. It is definitely worth having one. For 30 euros you can have one and it doubles as oil storage. Here are some reasons/tips: 1) It has it's own heating/temp control so you just set it to 190C and forget it 2) Use it under your suction on top of your regular stove to make the smell not spread as much (or in something like a veranda/outside if you want to completely avoid it, ofcourse make sure not to leave it outside if it might rain) 3) Leave the oil there for around 8-10 uses (yes the oil will get a darker brown colour, this is not an issue, it even adds flavour. Stick to your uses unless it starts to go black 4) We commonly use sunflower oil for ease of use, ox fat used to be more common but thats in blocks and less convenient, more smelly (but subjectively, tastier) 5) Don't generally leave it unattended. Things fry fast. Once your fryer tells you it is at temp (often with a light) you put the food on. It generally should not take long before the food is ready so don't walk away. 6) it's got a handy basket which you can raise above the oil to let the food leak a bit before transfering to your plate, and throwing things into before they hit the oil 7) And with any frying, if you ever have a fire (i never have in 20 years). Dont use water! Unplug and cover it with the lid. Yes it's not just for not spilling during moving and smells, thats what it's for. 8) Dont forget to remove ice from frozen food before freezing, it avoids execsive bubbling and spatters Frying is not scary, kids do it here all the time when they do parties. It's easy, delicious and fun. If it's got a stable surface to sit on, it's hard for things to go wrong.
Sunflower oil is actually not the best for deep frying due to the high content of poly-saturated fatty acids because these break down quickly when heated. Rapeseed or peanut oil is the healthier choice...
@@caspermaul7583 might very well be true. Here however its the most common oil for most things because all shops have it, and olive oil. Others are harder to find
The way you explained healthy eating at the end was kind of mindblowing to me, even though it seems like it should be kind of obvious to everyone. I know you talk about balancing your meals a lot, but I would love to see a video where you deep dive into balancing meals.
It really seems obvious but balance is almost always the best option. If you keep an eye on your diet and are honest with yourself, you can totally have that burger with fries on a nice Saturday night with friends 😉
I feel like he reduced the healthyness of food to it's caloric density though, but there are a lot of other reasons why certain foods/cooking methods are unhealthier than others. Frying, for example, increases the amount of AGEs, acrylamides and potentially other unhealthy compounds in your food. Still agree with his view on balanced eating, but it goes further than just how caloricly dense something is.
There are so many advantages to viewing healthy eating through habits and trends, rather than through scrutinizing meal to meal: it allows you to set more realistic and achievable goals, it gives room to occasionally indulge without feeling like you've thrown out everything you've worked on because of one meal, while it keeps you accountable to your long term objectives, and overall it's less neurotic.
It is indeed a breath of fresh air. As someone who lost over 200 lbs over a couple of years almost exclusively from eating differently (read: calorie counting and primarily home cooked with an emphasis on made from scratch; no banned foods), this is one of the few times I've encountered a perspective that resembles my own in media. There's an overwhelming amount of snake oil, fad diets and junk science promoted virtually everywhere.
My approach to healthy eating is a lot like his. Making food suck wont work. Life will just suck until you go back to bad habits. But, take the elements you really love and use them as a flavor note or an in-meal desert. For example I was craving a French dip or a burrito with shredded beef. So I made shredded beef at home, slow roasting it, frying some if it in the beef fat and adding the juice back to it after I reduced it. Now I could make a French dip. Beef, bread, butter. But there's very little food value beyond calories/protein here. First meal I made like a burrito bowl with rice, lettuce, cheese and fried onions veggies. The juice from the reduced beef broth soaked into the rice and was super good. Still too many empty calories so second meal with it I cut out basically all the rice (still added some but it was like 2 small spoon fulls. Then topped it with sautéed corn and broccoli (I like these soft), a bunch of sauteed onions, green bell peppers, and mushrooms (I like these browned so they cook longer) and then topped with just enough beef to flavor the dish. The amount of beef in the last dish was about 1/4th that of the sandwich. The rice which is mostly just carbs with little other nutrient value was reduced, and I got a lot of extremely flavorful veggies that made me a lot more full, with a lot less calories than just beef and bread or beef and rice. Solved the craving very well, and it was a lot more focused on health than a French dip or burrito. Key for me is, take the decadent food item and use it as a flavor note in a dish that's more health focused.
Honestly, it's more the fact that oil vapors condense everywhere including my face and clothes that's worse than splatter. Unless you have a good, powerful ventilation above your stove, you'll be cleaning grease condensate for a week
Another way to reuse oil is the gelatin method described in Serious Eats, as gelatin traps all the particles in the oil and solidifies on the top of the oil as it cools on the fridge. In the next morning just scoop the gelatin with the particles, and when reheating the oil some bubbles trapped in the oil are going to surface and then you're good to go.
IMO, it's better to sift the oil after each batch, before the loose particles get a chance to burn. Takes a few seconds, which also lets the oil to regain ideal temp.
Another thing I would recommend is start deep frying donuts or something similar. They are a lot more forgiving if you mess up a little and don't create as much bubbles than deep frying meat.
@@EthanChlebowski Yep Protip: If you use frozen fries, be careful as those ice crystals on the fries can cause a mad sizzle when you drop them in hot oil
I've gone from 275 to 170 myself over 20 years ago and never gained a pound ever since. I totally understand your point. I didn't know your story until today but, weirdly, I started following you... I guess it's a home cooking mindset. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I know this video's a year old, but I've been following the new ones 😉. Just discovered this one by digging. Thanks bud
The last 5 minutes were really important for me for someone who has struggled with weight and self image issues. Often I watch these videos and "wish" to recreate this because "I will do it when im healthy" but a true self reflection of what is considered "healthy" and "not healthy" really gave me insight on my (and I assume lots of people) flawed views on deep frying and food altogether. Can't appreciate it enough.
Hi Ethan, this video is a godsend! I had been cranking up the heat and constantly burning the oil, food and causing smoke to billow throughout the house. Using a thermometer, constantly monitoring the temp before and during cooking, made my food taste 1000% better and made it sooo much easier to correctly brown the breading AND have the chicken come up to temp. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, this video changed the way I cook!!!
Learning from you each time you post a video. There's a saying where I'm from, stand in ovation for anyone who teaches you anything, and you my friend are one heck of a teacher. Thank you Ethan! Deeply appreciated!
Best tip? Placing the used oil into a daily-use container. Thos allows it to gravitationally clarify any suspended bits that might remain; it also allows for re-use of oil that would otherwise 'go bad' en masse with repeated frying use. As a final bonus, it lets you know a general reminder that you're probably deep-frying too much, if you end up with litres of oil in storage.
WIngs in peanut oil(sometimes used 4 times), double breaded ( 1:2 cornstarch to flour) , double fried Maangchi style (lower temp first then quickly at a high temp ), also season the breading( smoked paprika , garlic powder, onion powder, lemon pepper, cumin, salt, pepper). Try it out ! Thanks Ethan for this video!!!
Excellent, accurate, informative and correct. I Deep fry once or max twice a month for the family and use a Tefal fryer that filters oil after use (once cool enough of course) We are 5 so I have to do 2 batches. 2,5-3KG total (peeled and chipped weight) The trick to English style chips (not thin French fries) is to double cook. As follows. set to 180C, deep fry the 1st batch but turn down to about 140-150C and cook for 12 mins. Remove and keep warm in the oven at 80-100C. Wait for the oil to get up to temp again and do the same for 2nd batch. Because the potatoes cool the oil quickly, the 180 start quickly drops to the point where you need to slower cook at 150 for 12 mins. Remove 2nd lot, mix with 1st leaving to cool longer so both batches are about the same temp. Then cook a 2nd time at 190C for about 4-6 mins removing when golden. Result is thick cut fluffy on the inside crispy on the outside. The oil can be used in my experience about 6 times. Using breaded items or batter greatly reduces that. Finally Ethan is spot on about take away / fast food for 2 reasons - 1 often cheap seed oils are used - they are processed and considerably less healthy. 2 they don't change or filter the oil enough. So OPTIMALLY cooking with beef tallow from grass fed is the perfect solution for chips but I got here looking for how long tallow can last/be reused. Solid at room temps means I can't filter like I do with the tefal using peanut oil. Ethan gets everything correct here. The "Bad food" is the one you do to much of and without other oils to break it down. The closer to nature you eat the better. 100% of the time. FAT is not bad for you, it's food and calories we need. Processed crap is NOT good for you.
Ethan, I hope that my girlfriend doesn't read this, but this was perfect timing. I ordered a Made In wok for her, it was one of the last remaining items she was looking to enhance her kitchen. Thanks to your video, I'm looking forward to trying our fried fish, shrimp, and chicken recipes utilizing the techniques you've shown in both your frying videos. Thank you, dude. It'll be a merry Christmas in our bellies. 🎄 PS - I mentioned specifically in the "How did you hear about us?" part of the order that it was your channel. They're having a Black Friday sale which was 25% off my first order.
Thanks for your honesty and thoroughness. I don't deep fry often but I might do so more now. However, I would like to point out one thing... the numbers flashing on your microwave the whole time! (Ha! Made you look!) Honestly, I've noticed it whenever you're filming in the darker kitchen. Just thought I'd mention it. ^_^
Hi, Ethan. I agree about using a wok. I have a small round-bottomed Japanese wok that works wonders on my gas stove, however, I did have to purchase a wok ring for stability. Woks heat up and cool down so quickly that it makes temperature control so much easier. I actually find it less messy than a safety fryer.
One thing you didn't mention is if you have an extraction hood to make sure that thing is cranked up while you are frying. This makes a huge difference to the smells that can linger in the air. Most of the smells are from evaporated oil settling on surfaces and having extraction over your work station removes this problem completely.
This is such a great video! I consider myself a pretty confident and proficient home cook but deep frying took me a while to blindly navigate and I still am mostly relying on specific recipes telling me what to do in that very particular scenario, and also being wasteful with my oil afterwards. This is a great one stop shop for end to end process and understanding the whole concept so thank you for putting in the hard yards to produce this!
An excellent video. At the end you ask what our favourite tip was. I actually already do nearly all the things you cover but the one tip that I will take away is about clearing all the stuff away. Beside my stovetop is a tray filled with oil, a salt pig, balsamic vinegar, my mortar & pestle, etc. Because I do clean like crazy right after deep frying, I must admit I don't always think to clean every single one of those items. So from now on, I'll simply move that tray over to another counter until I'm finished. Thanks for such a great video.
Oh and maybe I can share a tip that I do, which I learned from a Korean fellow who did a lot of deep frying. He taught me to lay down tin foil on the burners I'm not using that are apt to get grease spattered (I don't use a wok but instead use a cast iron pan). I kind of crinkle the tin foil at the edges so it stays put. Afterwards I actually wipe any obvious spatters, fold the tin foil into a rectangle and use it again.
This video definitely needs more likes and views! I think this covers a lot of people's general (mine included) around frying at home. While I made the jump myself to do so at home, there was so much more in this video that made me think about what's involved in the overall process than others. So happy for your channel growth and the info and knowledge you throw out there. Mad props!
Hey Ethan, just wanted to thank you for giving us consistent high quality, informative and entertaining videos. Your videos are always getting better and I appreciate your hard work!
Hi, great vid. A couple points: 1. I use a T-Fal dedicated frier that I can remove the oil after and has a calibrated temperature control with an oil strainer built in. 2. I use rice-bran oil which is very neutral in taste, and you can buy in bulk very economically. Thanks!
I got a carbon steel wok a few weeks ago. They are amazing! So far I've only used it for stir-fry but I'm hoping to make some egg rolls in it. Thanks for the frying info. Very helpful.
I have 2 different deep fryers from Goodwill, actually. They were very inexpensive, and they work. I love using actual deep fryers, as it’s really clean and safe. The safe factor is great for when my husband and I have kids. I would not feel comfortable frying with a larger, open pan with young children. I usually just make fries occasionally, but sometimes I also make fried chicken or shrimp, so it’s great having two of them.
always used a dutch oven for frying, lots of fried tofu sandos in our vegetarian house, but youve convinced me to get the wok finally! great vid as always!
Dan, get a carbon steel wok and season it properly. It will be your go to pan. Watch School of Wok or Souped Up Recipes for the good tips. Jet Tila has some good dishes, too.
This was very informative. I grew up eating fried foods and I guess that's why it was never scary for me. But I do appreciate the tips, so I can improve all the more. (And I was really happy to see that peanut oil is the best for performance, sat-fat, and cost. Been using that as my choice for deep-frying and sauteing for many a year!)
WOW brother, this is one of the most informative and high end cooking video I have watched in a long time. It’s like every time I have a question pop up in my head, it’s answered in following few seconds; it’s like telepathy .You just earned yourself a new subscriber. Keep up the good work👏👏👏
This was really nice. I loved the explanations, rules, demonstrations, and clear communication. I for one have only ever done shallow pan frying at home and avoided deep frying for several of the reasons you mentioned, esp. the health aspect. I chose this video because I was curious (I love to cook), but I didn't expect to be converted! Now I am excited to try frying chicken, fish, and potatoes. And I'm getting my first wok. Thank you, it was very kind of you to share so much. FYI, another FANTASTIC oil to cook with is clarified butter (smoking point is 450degF). Congratulations on your improved health!!
I've recently gotten into the habit of keeping a bowl of pre-ground falafel mixture in the fridge. Whenever I feel like having a falafel wrap, I can either small batch fry the falafel in a cast iron skillet or bake the falafel in a non-stick pan. Of course, the fried falafel has more calories (along with a better taste and texture), but I'll make the fried version a touch smaller and load up the wrap with more fillings and a slightly thinner tahini sauce. When I bake the falafel, I always add some crispy fried onions and a thicker tahini to the wrap. The baked falafel wrap with crispy fried onions ends up with slightly less calories, but the wrap with fried falafel is still tastes superior in the end. I guess it just depends on what I feel like doing, they both take roughly the same amount of time but the baked version is way more hands-off.
I was put off by the price of Made In. My wife, God bless her, reminded me that I'm not getting any younger and could afford it. I got the 10 inch nonstick. Bad news was the lid was extra. Good news was that the lid from my crappy ceramic pan {omg what a waste!} fit like a charm. The pan is amazing. Whatever you say about Made In is an undersell. I'm gonna take my good pans to my cabin -and they are GOOD pans- and replace the home kit with Made In. Thank you Made In for sponsoring this video
Really excellent content. I'm a home cook looking to get to grips with deep frying and this told me everything I need to know and more to get started. Love the depth of detail and data. Great job!
Set your microwave! It was just blinking at me the whole time. Also, thanks for the info. Definitely a handy follow up to your green bean video with frying the onions
This is such a great channel. I’ve been watching for a while now and really appreciate the science backed approach to food. It’s laid out so well with references and intertwined with your own personal experience that many can relate to. And for what it’s worth, nothing can top the brussel sprout salad I discovered here. It’s been my meal prep lunch ever since. No regrets. Keep up the great content Ethan.
If you don't have a thermometer you can also put in a (very) small piece of what you're frying into the oil as you're heating it up. once it starts bubbling it should be alright to start putting in bigger pieces. So with fries you'd put in a small fry or with battered stuff a tiny amount of the batter. It's not that accurate but it will get you in the right area. It's how my mum and great-grandmother taught me how to deep fry food and I've never even had a close call with stuff bubbling over.
Great video, Ethan! It was long, but pleasant to watch, with so much information. I like that you addressed pretty much all of the concerns about deep frying while also giving tips and tricks.
My wok is made of thin case iron. I love mine for so many reasons. You can pull parts off direct heat without removal, the volume issues you said, it's easy af to maintain, les chances of flinging anything as it's got such a wide top, etc
Thanks for demystifying the process with yet anopther brilliant video Ethan. After losing a stack of body fat a few years back and making much healthier choices with diet/cooking I generally avoid deep fried goodness altogether these days and have never even tried at home, however you've inspired me. I've had a simple recipe on my mind and already cook mostly in a wok so once I get a few new tools there's nothing to stop this being an occasional treat that's hopefully healthier than takeaway or eating out.
Don't recall if it was this one or the Crunchwrap Supreme video but "boiling pasta for water" made me chuckle 😉. By far my new favorite channel, I've been trying to find ways to cook "healthier" and improve my relationship with food and a lot of what you've posted so far is exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks so much for the content!
You can use a small sauce pan, the kind which can fit around 2-3 cups of water/oil and lets you fry a few meatballs/falafel or a few burger patties at the same time. This way, you don't need a lot of oil, even if you're deep-frying a steak, as long as the steak can fit into the pan.
Ethan, this was incredibly thorough and informative. I'm glad I stumbled onto it. I reuse my corn oil (soon to be changed to peanut oil) 4 or 5 times when frying potatoes or chicken. I keep a separate container of corn oil that has had fish fried in it. After 3 or 4 fries, I get rid of it and use the chicken and potato oil for the next batch of fish, maybe adding some fresh oil if I need the volume. I strain my oil through a permanent brass mesh coffee filter inside a funnel. I find that it flows better if I pour it while it is about 150 degrees F. I always keep both oil containers in the door of my fridge, just to be safe. You have me thinking that that may be unnecessary. I've also found that if I gather up all the paper towels that I used for cleanup and put them in the trash can outside the house, the smells dissipate from the kitchen much faster.
Hi, Ethan. Thank you for another honest and informative video! If you fry something savory like chicken, save the oil, then fry something sweet like donuts, do you think it will make the donuts taste like chicken? (sounds like a really bad riddle/joke hehe).
Thnx! My cooking definitely needed workflow improvement. I'm constantly washing stuff because I didn't pre plan a workstation Physically. I always thought about being organized, but never did it. The visuals helped! 🙃😮
Really cool video, and I learned some things that might make me give it a try more often. I need to get a proper wok. I only have one remark to offer you and it's not really a criticism, just something to consider. You mentioned letting the oil cool completely before filtering it into your jar. This is indisputably the safer thing to do and what most people should do. Technically though, the filtering process works better when the oil is still hot. It will go through the filter faster, it will get away from the remnants you're trying to get it away from sooner, and since I would assume that most people either use a mesh metal filter regardless of whether they're also using paper towel or cheese cloth (to support them), it will make it easier to clean that. Are all of those things worth potentially burning yourself? Probably not. It's just food for thought. Your advice is probably still the correct route. The only reason I know this is because I once worked at a restaurant with giant deep fryer and every night we had to filter the oil via use of this machine pump with a big square filter on the end of a hose. If you didn't use it while the oil was still hot (like, the elements had been turned off for less than 5-10 minutes), it would end up clogging the machine itself up, and you would see both how much more gummy the filter got on the end, and the oil that came out on the other end was more discolored. Like, to the point where if we had put in fresh oil on Monday, and filtered it cool/cold at the end of the night, then on Tuesday filtered it hot, the oil that came out on Tuesday night looked cleaner/fresher than the oil that came out Monday night - and stayed that lighter/cleaner color once it cooled, too.
You rock man… the fact that you take into account the mental aspect of eating satisfying food from time to time is so important. No wonder you got so shredded, your diet is so sustainable.
As to controlling smells, I like to work underneath a vent hood (or very close to one when I'm using a standalone deep fryer that doesn't sit nicely on the stove). Every fall, we get potatoes from the family farm in Idaho. They make excellent fries. They are a lot better than the potatoes you normally find in the store since they are straight from the ground and haven't been sitting in some farmer's potato cellar for over a year.
Man that video was great, love the science based (or shoudl I say Kenji based) facts and everyday tips. I´ve been succesfully deep frying at home for some time now. I just have a pot of frying fat in the fridge that i either use completely or partially and just strain back in there, so thats quite easy. Really loved the video, thx Mr Bowski
Excellent video, I knew that the Maillard reaction occurred at 350 but did not know it started at 250, that gives me a lot of flexibility in my deep frying. Thanks, Ethan!
I'm from India and literally I never had any of these problems nor have I ever heard anyone complain about these because we use kadai to deep fry which is very similar to wok. Our kitchens always have a exhaust fan \ system for smell. We re use the oil for other purposes. Cleaning the kitchen is what I \ my mom do everytime we are done cooking so it feels weird to watch this video and how simple theses things are and still so many people are unaware of these (example Adam Ragusea) Love your videos keep on doing the amazing work you do.
See keep in mind what you said there you're used to cooking. Tons of people haven't had the pleasure of homecook families and they're not used to going through these steps to get really tasty food.
No offense towards indian people but you are probably just used to the smell. Oftentimes when I am near people from india I do very much notice the smell of food, spices and also the deep frying and I do not like that. Has nothing to do with being dirtry or anything, the scent just sticks to the hair and clothes until you shower and change clothes. People just do not notice scents any longer if they are used to them. I always realize that when I come back to my appartment after vacation. At that moment I realize it has a distinctive smell. Not bad or anything but you can realize there is one.
MY COOKING / FRYING TIP……… We have white quartz worktops/counter tops and when cooking anything on the burners it was a nightmare clean up…. So I bought some of those silicone rubbery mats you typically knead bread on or roll dough out on, the ones that are also safe around heat etc (not the silpat ones) and I move anything away from around the cooktop - our items are a toaster and the tea and sugar canisters - then I surround my cooktop with these mats, I even cut a few down to fit smaller spaces around the area that may get splashed, we also have glass at the back of the cooktop and these mats just stick to the glass on contact and don’t come off until I pull them off, I’ve even numbered them from left to right to make each set up easy…… then especially when I’m deep frying anything (or any time I cook now) any splashes go all over these mats, at the end of cooking I throw them all in hot soapy water in the sink and replace my toaster etc, you would never know I’d cooked on there, so easy, it eliminates all the nooks and crannies, I even put them over the glass cutting boards I have down permanently on the work surface, best thing I ever did and these mats aren’t expensive either …..win win 😊…… great video Ethan and channel too, I LOVE it…..only found you about 2 weeks ago (April 2024) xx❤xx
As you mentioned, as you fry, free water evoparates making the batter to expand and crisp up. Does that make it not a good option to deep fry things with close to no water?
Not necessarily. Even things that we might think as conventionally "dry" can be fried. For example, think of rice puffs or shrimp chips. They contain miniscule amounts of water but that's enough to expand into steam and puff up dramatically.
@@Trumancapote140 track calories, thats all you really need! But a "my top 10 Meals during my Weightloss" might be a good Video for starters not gonna lie, that can help people who probably dont cook (properly) for themselves
Some great tips here, Ethan! I recently bought some of those Japanese oil disposal packets that supposedly solidify old oil for easy disposal. I'm looking forward to trying that out. Also please set your microwave clock. It's reminding me of a VCR flashing 12:00. 😀
Yes, was going to comment on that myself. It's distracting, maybe I have OCD or something, lol. Just hit clock twice and leave it on whatever time it has?
Thanks for another good video. Oil that I use for frying fish seems to retain more odor than oil used for frying anything else. No problem. I just store it in a dedicated fish oil bottle. I like to filter through a paper towel or even a coffee filter if the oil is warm.
Bro that health talk at the was golden!! I deffent feel the same, i was never overweight and i never ate "healthy" but what i ate was perfect for the lifestyle im living, i rarely eat breakfast and have a super "unhealthy" lunch but thats the fule my body needs
Hmmm peanut or canola oils, even though they have a higher smoke point, it doesn't have a higher or stabler decomposing or "oxidation" temperature, which is the most important variable for whether it's unhealthy or not. The oils with the higher of those would be virgin olive oil or tallow. Adam Ragusa explains this better in his Olive oil and high smoke oils video. Compliment the videos together.
Peanut oil has very similar oxidative stability and free fatty acid percentage to extra virgin olive oil: actascientific.com/ASNH/pdf/ASNH-02-0083.pdf Also a lot of the bigger changes in that study happen over a very long time or at higher temperatures which are not typically present when deep frying at home.
@@EthanChlebowski thanks for the study. The importance of oil stability when determining health was probably a little too much for a beginner's deep frying video, but a small mention of it in the health section would have been appreciated. Great video regardless!
You are definitely right about incorporating fried foods into your diet. For one, I will typically eat only one fried item per meal if I'm frying or ordering take-out. In addition, I'll steam up some veggies to go along with it so that I'm not missing out on important vitamins and fiber intake. I also won't eat fried foods for consecutive meals or even days! You can't count the exact amount of calories you're consuming in fried foods, but you can definitely ball-park it. For instance, if I decided to go all out and eat a cheat meal with several calorically dense items, I'll likely settle for veggies and fruits, as in a salad or simple stir-fry/steaming in my other meals throughout the day to ensure I don't go over- on my daily caloric intake, which varies from adult to adult but there are online calculators for that. If you care about fitness like I do, you'll learn that it doesn't matter how many calories you consume in one meal, so long as you don't go overboard on your whole day (or even week).
So my problem with the "healthy" issue isn't that isn't the calories, rather the type of oil itself and the breading. Most vegetable oils tend to promote inflammations and the breading is just carbs in its simplest most processed form. Would you have any recommendations for HOW to use substitutes properly? For example lard, coconut oils, duck fats, olive oil and perhaps maybe other carb breading that might be less processed and refined?
Eating in general can promote inflammation, though, lol. There are less processed substitutes. Usually through some keto variation. Google is your friend.
"Promote inflammation"? When you speak like that, it means you've been hoodwinked by people selling you fad diets. That "inflammation" is just you getting fat or you retaining water from too much sodium in the diet. You have three choices; eat less volume of food, get more exercise, or both.
@@newttella1043 Mmm, that isn't necessarily true either. There are "inflammatory" states that are associated with certain food items that you'll see mentioned in peer-reviewrd articles. Now, whether that inflammation is due to intolerance, increase in cytokines, idk.
I love to fry the fish we catch while camping and appreciate the tips. We use an induction cooker and it can be a pain to control the temperature but it works pretty good. As for eating out, totally agree. Not only is it hard to avoid the sides but it will almost always be hydrogenated oil and/or oil that should have been swapped out long ago.
Very good tips. You make a convincing argument about the Wok - convincing enough to make me consider getting one as I’d rather not ruin my nice Dutch oven frying.
Excellent video Ethan, You are definitely making frying at home much more accessible. The way you described "healthy" eating was at the end was great. I for one would be interested in how you lost and maintain your weight while still making and loving great food. Nate
Excellent video from start to finish. I've fried here and there, but wanted to approach it in a more cost-effective and less messy way. You friggin nailed it. It looks like my wok will get even more use now! Appreciate the time you spent making this video.
Alright. I ordered an oil container with fine mesh filter tray, a cooling rack+pan set (finally), and a spider/spoon set. I've gotten better at deep frying since finding your content. Hopefully after this I'll have a more streamlined process.
I us an electric skillet to fry, shallow fry, and deep fry in. I've had the best luck with it and I can get the precise temp on the oil. The one I use is a long rectangle so I can cook large amounts at one as well.
The mess of frying is why I always keep a newspaper on hand. One or two sheets is easily enough to place underneath your fry station, which makes it much easier to clean up fine droplets of oil, flour/breadcrumbs, batter, etc. Still gotta clean off some surfaces, but it really helps the process.
The honesty about the willpower over the restaurant sides hits home for me, once I'm down that path it's very hard to make a good decision wrt ordering a calorie-dense side (and finishing the whole thing). Also second the request for some info about the weight loss journey if you're comfortable sharing, esp. since your start and end mirror my current and goal.
One good point to mention is that when deep frying chicken, much of the fat already in the animal skin will get dissolved into the oil, eventually changing its composition, especially after repeating a few times. This changes the oil's color, smell, and viscousity (which is not a bad thing in itself IMO).
Finally! A cooking show that uses non-stick and understands where it has benefits. Hell might have just chilled a bit. I totally agree with your 3 essential cooking pans. The wok is great for anything high heat, non-stick for day to day general purpose (Is there a reason you don't use this for tomato based things?), and SS for abuse like things that will for sure need chiseled off or would react with the wok's steel, but be too hot or harsh for non-stick. Big advice: get the thickest alu pan you can.
I don't agree on one thing Ethan - "on off" for electric stoves was how I felt about induction cooktops. Maybe the induction cooktop that I've used was just low quality, but you could hear it cycling and it was incredibly frustrating to make work right, whereas the ancient electric range in my house (circa 1965) does great for temp control.
This is one of the best cooking information videos I have ever seen. Absolutely brilliant techniques and advice. I have been cooking for many years and rank myself as an expert. But: I will be implementing these recommendations tomorrow.
I was taught to fry in cast iron. After frying put it in a container and we seal it up. We will reuse it as many times as we can until it starts to get too brown. We have separate oil containers for fish and then for other meats.
My folks have been frying samosas and pakoras in the same old cheapo wok for a while now even though we have much nicer pots and pans around, It all makes sense after this video.
Absolutely loved every minute of this video. Chock full of interesting and informative advice, plus, Ethan, you have such an infectious personality that made listening to you most enjoyable. I like to-the-point facts and information and you provided all that I was looking for. Thank you!
I really like how this guy approaches healthy eating. It's not preachy, it's not condescending, no ultra strict diet of sad foods, it's realistic, flexible and acknowledges more than just the numbers. If eating one unhealthy meal will reduce the stress from a bad day, great, the stress is probably more unhealthy than just about anything you can eat. Something diet and fitness freaks never seem to take into consideration. This guy comes across as a real person.
Cause my man has lost 80 pounds over 10 years. It's a process and it's okay to be unhealthy from time to time.
It depends on the person, some of them need a strict diet tbh
@@Sniperboy5551dieting should be less about what you do eat and more about what you don't eat.
Meaning proper portion control.
Also, don't confuse hunger for craving because craving something chronically is addiction.
@@brandonhoffman4712couldn’t disagree more.
Dieting shouldn’t be about what you don’t eat, it should be about what you do eat. Specifically eating less calories than you burn, eating foods that satiate and provide the nutrients your body needs while providing minimal calories, and eating foods that you enjoy. If you just eat smaller portions of unhealthy food you will be hungry and miserable. If you eat proper portions of the right foods you will not.
Deep fried foods are calorie extremely dense and often are paired with carbohydrates. It’s about as counterproductive to a diet as is possible.
I’m down 14 lbs in the last 6 weeks, exercise and eliminating fried food are the biggest factors in this.
@adamsteinhardt6393 we could go on forever about half filled glasses.
The fact is if you're dieting, you're on your way down in size. Therefore, one should use the negative, scientifically speaking. Or in this case don't. Much like a glass being drunk is half empty when it reaches the halfway point. If the glass were being filled, then it's half full when it reaches halfway. It's science!
So a person dieting should focus on what not to eat. Leaving them lots of good options of things to eat. It's all there at the store, you just need to widdle it down. Much like widdling wood, your trying to get to the good stuff inside. If you only focus on what to eat you don't learn why you don't eat certain things. There are plenty of people saying things are good that aren't. It is up to you to apply scrutiny to what you place in your body. And you need to know the truth, not to listen to my aunt swear by canola oil... because canola oil should be on the do not buy list in my book.
Also, dieting is about portion control. Normally a reduction in size. Leading again to what you don't eat rather than what you do eat. Because your trying to train the brain to remove food from the plate. It's getting into the glass half full stuff again. We're trying to go down, not up. We shouldn't be focused on what to put on the plate, but what we don't put on the plate.
As a Registered Dietitian, I agree with your nutrition philosophy. There is nothing inherently wrong with eating fried foods every once in a while. You make a good point about if you deep fry at home you are more likely to have a healthier side. Thanks for sharing
“As a registered dietician”-🤓 ratio
@@patrickpizzapg3d416 lol
As someone on my cutting phase, I always use an air fryer because oil is the most insidious source of calories
1. It seeps into every crevice of the food even if you drain it properly
2. It's the most calorie dense macro by a factor of 2
I get (mostly) similar results but without 100 calories per piece of breaded chicken. Worth it!
@@RexGalilae The results are just barely considered fried. They taste so much worse in the air fryer. Generally bland, not crispy, and the meat is often not moist. Pretty much everything I airfry I put a little bit of oil on. Making hashbrowns in the airfryer is so convenient, but without a tiny drizzle of olive oil they taste like ass. Its a nice medium ground between deep frying and plain airfrying.
@@lucass8119
I drizzle olive oil too but my point is. That's still air frying as the convection medium is mainly air
Deep frying is when you submerge the thing in oil which causes oil to displace the water content inside giving the sensation of "moistness"
Your meat can be genuinely moist in a good air fryer at the right setting.
As a belgian, where a fryer is a staple in every home where we eat fried food atleast once a week, often more. It is definitely worth having one. For 30 euros you can have one and it doubles as oil storage.
Here are some reasons/tips:
1) It has it's own heating/temp control so you just set it to 190C and forget it
2) Use it under your suction on top of your regular stove to make the smell not spread as much (or in something like a veranda/outside if you want to completely avoid it, ofcourse make sure not to leave it outside if it might rain)
3) Leave the oil there for around 8-10 uses (yes the oil will get a darker brown colour, this is not an issue, it even adds flavour. Stick to your uses unless it starts to go black
4) We commonly use sunflower oil for ease of use, ox fat used to be more common but thats in blocks and less convenient, more smelly (but subjectively, tastier)
5) Don't generally leave it unattended. Things fry fast. Once your fryer tells you it is at temp (often with a light) you put the food on. It generally should not take long before the food is ready so don't walk away.
6) it's got a handy basket which you can raise above the oil to let the food leak a bit before transfering to your plate, and throwing things into before they hit the oil
7) And with any frying, if you ever have a fire (i never have in 20 years). Dont use water!
Unplug and cover it with the lid. Yes it's not just for not spilling during moving and smells, thats what it's for.
8) Dont forget to remove ice from frozen food before freezing, it avoids execsive bubbling and spatters
Frying is not scary, kids do it here all the time when they do parties. It's easy, delicious and fun. If it's got a stable surface to sit on, it's hard for things to go wrong.
Sunflower oil is actually not the best for deep frying due to the high content of poly-saturated fatty acids because these break down quickly when heated. Rapeseed or peanut oil is the healthier choice...
@@caspermaul7583 might very well be true. Here however its the most common oil for most things because all shops have it, and olive oil. Others are harder to find
The way you explained healthy eating at the end was kind of mindblowing to me, even though it seems like it should be kind of obvious to everyone. I know you talk about balancing your meals a lot, but I would love to see a video where you deep dive into balancing meals.
It really seems obvious but balance is almost always the best option. If you keep an eye on your diet and are honest with yourself, you can totally have that burger with fries on a nice Saturday night with friends 😉
I feel like he reduced the healthyness of food to it's caloric density though, but there are a lot of other reasons why certain foods/cooking methods are unhealthier than others. Frying, for example, increases the amount of AGEs, acrylamides and potentially other unhealthy compounds in your food. Still agree with his view on balanced eating, but it goes further than just how caloricly dense something is.
There are so many advantages to viewing healthy eating through habits and trends, rather than through scrutinizing meal to meal: it allows you to set more realistic and achievable goals, it gives room to occasionally indulge without feeling like you've thrown out everything you've worked on because of one meal, while it keeps you accountable to your long term objectives, and overall it's less neurotic.
It is indeed a breath of fresh air. As someone who lost over 200 lbs over a couple of years almost exclusively from eating differently (read: calorie counting and primarily home cooked with an emphasis on made from scratch; no banned foods), this is one of the few times I've encountered a perspective that resembles my own in media. There's an overwhelming amount of snake oil, fad diets and junk science promoted virtually everywhere.
My approach to healthy eating is a lot like his. Making food suck wont work. Life will just suck until you go back to bad habits. But, take the elements you really love and use them as a flavor note or an in-meal desert.
For example I was craving a French dip or a burrito with shredded beef. So I made shredded beef at home, slow roasting it, frying some if it in the beef fat and adding the juice back to it after I reduced it. Now I could make a French dip. Beef, bread, butter. But there's very little food value beyond calories/protein here. First meal I made like a burrito bowl with rice, lettuce, cheese and fried onions veggies. The juice from the reduced beef broth soaked into the rice and was super good. Still too many empty calories so second meal with it I cut out basically all the rice (still added some but it was like 2 small spoon fulls. Then topped it with sautéed corn and broccoli (I like these soft), a bunch of sauteed onions, green bell peppers, and mushrooms (I like these browned so they cook longer) and then topped with just enough beef to flavor the dish. The amount of beef in the last dish was about 1/4th that of the sandwich. The rice which is mostly just carbs with little other nutrient value was reduced, and I got a lot of extremely flavorful veggies that made me a lot more full, with a lot less calories than just beef and bread or beef and rice. Solved the craving very well, and it was a lot more focused on health than a French dip or burrito. Key for me is, take the decadent food item and use it as a flavor note in a dish that's more health focused.
The fact you admitted frying can be a big messy pain in the ass was the biggest endorsement for me. Keep being honest in your videos!
Honestly, it's more the fact that oil vapors condense everywhere including my face and clothes that's worse than splatter. Unless you have a good, powerful ventilation above your stove, you'll be cleaning grease condensate for a week
@@cracknigga As someone who wears glasses, oil getting on them is probably the biggest reason I don't fry that often.
That’s funny to me considering the message of his first deep frying video
I mean just get a fry daddy or any other dedcated deep frier... those get grose yes but keep it self contained.
I like being all slippery
Another way to reuse oil is the gelatin method described in Serious Eats, as gelatin traps all the particles in the oil and solidifies on the top of the oil as it cools on the fridge. In the next morning just scoop the gelatin with the particles, and when reheating the oil some bubbles trapped in the oil are going to surface and then you're good to go.
Dude, this is such a game changer if it actually works as shown, ill try this stuff out ASAP. Thanks for the tip!
@@snoodles224 so, did it work?
@@Noxis_22 I wanna know too!
Gelatin is also used in clear beers to those super see through non-murky beers like lagers, etc. At least home brewers do. So makes sense!
IMO, it's better to sift the oil after each batch, before the loose particles get a chance to burn. Takes a few seconds, which also lets the oil to regain ideal temp.
Another thing I would recommend is start deep frying donuts or something similar. They are a lot more forgiving if you mess up a little and don't create as much bubbles than deep frying meat.
Yep right on. Donuts or funnel cakes are a great starter. French fries too because the oil can be reused a lot more!
@@EthanChlebowski
Yep
Protip: If you use frozen fries, be careful as those ice crystals on the fries can cause a mad sizzle when you drop them in hot oil
Plus: Donuts!!! Donuts = joy
I've gone from 275 to 170 myself over 20 years ago and never gained a pound ever since. I totally understand your point. I didn't know your story until today but, weirdly, I started following you... I guess it's a home cooking mindset. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I know this video's a year old, but I've been following the new ones 😉. Just discovered this one by digging. Thanks bud
The last 5 minutes were really important for me for someone who has struggled with weight and self image issues. Often I watch these videos and "wish" to recreate this because "I will do it when im healthy" but a true self reflection of what is considered "healthy" and "not healthy" really gave me insight on my (and I assume lots of people) flawed views on deep frying and food altogether. Can't appreciate it enough.
I only use my wok to fry, it is the apsolute best for all the reason that you stated.
The monologue at the end shows how passionate you are about food. Thanks for another great video Ethan!
Hi Ethan, this video is a godsend!
I had been cranking up the heat and constantly burning the oil, food and causing smoke to billow throughout the house.
Using a thermometer, constantly monitoring the temp before and during cooking, made my food taste 1000% better and made it sooo much easier to correctly brown the breading AND have the chicken come up to temp.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, this video changed the way I cook!!!
Learning from you each time you post a video. There's a saying where I'm from, stand in ovation for anyone who teaches you anything, and you my friend are one heck of a teacher. Thank you Ethan! Deeply appreciated!
Best tip? Placing the used oil into a daily-use container. Thos allows it to gravitationally clarify any suspended bits that might remain; it also allows for re-use of oil that would otherwise 'go bad' en masse with repeated frying use. As a final bonus, it lets you know a general reminder that you're probably deep-frying too much, if you end up with litres of oil in storage.
WIngs in peanut oil(sometimes used 4 times), double breaded ( 1:2 cornstarch to flour) , double fried Maangchi style (lower temp first then quickly at a high temp ), also season the breading( smoked paprika , garlic powder, onion powder, lemon pepper, cumin, salt, pepper). Try it out ! Thanks Ethan for this video!!!
Excellent, accurate, informative and correct. I Deep fry once or max twice a month for the family and use a Tefal fryer that filters oil after use (once cool enough of course) We are 5 so I have to do 2 batches. 2,5-3KG total (peeled and chipped weight) The trick to English style chips (not thin French fries) is to double cook. As follows. set to 180C, deep fry the 1st batch but turn down to about 140-150C and cook for 12 mins. Remove and keep warm in the oven at 80-100C. Wait for the oil to get up to temp again and do the same for 2nd batch. Because the potatoes cool the oil quickly, the 180 start quickly drops to the point where you need to slower cook at 150 for 12 mins.
Remove 2nd lot, mix with 1st leaving to cool longer so both batches are about the same temp. Then cook a 2nd time at 190C for about 4-6 mins removing when golden.
Result is thick cut fluffy on the inside crispy on the outside. The oil can be used in my experience about 6 times. Using breaded items or batter greatly reduces that.
Finally Ethan is spot on about take away / fast food for 2 reasons - 1 often cheap seed oils are used - they are processed and considerably less healthy. 2 they don't change or filter the oil enough. So OPTIMALLY cooking with beef tallow from grass fed is the perfect solution for chips but I got here looking for how long tallow can last/be reused. Solid at room temps means I can't filter like I do with the tefal using peanut oil. Ethan gets everything correct here. The "Bad food" is the one you do to much of and without other oils to break it down. The closer to nature you eat the better. 100% of the time. FAT is not bad for you, it's food and calories we need. Processed crap is NOT good for you.
Ethan, I hope that my girlfriend doesn't read this, but this was perfect timing. I ordered a Made In wok for her, it was one of the last remaining items she was looking to enhance her kitchen. Thanks to your video, I'm looking forward to trying our fried fish, shrimp, and chicken recipes utilizing the techniques you've shown in both your frying videos.
Thank you, dude. It'll be a merry Christmas in our bellies. 🎄
PS - I mentioned specifically in the "How did you hear about us?" part of the order that it was your channel. They're having a Black Friday sale which was 25% off my first order.
The wok suggestion is amazing... I've owned a wok for years and never thought to use it for deep frying!
Thanks for your honesty and thoroughness. I don't deep fry often but I might do so more now.
However, I would like to point out one thing... the numbers flashing on your microwave the whole time! (Ha! Made you look!) Honestly, I've noticed it whenever you're filming in the darker kitchen. Just thought I'd mention it. ^_^
Hi, Ethan. I agree about using a wok. I have a small round-bottomed Japanese wok that works wonders on my gas stove, however, I did have to purchase a wok ring for stability. Woks heat up and cool down so quickly that it makes temperature control so much easier. I actually find it less messy than a safety fryer.
One thing you didn't mention is if you have an extraction hood to make sure that thing is cranked up while you are frying. This makes a huge difference to the smells that can linger in the air. Most of the smells are from evaporated oil settling on surfaces and having extraction over your work station removes this problem completely.
Well done. Informative and easy to listen to. Thanks
This is such a great video! I consider myself a pretty confident and proficient home cook but deep frying took me a while to blindly navigate and I still am mostly relying on specific recipes telling me what to do in that very particular scenario, and also being wasteful with my oil afterwards. This is a great one stop shop for end to end process and understanding the whole concept so thank you for putting in the hard yards to produce this!
Love the honesty in all your videos! How you spoke about eating what you like as long as you maintain a healthy lifestyle made me happy to hear!
Extra tip. Generally do not go above 350f/175c when frying to prevent build up of (too much) acrylamide. Especially in starchy foods like potatoes.
Everybody says everything and its opposite I'm done 😩😩😩
An excellent video. At the end you ask what our favourite tip was. I actually already do nearly all the things you cover but the one tip that I will take away is about clearing all the stuff away. Beside my stovetop is a tray filled with oil, a salt pig, balsamic vinegar, my mortar & pestle, etc. Because I do clean like crazy right after deep frying, I must admit I don't always think to clean every single one of those items. So from now on, I'll simply move that tray over to another counter until I'm finished. Thanks for such a great video.
Oh and maybe I can share a tip that I do, which I learned from a Korean fellow who did a lot of deep frying. He taught me to lay down tin foil on the burners I'm not using that are apt to get grease spattered (I don't use a wok but instead use a cast iron pan). I kind of crinkle the tin foil at the edges so it stays put. Afterwards I actually wipe any obvious spatters, fold the tin foil into a rectangle and use it again.
This video definitely needs more likes and views! I think this covers a lot of people's general (mine included) around frying at home. While I made the jump myself to do so at home, there was so much more in this video that made me think about what's involved in the overall process than others. So happy for your channel growth and the info and knowledge you throw out there. Mad props!
Comrade spotted! And of course the good comrade panda is RED :p
You can buy a mesh screen to put over the vessel in which you’re frying. Greatly reduces splatter.
Hey Ethan, just wanted to thank you for giving us consistent high quality, informative and entertaining videos. Your videos are always getting better and I appreciate your hard work!
P
Hi, great vid.
A couple points:
1. I use a T-Fal dedicated frier that I can remove the oil after and has a calibrated temperature control with an oil strainer built in.
2. I use rice-bran oil which is very neutral in taste, and you can buy in bulk very economically.
Thanks!
I got a carbon steel wok a few weeks ago. They are amazing! So far I've only used it for stir-fry but I'm hoping to make some egg rolls in it. Thanks for the frying info. Very helpful.
I have 2 different deep fryers from Goodwill, actually. They were very inexpensive, and they work. I love using actual deep fryers, as it’s really clean and safe. The safe factor is great for when my husband and I have kids. I would not feel comfortable frying with a larger, open pan with young children. I usually just make fries occasionally, but sometimes I also make fried chicken or shrimp, so it’s great having two of them.
always used a dutch oven for frying, lots of fried tofu sandos in our vegetarian house, but youve convinced me to get the wok finally! great vid as always!
The wok is the way!
Dan, get a carbon steel wok and season it properly. It will be your go to pan. Watch School of Wok or Souped Up Recipes for the good tips. Jet Tila has some good dishes, too.
you can use the old oil to start charcoal for the bbqs
This was very informative. I grew up eating fried foods and I guess that's why it was never scary for me. But I do appreciate the tips, so I can improve all the more. (And I was really happy to see that peanut oil is the best for performance, sat-fat, and cost. Been using that as my choice for deep-frying and sauteing for many a year!)
WOW brother, this is one of the most informative and high end cooking video I have watched in a long time. It’s like every time I have a question pop up in my head, it’s answered in following few seconds; it’s like telepathy .You just earned yourself a new subscriber. Keep up the good work👏👏👏
My man really pulled through with that coupon code as promised! Just purchased 2 carbon steels with the code. Thanks Ethan!
This was really nice. I loved the explanations, rules, demonstrations, and clear communication. I for one have only ever done shallow pan frying at home and avoided deep frying for several of the reasons you mentioned, esp. the health aspect. I chose this video because I was curious (I love to cook), but I didn't expect to be converted! Now I am excited to try frying chicken, fish, and potatoes. And I'm getting my first wok. Thank you, it was very kind of you to share so much. FYI, another FANTASTIC oil to cook with is clarified butter (smoking point is 450degF). Congratulations on your improved health!!
I've recently gotten into the habit of keeping a bowl of pre-ground falafel mixture in the fridge. Whenever I feel like having a falafel wrap, I can either small batch fry the falafel in a cast iron skillet or bake the falafel in a non-stick pan. Of course, the fried falafel has more calories (along with a better taste and texture), but I'll make the fried version a touch smaller and load up the wrap with more fillings and a slightly thinner tahini sauce. When I bake the falafel, I always add some crispy fried onions and a thicker tahini to the wrap. The baked falafel wrap with crispy fried onions ends up with slightly less calories, but the wrap with fried falafel is still tastes superior in the end. I guess it just depends on what I feel like doing, they both take roughly the same amount of time but the baked version is way more hands-off.
I was put off by the price of Made In. My wife, God bless her, reminded me that I'm not getting any younger and could afford it. I got the 10 inch nonstick. Bad news was the lid was extra. Good news was that the lid from my crappy ceramic pan {omg what a waste!} fit like a charm. The pan is amazing. Whatever you say about Made In is an undersell. I'm gonna take my good pans to my cabin -and they are GOOD pans- and replace the home kit with Made In. Thank you Made In for sponsoring this video
Really excellent content. I'm a home cook looking to get to grips with deep frying and this told me everything I need to know and more to get started. Love the depth of detail and data. Great job!
Set your microwave! It was just blinking at me the whole time. Also, thanks for the info. Definitely a handy follow up to your green bean video with frying the onions
I came here to find this comment and/or comment it myself!
@@diynevala Same. The blinking 12:00, lol, should be an emoji for that.
I came here to comment this, you beat me to it.
Me and my family are deep frying a turkey this year. We’re taking a lot of precautions for safety and such but we’re very excited.
It's relatively safe if you follow precautions. 100% thaw and dry the turkey, put it in slowly while the flame is off etc
I've never tried it myself, but I've heard it does make a really good bird, hope you enjoy!
Would highly suggest you check out Mythical Kitchen. Chef Josh has done numerous videos where he deep-fries a turkey. You won't be disappointed.
I appreciate the work that you do. Your videos are very informative and very helpful.
This is such a great channel. I’ve been watching for a while now and really appreciate the science backed approach to food. It’s laid out so well with references and intertwined with your own personal experience that many can relate to. And for what it’s worth, nothing can top the brussel sprout salad I discovered here. It’s been my meal prep lunch ever since. No regrets. Keep up the great content Ethan.
If you don't have a thermometer you can also put in a (very) small piece of what you're frying into the oil as you're heating it up. once it starts bubbling it should be alright to start putting in bigger pieces. So with fries you'd put in a small fry or with battered stuff a tiny amount of the batter. It's not that accurate but it will get you in the right area. It's how my mum and great-grandmother taught me how to deep fry food and I've never even had a close call with stuff bubbling over.
Great video, Ethan! It was long, but pleasant to watch, with so much information. I like that you addressed pretty much all of the concerns about deep frying while also giving tips and tricks.
My wok is made of thin case iron. I love mine for so many reasons. You can pull parts off direct heat without removal, the volume issues you said, it's easy af to maintain, les chances of flinging anything as it's got such a wide top, etc
Thanks for demystifying the process with yet anopther brilliant video Ethan. After losing a stack of body fat a few years back and making much healthier choices with diet/cooking I generally avoid deep fried goodness altogether these days and have never even tried at home, however you've inspired me. I've had a simple recipe on my mind and already cook mostly in a wok so once I get a few new tools there's nothing to stop this being an occasional treat that's hopefully healthier than takeaway or eating out.
Don't recall if it was this one or the Crunchwrap Supreme video but "boiling pasta for water" made me chuckle 😉. By far my new favorite channel, I've been trying to find ways to cook "healthier" and improve my relationship with food and a lot of what you've posted so far is exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks so much for the content!
You can use a small sauce pan, the kind which can fit around 2-3 cups of water/oil and lets you fry a few meatballs/falafel or a few burger patties at the same time. This way, you don't need a lot of oil, even if you're deep-frying a steak, as long as the steak can fit into the pan.
Ethan, this was incredibly thorough and informative. I'm glad I stumbled onto it. I reuse my corn oil (soon to be changed to peanut oil) 4 or 5 times when frying potatoes or chicken. I keep a separate container of corn oil that has had fish fried in it. After 3 or 4 fries, I get rid of it and use the chicken and potato oil for the next batch of fish, maybe adding some fresh oil if I need the volume. I strain my oil through a permanent brass mesh coffee filter inside a funnel. I find that it flows better if I pour it while it is about 150 degrees F. I always keep both oil containers in the door of my fridge, just to be safe. You have me thinking that that may be unnecessary. I've also found that if I gather up all the paper towels that I used for cleanup and put them in the trash can outside the house, the smells dissipate from the kitchen much faster.
Thanks for adding temperatures in C!!!
100% agree on using a wok to deep fry in. Tried it a while back and use a wok ever since.
Hi, Ethan. Thank you for another honest and informative video! If you fry something savory like chicken, save the oil, then fry something sweet like donuts, do you think it will make the donuts taste like chicken? (sounds like a really bad riddle/joke hehe).
Thnx! My cooking definitely needed workflow improvement. I'm constantly washing stuff because I didn't pre plan a workstation Physically. I always thought about being organized, but never did it. The visuals helped! 🙃😮
Really cool video, and I learned some things that might make me give it a try more often. I need to get a proper wok. I only have one remark to offer you and it's not really a criticism, just something to consider. You mentioned letting the oil cool completely before filtering it into your jar. This is indisputably the safer thing to do and what most people should do. Technically though, the filtering process works better when the oil is still hot. It will go through the filter faster, it will get away from the remnants you're trying to get it away from sooner, and since I would assume that most people either use a mesh metal filter regardless of whether they're also using paper towel or cheese cloth (to support them), it will make it easier to clean that. Are all of those things worth potentially burning yourself? Probably not. It's just food for thought. Your advice is probably still the correct route.
The only reason I know this is because I once worked at a restaurant with giant deep fryer and every night we had to filter the oil via use of this machine pump with a big square filter on the end of a hose. If you didn't use it while the oil was still hot (like, the elements had been turned off for less than 5-10 minutes), it would end up clogging the machine itself up, and you would see both how much more gummy the filter got on the end, and the oil that came out on the other end was more discolored. Like, to the point where if we had put in fresh oil on Monday, and filtered it cool/cold at the end of the night, then on Tuesday filtered it hot, the oil that came out on Tuesday night looked cleaner/fresher than the oil that came out Monday night - and stayed that lighter/cleaner color once it cooled, too.
You rock man… the fact that you take into account the mental aspect of eating satisfying food from time to time is so important. No wonder you got so shredded, your diet is so sustainable.
11:21
"It's great for boiling pasta for water"
Glad to know I'll have plenty of pasta when the time comes to prepare my water.
Running out of pasta when you just want a nice cup of water is so frustrating for me
As to controlling smells, I like to work underneath a vent hood (or very close to one when I'm using a standalone deep fryer that doesn't sit nicely on the stove).
Every fall, we get potatoes from the family farm in Idaho. They make excellent fries. They are a lot better than the potatoes you normally find in the store since they are straight from the ground and haven't been sitting in some farmer's potato cellar for over a year.
Man that video was great, love the science based (or shoudl I say Kenji based) facts and everyday tips. I´ve been succesfully deep frying at home for some time now. I just have a pot of frying fat in the fridge that i either use completely or partially and just strain back in there, so thats quite easy. Really loved the video, thx Mr Bowski
Excellent video, I knew that the Maillard reaction occurred at 350 but did not know it started at 250, that gives me a lot of flexibility in my deep frying. Thanks, Ethan!
I'm from India and literally I never had any of these problems nor have I ever heard anyone complain about these because we use kadai to deep fry which is very similar to wok.
Our kitchens always have a exhaust fan \ system for smell. We re use the oil for other purposes. Cleaning the kitchen is what I \ my mom do everytime we are done cooking so it feels weird to watch this video and how simple theses things are and still so many people are unaware of these (example Adam Ragusea)
Love your videos keep on doing the amazing work you do.
See keep in mind what you said there you're used to cooking. Tons of people haven't had the pleasure of homecook families and they're not used to going through these steps to get really tasty food.
No offense towards indian people but you are probably just used to the smell.
Oftentimes when I am near people from india I do very much notice the smell of food, spices and also the deep frying and I do not like that.
Has nothing to do with being dirtry or anything, the scent just sticks to the hair and clothes until you shower and change clothes.
People just do not notice scents any longer if they are used to them.
I always realize that when I come back to my appartment after vacation.
At that moment I realize it has a distinctive smell. Not bad or anything but you can realize there is one.
MY COOKING / FRYING TIP……… We have white quartz worktops/counter tops and when cooking anything on the burners it was a nightmare clean up…. So I bought some of those silicone rubbery mats you typically knead bread on or roll dough out on, the ones that are also safe around heat etc (not the silpat ones) and I move anything away from around the cooktop - our items are a toaster and the tea and sugar canisters - then I surround my cooktop with these mats, I even cut a few down to fit smaller spaces around the area that may get splashed, we also have glass at the back of the cooktop and these mats just stick to the glass on contact and don’t come off until I pull them off, I’ve even numbered them from left to right to make each set up easy…… then especially when I’m deep frying anything (or any time I cook now) any splashes go all over these mats, at the end of cooking I throw them all in hot soapy water in the sink and replace my toaster etc, you would never know I’d cooked on there, so easy, it eliminates all the nooks and crannies, I even put them over the glass cutting boards I have down permanently on the work surface, best thing I ever did and these mats aren’t expensive either …..win win 😊…… great video Ethan and channel too, I LOVE it…..only found you about 2 weeks ago (April 2024) xx❤xx
As you mentioned, as you fry, free water evoparates making the batter to expand and crisp up. Does that make it not a good option to deep fry things with close to no water?
Not necessarily. Even things that we might think as conventionally "dry" can be fried. For example, think of rice puffs or shrimp chips. They contain miniscule amounts of water but that's enough to expand into steam and puff up dramatically.
I love the fact when I need a deep dive in cooking. I can lean on your videos (even 2yrs later) thank you for the posting !!
Hey Ethan, have you filmed your weight loss journey? Would be awesome to see that
Yeahh 240lbs to 165lbs is amazing, would like to see his tips!
@@Trumancapote140 track calories, thats all you really need!
But a "my top 10 Meals during my Weightloss" might be a good Video for starters not gonna lie, that can help people who probably dont cook (properly) for themselves
I've mentioned it here and there, but never fully detailed it. I'm thinking about pulling a video together about it in January.
@@EthanChlebowski yes please!!!
11:46 - thanks for that Ethan. Just when I was getting ahead of myself you brought me back down to earth.
Some great tips here, Ethan! I recently bought some of those Japanese oil disposal packets that supposedly solidify old oil for easy disposal. I'm looking forward to trying that out.
Also please set your microwave clock. It's reminding me of a VCR flashing 12:00. 😀
Yes, was going to comment on that myself. It's distracting, maybe I have OCD or something, lol. Just hit clock twice and leave it on whatever time it has?
Thanks for another good video. Oil that I use for frying fish seems to retain more odor than oil used for frying anything else. No problem. I just store it in a dedicated fish oil bottle. I like to filter through a paper towel or even a coffee filter if the oil is warm.
Reads: “Deep frying mistakes”.
Thinks: “Are they gonna go away if I fry them?”
Bro that health talk at the was golden!! I deffent feel the same, i was never overweight and i never ate "healthy" but what i ate was perfect for the lifestyle im living, i rarely eat breakfast and have a super "unhealthy" lunch but thats the fule my body needs
11:45 tell us what you really think about that carbon steel skillet
I’m glad I’m not the only one who saw that lol
How do you set a video link like that?
The explanation of what kind of vessel used...is what I was searching for days...thank you 😊
Hmmm peanut or canola oils, even though they have a higher smoke point, it doesn't have a higher or stabler decomposing or "oxidation" temperature, which is the most important variable for whether it's unhealthy or not. The oils with the higher of those would be virgin olive oil or tallow. Adam Ragusa explains this better in his Olive oil and high smoke oils video. Compliment the videos together.
Ragusea is the worst food youtuber on the platform
Peanut oil has very similar oxidative stability and free fatty acid percentage to extra virgin olive oil: actascientific.com/ASNH/pdf/ASNH-02-0083.pdf
Also a lot of the bigger changes in that study happen over a very long time or at higher temperatures which are not typically present when deep frying at home.
@@EthanChlebowski Thanks for answering! will take it onto account
@@spoj3922 im sure you dont believe that
@@EthanChlebowski thanks for the study. The importance of oil stability when determining health was probably a little too much for a beginner's deep frying video, but a small mention of it in the health section would have been appreciated. Great video regardless!
You are definitely right about incorporating fried foods into your diet. For one, I will typically eat only one fried item per meal if I'm frying or ordering take-out. In addition, I'll steam up some veggies to go along with it so that I'm not missing out on important vitamins and fiber intake. I also won't eat fried foods for consecutive meals or even days! You can't count the exact amount of calories you're consuming in fried foods, but you can definitely ball-park it. For instance, if I decided to go all out and eat a cheat meal with several calorically dense items, I'll likely settle for veggies and fruits, as in a salad or simple stir-fry/steaming in my other meals throughout the day to ensure I don't go over- on my daily caloric intake, which varies from adult to adult but there are online calculators for that. If you care about fitness like I do, you'll learn that it doesn't matter how many calories you consume in one meal, so long as you don't go overboard on your whole day (or even week).
So my problem with the "healthy" issue isn't that isn't the calories, rather the type of oil itself and the breading. Most vegetable oils tend to promote inflammations and the breading is just carbs in its simplest most processed form.
Would you have any recommendations for HOW to use substitutes properly? For example lard, coconut oils, duck fats, olive oil and perhaps maybe other carb breading that might be less processed and refined?
breading meat in liquid yoghurt and paprika powder mixture is surprisingly effective and very tasty!
Eating in general can promote inflammation, though, lol.
There are less processed substitutes. Usually through some keto variation. Google is your friend.
"Promote inflammation"? When you speak like that, it means you've been hoodwinked by people selling you fad diets. That "inflammation" is just you getting fat or you retaining water from too much sodium in the diet. You have three choices; eat less volume of food, get more exercise, or both.
@@newttella1043 Mmm, that isn't necessarily true either. There are "inflammatory" states that are associated with certain food items that you'll see mentioned in peer-reviewrd articles.
Now, whether that inflammation is due to intolerance, increase in cytokines, idk.
I love to fry the fish we catch while camping and appreciate the tips. We use an induction cooker and it can be a pain to control the temperature but it works pretty good. As for eating out, totally agree. Not only is it hard to avoid the sides but it will almost always be hydrogenated oil and/or oil that should have been swapped out long ago.
Adam Ragusea is probably watching this video with clenched fists ready to make a video response.
Ethan, you always make a difference in your videos. Thanks.
As a guy who is treating my eating disorder, the message at the end is so refreshing, ty man!
Thank you for pointing out which oils are best for frying, that is all I wanted to know.
You're right about the cooking outside with a portable appliance. I use a plug in induction cooker on my patio.
Very good tips. You make a convincing argument about the Wok - convincing enough to make me consider getting one as I’d rather not ruin my nice Dutch oven frying.
Excellent video Ethan, You are definitely making frying at home much more accessible. The way you described "healthy" eating was at the end was great. I for one would be interested in how you lost and maintain your weight while still making and loving great food.
Nate
Excellent video from start to finish. I've fried here and there, but wanted to approach it in a more cost-effective and less messy way. You friggin nailed it. It looks like my wok will get even more use now! Appreciate the time you spent making this video.
Alright. I ordered an oil container with fine mesh filter tray, a cooling rack+pan set (finally), and a spider/spoon set. I've gotten better at deep frying since finding your content. Hopefully after this I'll have a more streamlined process.
I us an electric skillet to fry, shallow fry, and deep fry in. I've had the best luck with it and I can get the precise temp on the oil. The one I use is a long rectangle so I can cook large amounts at one as well.
The mess of frying is why I always keep a newspaper on hand. One or two sheets is easily enough to place underneath your fry station, which makes it much easier to clean up fine droplets of oil, flour/breadcrumbs, batter, etc. Still gotta clean off some surfaces, but it really helps the process.
You deserve your success Ethan, hope your channel keep groing. One of the best informative cooking channel. Thanks for all the tips.
The honesty about the willpower over the restaurant sides hits home for me, once I'm down that path it's very hard to make a good decision wrt ordering a calorie-dense side (and finishing the whole thing). Also second the request for some info about the weight loss journey if you're comfortable sharing, esp. since your start and end mirror my current and goal.
One good point to mention is that when deep frying chicken, much of the fat already in the animal skin will get dissolved into the oil, eventually changing its composition, especially after repeating a few times. This changes the oil's color, smell, and viscousity (which is not a bad thing in itself IMO).
Finally! A cooking show that uses non-stick and understands where it has benefits. Hell might have just chilled a bit.
I totally agree with your 3 essential cooking pans. The wok is great for anything high heat, non-stick for day to day general purpose (Is there a reason you don't use this for tomato based things?), and SS for abuse like things that will for sure need chiseled off or would react with the wok's steel, but be too hot or harsh for non-stick.
Big advice: get the thickest alu pan you can.
Glad this video was made. I never got why ppl make a huge fuss about frying food my family and I do it all the time and it’s nbd.
I don't agree on one thing Ethan - "on off" for electric stoves was how I felt about induction cooktops. Maybe the induction cooktop that I've used was just low quality, but you could hear it cycling and it was incredibly frustrating to make work right, whereas the ancient electric range in my house (circa 1965) does great for temp control.
Best informational video I have ever seen on deep frying, thanks!
This is one of the best cooking information videos I have ever seen.
Absolutely brilliant techniques and advice.
I have been cooking for many years and rank myself as an expert.
But: I will be implementing these recommendations tomorrow.
I was taught to fry in cast iron. After frying put it in a container and we seal it up. We will reuse it as many times as we can until it starts to get too brown. We have separate oil containers for fish and then for other meats.
My folks have been frying samosas and pakoras in the same old cheapo wok for a while now even though we have much nicer pots and pans around, It all makes sense after this video.
Absolutely loved every minute of this video. Chock full of interesting and informative advice, plus, Ethan, you have such an infectious personality that made listening to you most enjoyable. I like to-the-point facts and information and you provided all that I was looking for. Thank you!