"fry" news and stories

Seafood is usually a fairly photogenic genre of meat as far as food porn goes. Sushi can be absolutely beautiful and cooked fish, with the possible exception of the bland-looking poached fish, can look tempting, as well. Shrimp, on the other hand, are not usually the most appetizing of sea creatures, which is what makes this photo of Ginger Chili Shrimp from Hooked on Heat all the more amazing. These tasty fried shrimp are first marinated in a mixture of turmeric, chili powder and lime juice before hitting the oil for a quick fry. The remaining oil is then used as a base for a spicy sauce made with ginger, onions, chili flakes, tomato paste and soy sauce, which is tossed with the shrimps to give them the nicely browned look that you see above. This dish could easily be served as an appetizer with margaritas at a cocktail party or enjoyed as part of a light dinner when you're in the mood for some spice and seafood.

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I know that we had eggnog popovers yesterday morning, but I couldn't resist just one more eggnog-based recipe. Actually, it was the fact that the popovers were so tasty and reminded me so much of pancakes that I decided to try these.

Eggnog, especially prepared eggnog, is usually relatively thick, so it substitutes in equal volumes for buttermilk in a recipe. It does not have the same properties as buttermilk, however. Buttermilk is slightly acidic and recipes that use it often also use baking soda, which reacts with that acid to produce lift. Since eggnog is not acidic, I used baking powder and also added a beaten egg white to give the pancakes some lift. Overall, the pancakes were tender and tasted lightly of eggnog. You can add a little bit of rum extract, if you have it on hand, to jazz them up a bit, too.

In honor of my oven-baked latkes, I decided to opt for a more health-conscious choice for the Cookbook of the Day today with Fry Light, Fry Right: Fried-Food Flavor Without Deep Frying because you don't have to eat a ton of oil just to enjoy the flavor of fried foods (or to celebrate oil, since today is the first day of Hanukkah).

Despite the holiday reference, this is not a Hanukkah oriented book. In fact, it's more about all-American fried foods of the variety that you'll find on hundreds of menus and in bakeries across the country, including things like Mozzarella Sticks, Coconut Shrimp, Chicken Fried Steak and Chocolate Devil's Food Donuts, among its 120 recipes. Each one is simple and all you really need to know how to do is work an oven to turn out impressive (and healthy) results. With only some heat and a little bit of oil, included primarily to prevent sticking and encourage browning, you should be able to obtain crisp exteriors and tender interiors on everything you make - just like deep fried foods, only there won't be as much fat to cover up the base flavors.

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Does a turkey fryer offer advantages over other types of fryers, aside from the fact that it can hold a turkey? The only thing that sets it apart from other fryers is that it is usually used outside and it can be dangerous if you're not careful with it since they tend to be somewhat less sturdy than other fryers. But if you want to deep-fry a turkey, you're going to need a turkey fryer and, assuming you've taken all the proper precautions and are keeping children and animals well away from it, you'd do well to check out the The Ultimate Turkey Fryer Cookbook for a few more ideas on preparation and seasonings.

Some complaints about this book have been that the author is self promoting and recommends his own products for spicing and flavoring the foods in the book. It doesn't matter whether you're putting on one of his rubs or sauces or if you are using your own. The important thing is that this book can familiarize you with the basics of frying in the turkey fryer and the techniques that can be used on various types of meat, since it's not limited to turkey recipes. There are recipes for chicken, pork, fish, vegetables and even desserts. Most of these don't need to be made in the larger turkey fryer as opposed to in a regular fryer, but if you already have it, you may as well get a little more use out of it, right?

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If you're planning on frying up your turkey for Thanksgiving, you probably should avoid propane-powered gas fryers. Although some chefs endorse them, often citing fast heating times as one of their reasons, Consumer Reports and product safety-testing nonprofit Underwriter Laboratories (UL), has found them to be unsafe. Most of the dangers pertain to fire risks because the units are highly combustible and a spillover of oil can cause the whole unit to ignite. Most tip over easily and many have no thermostat controls, which would prevent the cooking oil from coming close to "600 degrees [F],...the flash point of oil."

A safer alternative is an electric fryer. UL endorses the Turk N' Surf, which has a safety shutoff and adjustable thermostat. It is also safe enough to use indoors and produces a finely fried turkey.

If you already have a gas fryer and are not planning to replace it before Thanksgiving, keep some of these safety tips in mind:

• Use outdoors on a flat, fireproof surface, away from buildings, pets and children.
• Never leave it unattended and keep a close watch on the oil temperature.
• Use very well insulated pot holders when touching the unit and wear safety goggles to protect your eyes from to possibility of oil splatter.
• Keep an all-purpose fire extinguisher nearby in case anything goes wrong. You might want to have the number for take-out on speed dial, too, as a backup.

[Thanks, Marc!]

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