The Deep Fryer Depot

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Comment by Jen Whelan on February 14, 2011 at 7:00pm

Guinness Beef Stew

2 lbs. beef stew meat
2 cups Guinness
1 garlic clove smashed
2 bay leaves

24 hours before starting the stew, marinate the beef cubes in the refrigerator with the above ingredients in a bag or non-reactive container. (For those that are shy, don't marinate the meat, and just proceed with the rest of the recipe.)

When you are ready to begin, drain off the marinade and discard the garlic and bay leaves.

1 onion chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
1 large leek, white part only, chopped or sliced
Butter

Sweat the vegetables in a deep cast iron skillet or Dutch oven for about 5-7 mins.
Remove and set aside.

Coat the beef cubes in 1\2 cup flour and 2 tsp. black pepper. Add some more butter to the pan and brown the meat. Remove meat.

Deglaze the pan with 2 cups of fresh Guinness.

Now either put the all above ingredients into a crock pot or continue on your stove top.

Add 2-3 cups homemade beef stock, 2 cans of beef broth, OR 2 cups boiling water with 2 beef bullion cubes. (I prefer homemade stock)

Add:
A handful or more baby carrots
2 parsnips, peeled and cut up
1 medium turnip, peeled and cubed
A Bouquet garney (tied cheese cloth ball) of 3 sprigs fresh parsley, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf, and 8-10 black pepper corns)
Mushrooms(optional)

Bring to a boil on the stove top, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 1 1\2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
If using a crock pot, about 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Before serving add a Tbsp. of corn starch mixed with some cold water...to thicken.

Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes and fresh Irish soda bread. Regular butter is great but Kerrygold is even better!

Comment by Jen Whelan on February 14, 2011 at 7:00pm

Time to start thinking about your Irish Heritage. The Guinness Toast is this Friday!

Comment by Jen Whelan on November 4, 2010 at 10:04am

I’ve had a lot of folks asking me about electric turkey fryers lately. The differences between an outdoor propane deep fryer and an electric fryer vary greatly. Today we will discuss electric turkey fryers.

First and foremost, electric fryers are made for indoors. You can take your electric fryer outdoors to use one day at a time. But you should bring it back indoors once everything has cooled, and put it away. It should never be left out on your patio like a backyard grill. The morning dew alone is enough to ruin the inner workings of an electric deep fryer.

You can take an electric deep fryer camping if you have electricity, but you can forget about tailgating with one unless you have a generator.

An electric turkey fryer can be a large counter top deep fryer. My first fryer was an electric Masterbuilt counter top turkey fryer. It not only fries small turkeys as well as deep frying anything you want, but you can also steam and boil with it. I’ve been known to make Low Country Boil right in my house in the middle of the winter.

Not all so called electric turkey fryers, are actually deep fryers. These units work with high radiant heat. They technically roast not deep fry. There is really no oil involved. Less mess to clean up. You can roast other meats in these units, but you can not fry up a batch of french fries in one of these.

Most electric turkey fryers have a safety shut off feature if the oil becomes too hot. They mostly all have a thermometer or temperature gauge as well. This is a great feature because most of these units will tell you that your oil is up to temp. by a light on the gauge or unit. This is also good if you are frying things other than turkey. If you are frying up multiple batches of things, like Buffalo wings or onion rings, you should always let your oil come back up to temperature between batches.

Now, speaking of oil temperatures, electric fryers do take longer to heat oil than outdoor propane deep fryers. It also takes longer between batches to come back up to temperature. You want fried crispy food, not oil logged greasy food. So pay attention to your oil temps. Don’t get hasty and put food in before it’s time.

Lastly, you don’t have to worry about the kids and the dog needing to have somewhere else to play. Odds are they are not playing on the counter top or in the kitchen, so the odds of your indoor electric turkey fryer getting knocked over by a game of soccer or football are next to nil.

Tomorrow we’ll bring on the outdoor propane turkey fryers.

Comment by Jen Whelan on November 1, 2010 at 12:45pm

Injecting a Turkey Before Deep Frying
Many people like to inject their birds with seasoning before putting them into the turkey fryer. By getting the flavors inside the meat you don’t have to worry about the hot oil washing them off. This will also insure you having a nice juicy turkey.

First you want to buy or make your marinade. There are plenty of recipes out there for turkey injection marinades. Find one that suits your fancy.

Place your turkey in a roasting pan. A trick that I learned from “The BBQ Dr.” is to cover your bird with plastic wrap. This will keep the marinade from splashing back at you. Fill your seasoning injector. Pierce right through the plastic wrap into the turkey. The important thing to remember is to inject the turkey all over. Put a little in each hole. (Make sure you distribute the injection evenly so you don’t get pockets of the marinade). Do the breast, the legs, the thighs, even the wings. Flip your bird over, cover with plastic wrap, and inject the bottom side as well. There are portions of the breast that you may have missed by just injecting from the top side.

Wipe off any marinade they may have run with paper towels. You want to make sure that your turkey is nice and dry before lowering it into the hot frying oil.

Comment by Jen Whelan on October 27, 2010 at 5:50pm

Safely Deep Frying Turkey
Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us. Many people love deep fried turkey for their holiday meal. Many people want to try out this national craze, but are afraid due to other peoples’ past mishaps. An outdoor propane turkey fryer need not be such a frightening experience. With safety awareness and certain precautions taken in advance you can avoid many potentially hazardous conditions.

If you have been researching deep fryers or already own one, this is information that you already have. But, certain things are worth mentioning more than once! Keep in mind that cooking with fire and oil is a serious business.

When cooking with a conventional turkey fryer, overflow and spillage, accidental or not, are usually the main cause of problems. This can happen when your turkey isn’t thawed properly, when water is retained in food, or by hastily lowering food into the hot oil.

Make sure your fryer is on level, stable, solid ground. That does not mean in your garage. This does not mean your wooden deck or porch that is attached to your home. Keep a safe distance from buildings or materials that could potentially catch fire.

Have a back up location if weather conditions change.

Position the propane where the heat from the fryer blows in the opposite direction.

Make certain that there is at least 2 feet of space between your fryer & gas tank.

Make sure that the hose is not in a place that it will get tripped over.

You want to be sure that the kids and the dog have somewhere else to play. That goes for big kids too. Especially ones that may have not noshed enough and had a beer or two too many.

Make sure you are properly dressed. No shorts and flip flops or bare feet. Wear pants, shoes, and shirts with tight sleeves. No big poufy pirate sleeves..

Use hand protection. Some sort of well insulated gloves. You may want eye protection, against splatter, as well.

Always a have deep fryer thermometer handy to regulate temperature. Not all fryers have one built in.

Have an extra LP tank handy. If you run out because you had a BBQ the weekend before, it’s no one’s fault but your own. The hardware store or LP gas company probably won’t be open Thanksgiving Day.

When you are frying a turkey, fill the fryer ahead of time with the turkey and water so that the turkey is completely submerged plus an inch or two. Take the bird out and mark your water line. This is your oil fill line. Make sure you thoroughly dry out the fryer before you put the oil in the stock pot. Make sure your turkey is completely thawed, dried, & room temperature before you put it in hot oil.

Use care when lowering food into your fryer. Be slow. Be safe. Turn the burner off if you want to. If the burner is off there is less chance for a burning flare up. The oil IS going to bubble up when you start to lower the food in. Dunk it like a tea bag. Lower & raise once, twice, however many times until the bird is properly settled. Once that’s done, turn the burner back on. Get your temperature back to 350 degrees & maintain that temperature.

A way to avoid some of the potential problems that can arise, is by using a safer fryer like a Cajun fryer or Bayou fryer. With a conventional outdoor cooker, overflow of oil comes out all around the top of the pot and can spill directly onto the flaming burner causing flare ups. With a safer fryer the burner sends super heated air through self contained tubes that run through the oil. This heats the oil sufficiently enough to deep fry any type of food, including a turkey. Any spillage that may happen would occur in the front of the cooker. The fire burner is only exposed in the rear of the unit, so all spillage would be away from any flame, therefore creating a much safer frying environment. (You still want to take all of the safety precautions). These fryer units come with a rolling caddies, and self aligning stands. Making them portable and easier to stabilize. This opens up a much bigger world of frying possibilities. It’s not just for deep fried turkey on Thanksgiving anymore. Expand your tailgating menu. Make wings for the Superbowl. Fry up some donuts for the church bake sale.Have a fish fry at the firehouse. Bring a fryer to your next pot luck night at the camp ground. Set up shop at the next car show.

Main rules of thumb:

NEVER LEAVE YOUR DEEP FRYER UNATTENDED!!!!

NEVER use water on an oil fire!!! Always have an all purpose fire extinguisher handy just in case. Should something occur with fire out of hand, call the fire department. Don’t try to be a hero.

Always remember that your fryer oil is going to remain hot for hours after you shut the burner off. So again make sure the kids, big kids included, and the dog have somewhere safe to play.

Have a great and safe Turkey Day and holiday season.

Comment by Jen Whelan on October 22, 2010 at 7:52pm

I was just recently up in the great state of Vermont. I happened to bring home some beautiful apples. I knew that I would be baking some pies, but I also decided to make some pulled pork this weekend. I got a pork roast out of my freezer and as it thawed, low & behold, it was not a roast but very thickly sliced pork chops. Well, now I knew what to do with some more of those apples. I decided to slice them open and stuff them with an apple, sage, bread stuffing and incorporate some Tumbleweed cheese in the mix. I would have loved to add some dried cranberries, but the old man would have nothing to do with it.

The first thing that I did do, was to separate the chops a bit and I marinated them in an awesome roasted garlic, copper ale, ground mustard that also found it’s way here from Vermont. I finished thawing in the fridge and over night that way.

I pre-heated the grill to 350 degrees F.

Removed my marinated chops and sliced them open into nice big pockets. I bought a bag of dried, crumbly make it yourself stuffing mix. I melted about 6 Tbsp of butter in a large pan, and sauted 1 cup each of finely chopped onion and celery. Then in went the whole bag of stuffing mix, 1 tsp. of dried sage, 1 1\2 cup of grated apple, ( I used 1 Cortland & 2 Smokehouse Apples), 3\4 cup of grated Tumbleweed & Sigit cheeses mixed, and mixed it all together.

I stuffed the chops. (Now, I may have over done it, but I also had some Taritaise cheese that I shredded and coated the outside of the chops with it.) I greased my cast iron Dutch oven, placed the remaining stuffing in the bottom. I added a little water then I placed the chops in the Dutch oven, sprinkled some paprika on each, placed the lid on top and into the grill it went. Dutch oven lid on for 30 mins, then lid off for remaining time. About another 30 mins. Check stuffing in chops for a desirable temperature. Served with garlic butter Brussell sprouts on the side.

Comment by Jen Whelan on October 14, 2010 at 6:09pm

Baking Lamb Pie with a beautiful grated NY farm cheese sprinkled on the crust from American Cheese In West Sayville.

Comment by Jen Whelan on October 6, 2010 at 11:50am

Great South Bay Boil tonight cooked in a turkey fryer.

Comment by Jen Whelan on September 13, 2010 at 10:33am

Not everyone likes fish & shellfish, but growing up near water, it is impossible to not come near it. Deep fried clam strips, clam bellies, scallops and oysters were almost a regular Friday night meal for me. It’s much easier to go to a clam bars & get it cooked for you, but the recipe is simple enough to do at home. If you aren’t practiced in the art of shucking shellfish, you can always go to your local fish market and buy them pre-shucked.

Oil for frying

1 qt shucked oysters

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 3\4 cup cracker crumbs or dried bread crumbs

In outdoor propane deep fryer, counter top fryer, or stove top deep fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees F.

Drain the oysters. Pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with salt & 2 Tbsp. of water. Place crumbs into your Coating Buddy. Dip the oysters in the egg wash then place in the Coating Buddy & shake.

Place the oysters, a few at a time, about 1″ apart, in the fryer basket. Fry for about 1 minute or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the oysters until done. Serve with cocktail or tarter sauce and fresh lemon wedges.

For clams, substitute 3 doz. shucked clams (about 2 cups), use 1 egg instead of 2. Prepare and deep fry as above.

Comment by Jen Whelan on August 28, 2010 at 8:34am

The Deep Fryer Depot will be demonstrating a Cajun Fryer at Ideal Prime Meats in Oakdale from 1-4 PM today.

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