The helpful cooking tool pictured below is called a Bamboo Skimmer or Strainer (it's sometimes referred to as a “spider”). I got mine from Amazon.com and it is great for scooping food out of a deep-dryer (or I use metal tongs). It's best to use a deep-fry or candy thermometer (which you place into the hot oil to measure). Oil temperature is important. Too low and you'll have greasy food; too high and you'll have burned food.
Never put a lid on your pot, because it may cause the oil to bubble up and out. Deep-frying doesn't require a lid. Also, if the food is frozen, be very careful when adding to hot oil. The ice is water and may cause the oil to splatter on you. It's best to allow frozen foods to thaw at least partially before deep-frying.
A Dutch oven is a thick pot (either all metal or coated on the inside), which is perfect for deep-frying on your stove-top. With a deep-fry thermometer you can make some of your favorite foods.
I always use corn oil for deep frying or vegetable oil (soybean oil).
Canola Oil is a Classic Example of Food Fraud
I NEVER use canola oil. Although there is much speculation concerning the safety of Canola oil, I've never used it simply because there's no such thing as a Canola plant. Some people claim that there is, but it's not true. Researchers naturally breed a modified form of the rapeseed plant in the 1970's in Canada, which they termed the Canola plant (but it's still basically a rapeseed plant). Rapeseed oil was used for many decades as a popular industrial lubricant (machine oil).
The fact that “Canola” means “CANadian Oil, Low Acid) and was engineered by the evil MONSANTO corporation (who gave us Aspartame) is reason enough for me not to use canola oil. It's unsettling. I'll take Corn oil any day. There no debate over “corn oil.” The truth is that there's a lot of profits being made by the sale of canola oil, which is cheaper to produce than other oils, which explains everything. Follow the money!
