Filtering Oil from Frying — Make Do and Mend

Every once in a while I like to fry something.

I know, I know.  Since the mid 80’s we have all been told that fried food is evil.  It’s going to kill you.  Your heart will clog up, you’ll have a heart attack and die.

But let’s face it–there are certain things that just taste better fried.  Oven fries are a poor substitution for french fries straight out of the fryer.  Fried Chicken and Fried Fish are classics for a reason.  While they shouldn’t be eaten daily (unless you do a lot of manual labor and burn those calories right up) I like to subscribe to the “All things in moderation” school of thought when it comes to food.

All that’s the long way around of saying what I did at the start:

Every once in a while I like to fry something. 

What I DON’T like is wasting food and money.  When you deep fry something it can take a whole bottle of oil to have it deep enough to do a good job.  I hate the idea of using a whole bottle of oil (even if it isn’t that expensive) and then just THROWING IT OUT after cooking.  It seems like such a waste.

That’s why I filter and reuse my frying oil.

That’s right–I strain and re-use my oil.  I know the first thought some of you out there are going to have is “Is that safe?  Hasn’t the oil broken down, or been contaminated?”.  Never fear–according to the USDA Information sheet on Deep Fat Frying and Food Safety (which is well worth viewing and printing out) it’s perfectly fine to store your oil:

If you are planning to reuse the oil, strain it through a cheese cloth or sieve. Store the used oil in a sealed and light-proof container for up to 3 months. For best quality, refrigerate used frying oil that you want to use again.

When I do this I like to strain my oil through a coffee filter.  It’s slower than a cheesecloth, but I think it gets out more of the, uh, stuff.  Particles and such.  Warm oil will seep through faster–but of course you don’t want the oil to actually be hot–that would be extremely hazardous.

I typically let the oil cool down to just “warm”.  I place a funnel into the oil bottle (or whatever) and line it with a coffee filter.  Make sure this is a stable set up and that your bottle, funnel etc aren’t going to tip over while you are doing this or you’ll have a big, oily mess on your hands.  Once you are all set up, pour some of the oil in.  Then I walk away.  10 or 15 minutes later I come back and check on how it’s doing and pour in a little more oil.  Continue until all the oil has been filter through. I’ve even left the last, slowest part to keep slowly dripping through overnight and finished up in the morning.

Note:  if at any point it stops filtering, then you need a new coffee filter–the pores of the paper are all clogged up.

Then you just label the bottle clearly (I write “FRYING” on it with a Sharpie) and store somewhere dark and cool.

How long is the oil good for?  Well I try to use it about 3 times or so.  How do you know if it’s gone “Bad”?  According to the same USDA information sheet:

If the oil is clouded or if the oil starts to foam or has a foul odor, taste, or smell, discard it.