Deep frying may not be the most healthy of cooking methods, but it sure does produce delicious, mouth-watering food. Practically anything can be deep fried, from candy bars to pickles. If you’re new to the process, we’ve got a few tips and tricks to help give you the perfect flavourful and crunchy coating:

Don’t fry at too high a temperature

For a perfectly crispy piece of food, make sure your oil is between 175 and 185 C. Any higher, and your food will cook too quickly and get dry, or even worse, burn on the outside and be under-cooked inside.

Avoid frying at too low a temperature

Be particular about your cooking oil – the temperature can’t be too low, either. It will result in soggy food that hasn’t been properly crisped. (No good!)

Choose the right oil

Avoid oils like avocado and olive because these have a low smoke point (and are on the pricier side, too). Peanut and canola oils have high smoke points and neutral flavors, so they won’t accidentally flavor whatever you’re frying.

Don’t fry too much at once

Like with strips of bacon, or just about anything else, you don’t want to crowd the fryer. Everything needs room to move around and cook properly. You might be tempted to throw a lot in at once, but do a couple small batches instead so everything cooks evenly.

Avoid frying pieces that are too big

There’s a reason french fries work so well in the fryer—they’re the perfect size! Cutting your food in half can reduce your cooking speed by four. So not only does keeping your pieces on the smaller side make things cook faster, they also cook more thoroughly.

Avoid salt before frying
When cooking foods on the grill, you normally season them with some salt and pepper. You can’t do this when deep frying, however. Salt can cause the hot oil to splatter and even lower the smoke point of oil. Instead, salt the food immediately after taking it out of the hot oil – this will help the salt stick to the food.