EXCELSTEEL6 Quart Stainless Steel Stove Top Deep Fryer,Silver

I went through a phase where I just "made do" with the kitchen supplies that I had, trying to cut down on precious storage space and not spend so much money, but as I've been more active in the kitchen, I've come to realization that proper cooking essentials are necessary for those who are gifted with the natural talent of having everything they cook come out to perfection. I've been avoiding foods that require deep frying because it's hard to clean off of my Le Crueset and the amount of oil needed to cook in another pan always seems wasteful. After seeing a great post for zucchini chips, I decided to order this deep fryer as a last resort to my deep frying attempts. The item came quickly, packaged very well and after a quick wash in hot soapy water, I was ready to go. After a few uses, I have no idea how I went so long without one of these pots! This particular deep fryer has a basket that not only doesn't get hot while it's frying (no idea how that works) so you can pull the basket out by the handle with bare hands when the cooking is done but the lid nicely folds into itself so that the lid closes properly for easier storage. It's very nice looking, well made and makes a drastic difference in the art of deep frying. Not a lot of oil was used, there was no splattering at all (side note - I picked up a great tip - sprinkle a small amount of salt into the oil once it's hot but before you add your food to help prevent splatters). At this price point, there's really not much thinking required before ordering!

I'm by no means a great cook. I've tried making fries many times, I've used an electric fryer, I've done them in the oven and I've fried them in oil in a shallow pan. This fryer, in conjunction with a good candy thermometer, yielded me my first truly authentic french fry. I like it because it's small enough to be dedicated (smaller than my electric, which I gave away) without taking up a bunch of space, and on my gas stove I have good control of the temp. I look forward to frying wings, fish, scotch eggs, etc in this little thing. It's perfect. A full jug of oil is just enough for the basket to be out of the oil when hanging on the side. And as far as the handle complaints, it's just a matter of not squeezing the 2 wires together when you dump, I had no issue whatsoever handling it with a full load. When you squeeze them together you "unlock" the handle, I can see how that might cause trouble if you're not paying attention, but I had zero instability whatsoever. Someone mentioned it will drip oil on the stove, the fix for that is to raise the basket and clip it in the raised position and let the oil drip out before dumping your food out, it all worked great for me. I might buy another so I can do batches of fish and batches of chips at the same time.

I purchased this for my husband because he wanted a pot rather than an electric fryer because the pot is more versatile and it's not taking up valuable real-estate in our very small apartment kitchen that a big electric machine would.I marked this down one star because of the basket. It does have an issue with the handle folding up when you try to flip the basket, you can read other reviews on ways people have dealt with it using clips and such. I bought this reading those reviews and knowing that the basket would be a bit to work with. For us that isn't a huge issue because hubby doesn't actually use the basket much and when he does he knows to be careful with the handle. The basket if sold by itself I think really would only get 1 star because of this handle issue. Otherwise the metal is all held together well and it is sturdy. It would be a great basket if they just fix the handle issue.The pot itself deserves 5 full stars, it heats up evenly and fries really well. It is the perfect size for a family of four while frying foods and can be used for other cooking projects when not being used for frying. Hubby is extremely pleased with this pot and recommends it as well. Clean up has been easy and the pot has been used a lot since we got it and it's still holding it's original shine and metallic color. The lid fits the pot, and all of the handles on the pot and lid are secure and sturdy.So basket 1 star, pot 5 stars...I didn't average it out giving this review lower stars because what I really ordered this for was the pot and I feel for the price the pot alone would have been worth the money we paid for it. The basket is just a really bad bonus item.

This fryer is very nice, but do NOT overfill it. I filled it within three inches of the top and when I added French Fry cut potatoes, the oil bubbled instantly and overflowed the fryer. Fortunately it did not burst into flames but it was a moment of terror. There might be a max-fill mark, but I didn't see it or realize the potential problem. Otherwise, it's excellent in every respect and works wonderfully for French Fries. I was going to use it for fried chicken, but after watching Alton Brown's (Good Eats) YouTube video on fried chicken, it's my new method--except that I fry the chicken only for five minutes on each side to avoid burning the outer coating, and then I put the golden brown fried chicken on a metal baking tray with a "cookie" metal cooling rack and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 45 minutes to finish cooking the chicken. Amazon sells baking sheets with the 'cookie"cooling metal racks, and for home cooking this is the way to get golden brown fried chicken which is thoroughly cooked, yet juicy and tender. The Excelsteel frying pot is best for French Fries, tempura shrimp, and other food that needs to be deep-fried--just do not overfill it with oil, where two or three inches below the top of the frying basket is a good upper fill limit, so try it with a few French Fries and see how high the bubbles go).