One of the most popular cooking methods, especially when making treats and delicacies like donuts, churros, onion rings, and tempura, is deep-frying. It is used to make foods that are fluffy on the inside but crunchy on the outside.
When deep-frying, you simply have to submerge the food in a large pan of oil and cook it at a super high temperature. When deep-frying, it’s best to use a deep-fat fryer.
When it comes to using a deep fat fryer, not all kinds of oil are ideal for use. This is why many people that own a deep fat fryer wonder whether they can use lard to cook. In this guide, we will answer the many questions you might have about using lard with a deep fat fryer.
Can You Use Lard in a Deep Fat Fryer?
Yes, you can. The best thing to put in a deep fat fryer is lard because of its many benefits.
It cooks foods better than olive oils. Although some people say that since lard will solidify once the deep fryer has cooled down, it’s not an ideal ingredient. But lard withstands hot temperatures very quickly, making them ideal for use.
Lard is rendered pig fat and is used for shallow and deep frying. It is made up of 45% monounsaturated fats, 39% saturated fats, and 11% polyunsaturated fats.
When you use lard to cook, you get crispier, fried foods, and it also seals the food faster than other kinds of oils. So, if you prefer to use lard for cooking and deep-frying, you can put it in your deep-fat fryer.
Is It Safe to Use Lard in a Deep Fat Fryer?
It is safe to use lard in a deep fat fryer. As long as you cook the foods at the ideal and right temperature, and you use the right kind of lard, you can cook your food safely with no problems.
Some people have said that when you use lard to cook at super high temperatures, like over 370 degrees Fahrenheit, it can burn your food. If you don’t pay attention to the food, it can also cause a fire when the food is burning with the lard cooking it.
Apart from cases of very high temperature, you can safely cook delicious meals with lard.
What Are the Benefits of Using Lard in a Deep Fat Fryer?
Different benefits come with using lard in a deep fat fryer. For one, lard can withstand very high temperatures. The smoking point of lard is 374 degrees Fahrenheit or 190 degrees Celsius, which sets it at a very high level.
This allows it to be perfect for deep-fat frying because these appliances require very high heat. If you use other kinds of oil, their heating point is not always as high, and so your food can end up burnt or uncooked.
Lard also has a neutral taste, so regardless of how long you leave your food in the deep fat fryer, it won’t affect the taste or outcome like some other kinds of oil like coconut oil would. Thus, you can make your foods at crunchy as you want.
Using lard in your deep fat fryer means you also get to save costs because they are quite affordable. Finally, lard reduces the amount of bad cholesterol in your food, so it’s healthy to use when cooking with a deep fat fryer.
If you like your food to be crispy and crunchy, you will benefit from using lard better than other types of oils used in deep fat fryers.
What Are the Drawbacks of Using Lard in a Deep Fat Fryer?
On the downside, lard can solidify when the deep fat fryer cools down with submersible elements. This is because it’s not actually oil and only becomes similar to oil when exposed to heat.
Once you’re done frying and you turn off the deep fat fryer, the lard will solidify, which can be quite messy and difficult to handle.
Another important downside is the lard is full of saturated fats. Saturated fat is a type of unhealthy fat, and so it’s essential to eat less of it. If you put lard in your deep fat fryer, you will no doubt have to consume a lot of saturated fats.
Since lard is pretty suitable for deep-fat frying, there are not a lot of drawbacks to worry about.
What Alternatives to Lard are There?
Apart from using lard, there are other alternatives that you can put in your deep fat fryer. You can use any of these oils or fats mentioned below to cook all kinds of food in your deep fat fryer.
One of the best oils for deep frying apart from lard is tallow, and this is rendered beef fat. It has a higher smoking point than lard, going as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 250 degrees Celsius.
It is high in vitamins and antioxidants, and food always tastes great when you cook it in tallow. The ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats in tallow is almost 1:1, making it perfect for deep-fat frying.
Peanut oil is one of the most popular oils used in deep fat frying, and it is also a great alternative to lard if you don’t want to use lard to cook. As the name implies, it’s gotten from peanut.
Even if it’s capable of deep fat frying foods, it does not have as great a nutritional profile as lard or tallow. But, it’s a smoking point higher than tallow and lard, so this is a plus. Also, it doesn’t taste like a peanut regardless of its name.
One more alternative to lard that you can consider is coconut oil, which has a very high smoke point and is suitable for many diets.
But it has a strong coconut flavor which can be discouraging and is also very expensive, so many people avoid using it for deep-fat frying since you have to use a lot of it.
If you don’t want to use any of these alternatives, you can enjoy using lard in your deep fat frying anyway. They have a high smoking point, with no taste, and are affordable, so you can use a lot of them at a time, which makes them ideal for deep fat frying.
Hi all! I’m Cora Benson, and I’ve been blogging about food, recipes and things that happen in my kitchen since 2019.