What to use instead of frying oil
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Hot medium for deep frying at 175 to 190C
The oil has to stay stable at frying heat, so what matters is a high smoke point and low free fatty acid. Flavour is a secondary question.
Peanut oilRan out
1:1 by volume
Holds to about 230C and takes repeat frying better than most, with a faint roasted note in the food.
Refined sunflower or safflower oilNut-free
1:1 by volume
Clean and neutral, and it breaks down faster, so it lasts about half as many rounds of frying.
Rice bran oilNut-free
1:1 by volume
Stable to about 230C and neutral, and the food drains cleaner so it comes out drier to the touch.
Beef tallow or lardRan out
1:1 by weight
Fries crisper and holds temperature better, with a savoury flavour in everything, and it sets solid on the food as it cools.
What doesn't work: Extra virgin olive oil in a deep pot. It smokes at around 190C and its free fatty acids break down fast, so the kitchen fills with smoke and the food picks up a bitter, acrid taste.
Shallow oil for frying vegetables before they are layered
Eggplant and potato are fried in a shallow pan to drive water out and set the surface, which is what stops them collapsing in the bake that follows.
Refined olive oil, the plain kindRan out
1:1 by volume
Carries an olive flavour into the vegetables and takes 180C without complaint, and the pieces brown a little faster.
Sunflower oilNut-free
1:1 by volume
Neutral, so the eggplant tastes only of eggplant, and it needs a hotter pan to brown at the same rate.
Ghee or clarified butterRan out
1:1 by volume
Browns much faster and adds a nutty richness, and it burns above about 200C, so keep the pan moderate.
Roast at 220C insteadRan out
3 tbsp oil per tray in place of 3 cups for frying
A tenth of the oil, and the pieces come out drier and chewier rather than silky. Allow 25 to 30 minutes.
What doesn't work: Butter. The milk solids burn black long before the eggplant has given up its water, so the pan tastes scorched and the slices are still raw in the middle.
Fat that carries chili heat into a poured sauce
Capsaicin dissolves in fat, so the oil is what pulls the heat out of the cayenne and spreads it evenly over the crust.
Fresh neutral oil heated to 150CRan out
1 cup oil per 1/4 cup cayenne
Cleaner and simpler, and it misses the fried-chicken flavour that used frying oil brings with it.
Rendered lardRan out
1 cup lard per 1 cup oil
It sets thick on the chicken as it cools, so the coating is heavier and clings instead of running off.
Butter cut with oilRan out
1/2 cup butter plus 1/2 cup oil per 1 cup oil
Richer and it browns the sauce, and it splits and goes grainy the moment you reheat it.
What doesn't work: Water or vinegar as the carrier. Capsaicin does not dissolve in either, so the cayenne stays as grit that slides off the crust and all the heat lands in the last bite.
Strain used frying oil while it is warm and keep it dark and sealed. It is the crumbs left in it that turn a second fry bitter.