The thought of frying scares some cooks because it conjures up images of sputtering fat and grease fires. But frying doesn’t need to be a treacherous cooking method. Here are some safety tips that will help you fry without incident.
When deep-frying, do not fill the pot more than halfway with oil. When food is added to the hot oil, the oil will bubble and the level will rise because of displacement, so it’s necessary to leave some headroom.
Use tongs at least 12 inches in length, a long-handled spider, or a slotted spoon to move foods that are frying so that your hands are kept at a safe distance from the hot oil.
If sputtering oil has the unused areas of your stovetop looking slick with oil, quickly wipe up the grease. The less uncontained oil there is in the vicinity of the lit burner, the better.