Your deep fryer is capable of making some amazing fried dishes but can you use water in a deep fryer? I will tackle that question from 2 different angles because that question can be answered in 2 separate ways.
Here’s what I mean; You can technically boil water in a deep fryer without a problem because the boiling temperature of water is much lower 212 degrees Fahrenheit as compared to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for vegetable oil.
It should be able to handle the task without any problem. Using water in a deep fryer while it is filled with hot oil is another proposition altogether. You need to have health insurance if you are going to go that route.
Can You Boil Water in a Deep Fryer?
If your intention is to boil water in a deep fryer then you can definitely do that without a single problem. A deep fryer is designed to withstand much harsher and withstand much higher temperatures than those required for boiling water.
You do need to be wary of a few things though and top among them is that you need to make sure that the deep fryer is completely dry after you’re done boiling water in it.
The reason is that water can mix with food and oil particles which can contaminate the oil that you use the next time you deep fry.
Boiling Water in a Deep Fryer to Clean
A good reason you would want to boil put water in a deep fryer is to clean it. A good way to clean a deep fryer is to put water in it and mix it with vinegar or vinegar and baking soda then boil the mixture for some minutes before allowing it to stand for about an hour or so.
A good heat resistant scrubbing brush would also be a handy tool to get the job done. Once you allow the mixture to do its work, cleaning the fryer out becomes a really easy task as the hard to remove dirt and grime will now be broken down and easy to remove.
This method is used by professional chefs and restaurants to clean their deep fat fryers at regular intervals so that they keep functioning at optimum levels. This process also ensures that the deep fryers have a long lifespan.
Water in Deep Fryer Explosion
The subheading for this section seems extreme but it is a very real threat. Mixing oil that is at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cold water can cause an actual explosion.
When water mixes with extremely hot oil, a reaction takes place which can range from oil bubbling out all over the place all the way to an explosion.
The severity of the reaction though is dependent on the amount of water that you mix with the oil. The more the water you put in the oil the more extreme the outcome.
Generally speaking, this is not something that you want to happen especially in a confined space like a kitchen. One thing that you also need to be wary of especially when you fry food at low heat is that moisture from the food you are frying can collect at the bottom of the oil and not react to the oil at all.
As you bring the temperature up to say 350 degrees, it will remain at the bottom without reacting.
Once you introduce something with a little bit of moisture to the oil though, it can cause a really violent reaction akin to an explosion and, if you are in a confined space, could find yourself suffering serious harm.
This is a common occurrence when you are doing twice-fried recipes that involve deep-frying your food at a lower temperature, taking it out while you raise the heat up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or more then refrying the food.
This twice-fried technique is common when deep-frying frozen wings. It’s a method that is used to make sure that your meat cooks all the way through but it is also used as a special way of preparing buffalo wings.
Conclusion
Can you use water in a deep fryer? Yes you can as long as the water is being used on its own and not being added to oil that is already hot.
There can be good reasons for putting oil in a deep fryer like when you are cleaning it but it is a bad idea under normal cooking conditions.