Fried Chicken - stumbled on to something - OT

blasting

I could be late to the party on this idea, but my deep frying experience was so much improved I had to post.

Deep frying, for me, has always been messy, and the temp difficult to control.  I picked up a portable induction burner at an estate sale - best $5 I've ever spent!  The thing has great temp control and heats up super quick.

Cast iron dutch oven outdoors, on the induction made the deep frying simple and no mess.  The cook was nothing special, but I thought I'd mention this in case it could improve things for anyone else.
 

tarheelmatt

Looks great!  I would love to get one of those myself!  

JohnH12

We remodeled the kithchen several years ago. We had a standard electric oven/range but I've never liked them. I was raised on gas and gas was usually available during my years stationed in the west. There's no natural gas where I now live and I didn't want the hassle of installing a propane tank and plumbing so I did a little research.
We decided on an oven with an induction rangetop and couldn't be happier. Ours doesn't set temp by degrees like the little portable ones but it works fantastic. Bringing a stock pot of water to a boil is way faster than gas or electric and the temps are far easier to adjust. The change is almost instant. We even put a paper towel between the cast iron skillets and glass rangetop so there's no scratching the glass. High settings might scorch the towel a little but nothing to be concerned with.
We'll never go back to another electric range and will soon be getting a couple of the portable induction rangetops for the camper.
The only potential downside would be if you have a bunch of pots and pans that are made of a non-ferrous material. Just carry a small magnet while shopping for additional pots and pans.

blasting

JohnH12 said:

 will soon be getting a couple of the portable induction rangetops for the camper.

@JohnH12Since you're looking for two, you might check the link below (buy one get one free).  Website seems a little gimmicky, but I'm very pleased with mine.

SmokeyPitt

Thanks for posting- I have been thinking of doing this as well.  My parents gave me one and I haven't used it.  I plan to do it outside as well so I don't stink up the house. 

Dredger

That looks fantastic.

Focker

Nice score on the induction burner!

Ozzie_Isaac

Awesome device!  Never knew they existed.  There goes more $$ out the window.

Jeepster47

JohnH12 said:

... We even put a paper towel between the cast iron skillets and glass rangetop so there's no scratching the glass. High settings might scorch the towel a little but nothing to be concerned with. ...

@JohnH12 ... You're serious?  Where did you pick up the idea?  Not trolling ... just curious 'cuz it doesn't sound intuitive.

MediumRarely

This is coming in Dec (?).  Some of you may to consider it.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paragon-induction-cooktop#/story

Portable induction + Sous Vide

Thatgrimguy

Jeepster47 said:

JohnH12 said:

... We even put a paper towel between the cast iron skillets and glass rangetop so there's no scratching the glass. High settings might scorch the towel a little but nothing to be concerned with. ...

@JohnH12 ... You're serious?  Where did you pick up the idea?  Not trolling ... just curious 'cuz it doesn't sound intuitive.

That's totally legit. I do it on my induction top every time I fry anything.  Induction causes the pan to act as the heating element making it very responsive and safer. Since you aren't heating up an element that then heats the pan you can safely put paper towel between the cooktop and the skillet.

blasting

MediumRarely said:

This is coming in Dec (?).  Some of you may to consider it.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paragon-induction-cooktop#/story

Portable induction + Sous Vide

That looks great.  I use mine sous vide style now, but the water sensor would be even more accurate.

JohnH12

Thatgrimguy said:

Jeepster47 said:

JohnH12 said:

... We even put a paper towel between the cast iron skillets and glass rangetop so there's no scratching the glass. High settings might scorch the towel a little but nothing to be concerned with. ...

@JohnH12 ... You're serious?  Where did you pick up the idea?  Not trolling ... just curious 'cuz it doesn't sound intuitive.

That's totally legit. I do it on my induction top every time I fry anything.  Induction causes the pan to act as the heating element making it very responsive and safer. Since you aren't heating up an element that then heats the pan you can safely put paper towel between the cooktop and the skillet.

That's absolutely correct! I started using parchment paper but the paper towels are alot less expensive. Like I said, the higher temp settings will leave the paper towel a little brownish color but it's not a concern. You can actually just about cover the whole rangetop when frying bacon or anything that splatters so the cleanup is easy.
The max setting on our range is "PB" which stands for power boost. A large stock pot for pasta can be brought to a roiling boil in just a few minutes. It's much faster than even a gas range.
The ads you see with a pan cut in half are also true. Anything spilled on the range wipes up easy because it doesn't cook at all.
YouTube has several video segments.
Apparently induction ranges have been popular in Europe for years but haven't caught on much in the states. Cost may be the reason. We paid about 3K for ours several years ago. The oven is a regular electric convection type but the 4 "burner" range top is induction.

Ivanhoe

We chose this as well for our house and couldn't be happier. Especially the clean up part! We bought a Thermador and you can place a pot anywhere on the top and it senses where it is located and goes about its business. 

DoubleEgger

My neighbor cooks Indian food on her deck with one of those. Says she uses it for anything that she's doesn't want to stink up the house cooking.