She already owns a wok, and I agree you use less oil to deep fry in a wok.
But she would like a straight sided pot as well for deep frying. She feels it’s a bit more safe when deep frying many items at the same time.
I like a 5-L ECI Dutch oven as a sweet spot for both deep frying and making soups, as long as I don’t need too much soup. Enough mass in the vessel to help with temperature stability, and straight-sided (which I also prefer for soups; I’m sloppy).
It does tend to require more oil than a sloped pan, but we generally re-use the at least once, marking the used oil containers so that beignets get fried in used beignet oil and shrimp in previous shrimp oil, etc.
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It was between the enamelled Dutch oven and multi clad pot with the thick sandwich bottom.
An enamelled Dutch oven can chip, if you’re unlucky, so in this case I decided to go for the Lagostina Lagofusion pot.
Do realize that unless you are willing to spend considerable hot water, detergent and elbow grease that your dedicated pot is going to become “seasoned” both inside and out. That is the reason for its being dedicated to deep frying. I chose a garage sale $.50 3.5 qt calphalon for its heft and camo coloring. I empty it, fill with hot Dawn solution, wipe, rinse and let dry. It still has an exterior build up of vaporized fat. It’s all good because that is its purpose in life.
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My recommendation would depend on how big a batch your wife is normally frying.
For small batches, I’d recommend the Demeyere disc-base asparagus pot with basket. It conserves oil, the basket will hang on the rim to drain, and there’s little spatter. A deluxe option would be House Copper’s little 1Q stockpot.
For larger, or if you must use a spider, I would go with a taller pressure cooker bottom. Again, tends to save oil.
Unless of course you are making and enjoy “oily” soup.
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That’s interesting.
What I don’t get is that if you use a wok for deep frying, you can still use the wok for soups, stir fries and other stuff, but if I decide to use a stainless steel straight sided cooking vessel for deep frying, it can’t be used for soups, unless I want an oily tasting soup ?
Hmmmmm…am I missing something here ?
Is it because the wok already has the tarnished polymerized oily patina, so I just don’t notice the oil build up in the wok ?
But what about the taste from the oil residue in the wok - won’t the food you cook in a wok suffer the same way the food you would cook in a stainles steel pot would ?
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I don’t have access to that site unfortunately.
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The operative word is DEDICATED. Don’t try to make a deep-fry pot multifunctional.
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I get your point.
Still a bit confused over woks seem to work just fine as multifunctionel cooking vessels when used for deep frying - deep frying, stir frying, soups, sauteing etc.
I’m probably in between a Staub 24 cm ECI pot and the Lagostina Lagofusion 24 cm pot now…
I just use a 4 qt clad stainless saucepan to deep fry. I fill it just under halfway with oil and put a clip on thermometer into it. For one person it works great. Afterwards I let it cool down and filter the oil into a large glass jar or into the waste oil container if it’s time to toss it. Then it goes into the dishwasher. No residue is left. I use this saucepan for a lot of things, not just deep frying.
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Hi Claus, good seeing you again. I actually bought a dedicated electric deep fryer around six months ago, for about 40 euro. Main reason is just ease of use and being able to re-use the same oil, without needing to store the oil in a separate container inbetween uses.
The reasons why I don’t use a regular pan for deep frying anymore are numerous. As mentioned, pans will become very ugly because of the deep frying, especially stainless steel. Being able to re-use oil is also a thing as oil has become very expensive. I’d hate to spend more than 10 euro for oil, while still being frugal in how much oil I use, just for one deep fry session. And re-using is also a bit cumbersome, as I then need to wait for the oil to cool down, meaning I can’t use that pan anymore for other applications. For good deep frying results I also want to use a lot of oil so that the oil stays hot even if cold food goes in.
With the electric deep fryer, I just turn the machine off, let it rest for a few hours, and put it away with the oil in. No fuss whatsoever. Plus you have great temperature control.
If I were to use a pan, I’d indeed use a cast iron or carbon steel wok, or enameled cast iron from Le Creuset for instance, or dedicate a Fissler tall saucepan for this purpose. If stainless steel, I’d personally go for the Fissler instead of the Lagostina for safety reasons, as the Fissler sits rock solid stable on a stove.
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Hi, damiano:
Does your new electric fryer filter the oil? How much oil does it hold? How easy is it to clean and degrease?
Thanks
+1 question for @damiano — how many times do you reuse the oil?
Same questions plus how well does it maintain temperature when you drop a batch?
A lot of questions. It holds 3 liters, no filters, and it can be taken apart so each part can be put separately in the dishwasher.
How often I exchange the oil depends on usage. I often fry shrimp croquettes and then I’d say after three/four times. But if I were to deep fry chicken wings or raw shrimps with lots of flavouring (eg Chinese style) I’ll probably only use the oil once or twice and if the latter then only with similar foods. But you can filter the oil yourself of course.
It’s 2200 watts and it heats up quickly and regains its temp as fast as in a pan. Also no overshooting as often happens in a pan.
This is the one I have. Many people here in north western Europe have such a pan as we love french fries! 
Although the airfryer is gaining in popularity.
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Because woks are generally seasoned but more importantly the way woks are maintained and cleaned (usually heated dry and washed with water and some elbow grease)
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In contrast, kadhais are scrubbed clean with soap and a (metal) scrubber after every use.
“Seasoning” ie buildup is not considered a “feature”.
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A good bit more wattage than most home fryers in the USA.
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As are woks.
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