Topic: Any ideas on keeping battered pieces crisp

[JerryM]

i'd like to be able to keep battered food crisp so i can cook it in advance.

using the oven would be ideal. i've tried sitting the battered pieces on kitchen paper and directly on tin but the batter at the bottom always becomes soft and breaks up.

any tips appreciated

[Unclebuck]

wire rack? like a cooling rack which bakers use?

[JerryM]

UB,

thanks for the pic - had no idea such a thing existed. i think it might just do it - even the stacking might be ok too which would be ideal.

i will try to find uk supplier and give it a go. much appreciated

[JerryM]

i tried this out with mixed results. it's appears a tad more complicated than meets the eye.

following UB's suggestion i googled a bit and realised i could use the grill from my grill pan (to test the principle) and put it down on an existing shelf in the oven at low height. i placed a tin at the bottom of the oven to collect any drippings.

i used 150C to start with (not wanting to cook the food too much more). this did not seem hot enough.

i went up to 200C. this got the crispiness for sure but cooked the food for a 2nd time resulting in overcooked. i noticed that oil dripped out of the pieces which had already been drained - this was a suprise. the more the oil left the more the crispiness which was a suprise.

i've noticed Aldi have a small 900w fryer on this weeks offers for ?17. although i don't really want to be the owner of 2 off deep fat fryers this is looking the easyway out.

i'm not sure now which way to go. thoughts from any budding food scientists appreciated.

[parker21]

hi jerry only this week i bought a mini fryer in wilkinsons for ?9gbp and so far i have cooked the perfect chipshop chips twice, onion bhajis and chicken pakoras. all turned out really well. it says 1 litre/900w but the oil capacity is 500ml which is ok for the smaller portions but for 9gbp it was a fantastic buy and as it seems half the price of aldi and the only other place i have seen one was in argos for 14.99gbp. so if you have a wilkinson store nearby then go for it, or go online www.wilko.co.uk. it has settings from 80c upto 190c and a setting for cooking frozen food too, and you can just make out the pictures for different types of food on the front as well.
regards
gary

[JerryM]

a mini fryer in wilkinsons for ?9gbp
gary

thanks gary - we do have a Wilkinson store. for 9? sounds just what i need (spec sounds same as the aldi version).