can you keep food from sticking to deep fry basket?

Put the basket in first, then the food.

I have only had problems with making batter dip items when I did not hold it in the oil before I let it go and at times making tempura.

Since this is not in the pro section I am going to assume that this is a home and therefore small fryer. So if problem persists, why not forgo the basket and drop them in free hand? However, one problem could be temp. Make sure your oil is heated all the way up.

ALso be sure that you are not overloading your basket, only a little bit at a time.

In the pro kitchens, we usually do something called "swimming," which is basically to hold the item being fried near the top, and then partially submerge the item in the fat (carefully, obviously) and moving it back and forth ("swimming") in the fat, for about 10 seconds. This helps the batter kind of seal and will usually go a long way to prevent sticking.

What is probably happening is the batter is getting cooked on the basket, and the batter is of course attached to the food, so hence the food sticks. If the itmes are small things (like calamari) or things that aren't battered (like chips, fries, etc), or things that will float on their own, swimming isn't needed.

Good luck

My guess is that you put too many in the basket to start. I don't think that I've ever had fries stick on me. Are you overcrowding the basket? What temp is your oil? What recipe for french fries are you using?

Excuse me, Someday. A recipe? For French fries?

Well, OK. Cut potatoes into squareish pieces, or wedges. Heat oil to 375. Immerse potatoes in hot oil. Let brown. Drain. Season.

That's about as close as I can get to a recipe.

Sometimes it's the seemingly easiest foods that are the hardest to master... especially fries.

What potatoes do you use? What are the size of your potato shapes? Do you soak the potatoes in cold water prior to frying to remove surface starch? Do you blanch the potatoes in lower temperature oil then cook a second time? Do you stab holes into the blanched fries to allow excess water to escape during the second frying process? Just so many variables can cause you to make either a limp, grease-laden, undercooked fry to a superlative golden, brown, crispy exterior, fluffy interior, ungreasy fry.

Don't be a jerk.

What types of potatoes? Do you peel them? Why heat oil to 375? Why not do a low blanch then a high heat finish? Blanch in water or oil? How long should you let them dry between blanching and frying? What type of oil should I use? Squarish pieces? Do you mean homefries or do you mean sticks? Wedges? How big? Should I cut my potatoes in 1/4's and do that? That's a wedge, right? How come my potato is raw in the middle but burnt on the outside?

I was simply trying to help Carl problem solve. I thought maybe if he posted his recipe or his method for fries I could better understand what is going wrong beyond a "my fries are sticking."

And if you're going to get on my case for supposedly not knowing how to make good fries, at least, when you respond, post a recipe or a method that won't give me bad fries. I would expect a food writer to be able to do better than that :rolleyes:

It appear that Blueicus has my back, thanks.

Anyways..........

Carl, I don't really know what to say about your fries. If you are going straight from the freezer to the fryer, and you aren't overcrowding the basket, I can't really think of anything that would make them stick.

But then, in your next post, you said they come out great, so I guess...problem solved? Also, if you are having problems with fried chicken specifically, don't be afraid to use a large skillet filled 1/2 way up with oil for frying. Works great (Grandma's will have my back), and you don't have a sticking problem.

Good luck.

Certainly for a southern-style fried chicken you shouldn't be using the same dredging/breading technique as you would to make breaded crab cakes or croquettes. Most recipes involve soaking the chicken in a buttermilk mixture overnight then dredging heavily in flour, allowing it to sit a little then frying in about an inch/inch and a half of fat with a cover.

You're welcome man I hope it works. Let us know.