Rival CZF530 3-Liter Cool Touch Deep Fryer

Purchased this fryer at Target and have used it for making chicken wings, fried spinach, French fries, fried okra and pre-prepared frozen calamari and clam strips. All of the items were of restaurant quality, and none were greasy. I did not experience flavor transfer when re-using oil. The fryer comes apart with ease, and it cleans up nicely in the dishwasher. This is a family size deep fryer, and it requires a large amount of oil. Once the deep fryer cools, you can strain the oil and store it in a clean plastic container for up to three months. So, after you purchase this fryer, make sure to buy a big container of cooking oil (the largest one in the grocery store) and a nice sturdy plastic container for storing your used oil. The directions tell you not to mix different oils, as they have a different smoking point. So, pick canola, vegetable, or peanut oil and stick to one type of oil for your deep fryer. My kitchen did not smell of grease after I used this product for frying.

I always kinda wanted to try deep frying a turkey but heard too many horror stories. I bought this thing thinking of french fries and such. After I actually got it in hand, I found it big enough to handle frying a small whole chicken. I thought, what the hey, I'll give it a try.

It worked wonderfully! I put in the oil, set the temp, let it heat up until the ready light came on, then put in the chicken and set the timer. The chicken was juicy and not oily like I expected and not all dried up like what a roaster does to them. Next time I am going to use peanut oil, use smaller chicken pieces (just to keep things more easily manageable, maybe a half of a chicken or a leg quarter), and use one of those marinade injectors.

Ok, back to the machine, I was really impressed with the design of the thing. All electrical components are removable from the oil contacting components, for cleaning. It is not easy to wash everything (get a dishwashing brush) but it is...Read more

This was a highly recommended deep fryer, and the quality of construction, ease of use and ability to clean up quickly were all important considerations. It is very carefully packaged, instructions are good, perhaps not great, but easy to follow if you take a moment to look at the pictures. It is fast, clean and no one gets injured! I had sort of hoped that the frying basin area might be larger in surface area (not necessarily deeper) so that I could do more items at a time, but for most foods, fries, etc., I can see that having them stacked works fine. I just love doing tempura, and that cannot be stacked as successfully because the batter will get all gigantically encrusted -- must keep the tempura pieces separated by a bit of space. Otherwise, you can dip and fry, remove items and dip and fry to your hearts content, with minimal mess and still have relatively healthy meals. Great for fish, but toss that old oil if doing seafoods! With veges you can recycle the oil and that...Read more