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Just got mine about 1 week ago. Made fish and chips just tonight. Figured it's time to put some back into the review pool and share the knowledge.
The reasons I chose this fryer turned out to be not the reason why I like it. But I do like it.
I bought this fryer because I thought it had a digital read out for temperature. This was Alton Brown's idea. But the digital read out does not serve this purpose! It is only for a timer countdown feature which works ok, but my handheld timer works better. The temperature control is actually a lacking feature because there are only four preset temperatures this fryer will lock in to (320, 3338, 356, 374) degrees F. This is fine for me since all I care about is the high temperature.
What turned out to be a very cool feature that I assumed might be a gimmick is the oil storage tray/filter system. Normally when you operate a fryer like this, you do your frying business and then let it cool down (takes 2 hours or more), then somehow "transfer" the oil back into a canister. You would need to strain the oil to get the debris out yourself. Likely, you would spill some of it.
This fryer, on the other hand, has a covered plastic "drawer" that sits underneath. When you are finished frying, you turn off the fryer, and turn the knob to "drain". Once the temperature cools down (approx 1-2 hours), the valve automatically opens up and fills up this drawer. There is a filter in the bottom of fryer bucket that keep the oil clean for you so you don't have to strain. When you're ready to use the oil again, you pull out this "drawer", open up a small valve on the end of it, and pour it back into the top and then BAM!, you're good to go. No mess. Very cool.
The drawer has a lid that enables you to disassemble it for the dishwasher. In fact, the element lifts off the top and then every piece in this thing goes right into the dishwasher for easy cleanup.
These big plusses that make this fryer worth buying: 1) Well built. 2) The automatic oil storage/drain/filter feature and the ability to break down everything for the dishwasher make this thing worth it hands down. 3) This unit also holds almost a gallon of oil, which is good since that means a fast recovery time temperature will stay hot which is the key to proper deep frying. 4) Can `dishwasher' everything except the element, including the oil drawer.
Not so great: the `digital' read out /timer is gimmicky but works to maintain one of the four temperatures. There is a fill line that you MUST NOT exceed that is only about halfway up the fryer, leaving you with a frying `depth' of only about 3". This is about normal for a fryer in this class through, so if you want a deeper basket, you'll need to get an entirely different class of fryers that don't have this no-clean up feature. The window on the top of the lid is useless since it fogs up in one nanosecond of frying. There's also a feature that reminds you to change your oil after TEN uses, which is totally lame since after about FIVE you'll want to change your oil, and that depends on how heave you fry. Since this thing has no way of telling if you fried 5 lbs of fries or one chicken nugget, it counts them as ONE and that counting feature is useless.
Also, there's a non-Emerilware version of this for about $35 less I'd go for that since the only difference is this `digital' readout which is useless.
And remember, with any fryer, unless you want your house to smell like a burger king, you'll want to operate this thing directly under a vent or better yet, outside.
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So, my first fryer was the Emerilware Deep Fryer. I liked it. I liked it so much I bought two of them (one for my mom). Then I was asked to review the George Foreman Deep Fryer with Smart Spin Technology. Here is my comparison...
1. The empty Foreman fryer possibly weighed twice as much as the empty Emerilware.
2. DESIGN: The Foreman fryer's parts were difficult to assemble and take apart. The plastic parts appeared flimsy. The door latch is only on one side and both the latch and the open button seemed to get stuck. The fry basket was difficult to get in and out of position. The oil well has to be perfectly slid into position, then snapped into place. There's a lock/unlock button to keep the well in position that also gets stuck (but this might actually slide more easily with use). And the heating element mechanism was difficult to remove with the *extremely* flimsy handle. What bothered me the most about all these parts is that, in my experience, the more complicated an appliance is (with all the buttons, levers, locks, etc), the more likely something is going to break.
Meanwhile, the Emerilware is so ingeniously simple in design, it is idiot-proof. It's basically a vat of hot oil which you dip your fry basket and food into. But with the George Foreman, I had to read the instruction manual just to figure out how to take all the plastic and cardboard out of it. It was really, really complicated.
3. The Emerilware's basket CAPACITY is huge! The Foreman fryer can fit maybe 1/4 of a bag of frozen fries. I managed to fit 3/4 of a bag of frozen fries into the Emerilware fryer. I have no idea how you could cook fried chicken in the Foreman fryer, you'd be able to fit 2, maybe 3, drumsticks at most. I can fit 6 drumsticks in the Emerilware. And turning the food mid-way through cooking is much easier with the Emerilware, since the Foreman fryer's basket is so small and it's got a stick running right up the middle of the basket. I think the Emerilware fryer has about the largest capacity basket among all deep fryers.
4. Both fryers cost about the same. Both fryers take about the same amount of time to heat up (approx 10 mins upon powering up to the hottest setting). Both have a max temp. of 375 degrees F, which is about typical for most deep fryers. Both fryers have a short, magnetic power cord which will disconnect if something trips over it.
5. The Emerilware has a timer that beeps like an angry alarm clock when it goes off; it's loud and annoying. The Foreman fryer has a really nice timer which dings like a bell when it's done. You may miss hearing it though if you walk away and your home is noisy.
6. MAINTENANCE -Here's where the Emerilware really shines. When you're finished with your frying, you simply flip a lever and all the oil automatically filtrates into a storage compartment below the fryer, ready for re-use. Then, you take all the remaining parts (except for the heating element) and throw it into the dishwasher, as all parts are made of stainless steel or hard plastic.
But the Foreman, you have to wait for it to cool, then filter the used oil into your own containers using cheesecloth or some other filter. It is a mess! Then, the oil well must be washed by hand. Moreover, the grill basket purportedly can go into the dishwasher, but the handle does not come off the basket, which makes it take up a ton of bulky space. Plus, the handle is a really, really cheap plastic that looks like it could melt in the dishwasher, so I wouldn't run the heated dry cycle with it in there.
7. TASTE: Up to this point, I was prepared to give the Foreman fryer a big fat 1 star rating. My first batch of food was a handful of mozzarella sticks. (Note to buyers, do NOT use the spin cycle with mozzarella sticks.) The instruction manual has a chart with suggested frying and spinning times for different types of food. It didn't mention mozzarella sticks, so after frying according to the directions, I turned the nob to spin the food on high for 2 minutes. I opened the Foreman up to a HUGE mess. The cheese had spun seeped out of the sticks leaving me with these hollow breaded logs, plus melted cheese ALL OVER the basket. Yuck. But this was my bad. I tried another batch on low spin with similar results. Nevertheless, I tried one of the hollow cheese logs and was AMAZED!!! They were crunchy and crisp. I put them on a paper towel and plate and they left almost NO OIL on the paper!
I then cooked a batch of pierogies. 3 minutes fry, 2 minutes spin on low. They came out beautifully golden and tasted -INCREDIBLE!!!!! They didn't feel greasy to the touch and, again, left almost no oil on the paper towels meant to blot them. I have never tasted anything so good! I went nuts at that point. I fried some frozen french fries -CRISPY, TASTY, YUM! I fried some hash browns, those broke apart a bit during the spin cycle, but they didn't taste or feel greasy. They were DELICIOUS. I actually managed to eat all this food and only go through one napkin to wipe my fingers.
The Emerilware food tastes good since it manages to do a good job getting consistently hot enough, but it still has nothing on the food the Foreman produces.
8. SPIN CYCLE: I have to warn you that the spin cycle on the Foreman fryer is really loud. It's about as loud as a hair dryer on high or maybe your blender. Moreover, it tends to destroy the shape of some foods. Like I said earlier, all the cheese seeped out of my mozzarella sticks, whether on high or low. My hash browns got broken. You may get misshapen doughnuts. If food presentation (visually) is important, you might have to skip the spin cycle.
9. Weight Control: Look, you've got to be kidding yourself if you want to control you weight and, as a result, decide to buy the Foreman fryer. If you want to watch your fat intake, you should stay as far away from deep fryers as possible. And while it appears to be true that a lot of the oil in your fried food will be removed through the spinning process (as evidenced by the lack of oil coming off the blotting paper towels), and even if it's true that you'll remove an average of 33% more of the oil absorbed through frying than other machines, you're still going to end up eating a whole heck of a lot of grease. Just don't delude yourself. (Personally, I just make sure I always down some Alli pills, but you will probably pay for it the next day.)
10. Smell: The Emerilware has a really poor filter. If you use the fryer in the house, your home will smell like a fast food joint for hours unless you air it out. The Foreman fryer has an excellent filter, plus a lid that locks shut. After grilling a huge dinner, the house does not reek of oil, the way it usually does with the Emerilware.
CONCLUSION: If this were only about taste and quality of food, the George Foreman Deep Fryer would win by a Knock-Out, no questions asked. But judging both deep fryers overall, it's really hard to weigh the food quality against the machine maintenance issues. After much deliberation and soul searching, I think I favor the Emerilware's ease of cleaning and oil filtration. So, for me, I think that all the overall points hand the Emerilware the win.
PS: I'd like to address some of the complaints regarding oil overflow. I have owned this fryer for over a year now and have never had the oil flow out of the storage canister. But I mention that I have always been careful never to fill the oil beyond the MAX fill line. Unfortunately, the max and min fill lines are really faint and hard to read, so I suspect that many of the Emerilware's unhappy customers may have overfilled their machines.
If you found this review helpful, please let me know!
Best Deals on Emeril by T-fal FR700951 2.65-Pound / 3.3-Liter Stainless Steel
We picked this one rather than the non Emeril model for the digital setting of the temprature. I have heard digital was better for accuracy (Alton Brown). Set up was easy. Reading the manual is a must to figure out the digital controls. The self draining and filtering worked as it should. Pay attention to your oil levels do not overfill!!! The amount of food you can fry is good for a family of four. The only thing I wish this fryer had was a higher temp setting but, it seems to be the industry standard. We love this fryer!!
Honest reviews on Emeril by T-fal FR700951 2.65-Pound / 3.3-Liter Stainless Steel
This fryer has performed exactly as advertised.
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The draining and straining of the oil has been flawless and the oil is ready for reuse the next day without hints of prior use.
Clean up is easier than any fryer I have used in over 35 years of cooking. Heavy residues are easily removed with a good paper towel and the remainder of the normally messy clean up is almost fun.
Oil temperature is held consistently and reheating after inserting food is very fast.
Besides all of the above, it cooks like a pro.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Emeril by T-fal FR700951 2.65-Pound / 3.3-Liter Stainless Steel
It has been years since we owned a fryer. The memories of the rancid oil, the mess of cleaning it etc. all told us to never buy a new one. Then we saw this one by Emeril. After researching it we decided to buy it. It does everything that it advertises and is so easy to clean. Everything goes in the dishwasher except the electric part and the oil is stained so that it looks like it just came out of the jar. The container for storing the oil is easy to store. Overall this is a wonderful improvement over the old fryer we used to have. Thanks Emeril.
