I usually go with 350F when I deep fry meats. I love using a grapeseed oil for frying. It's light and seals the skin nicely. http://7th-taste.com/2010/11/27/juicy-succulent-12-lbs-turkey-ready-in-30-minutes/

make sure to use a really large pot or dutch oven.. don't overload as the oil expands and bubbles when frying. I would also start with frying things that are easy and non-messy :-)

I only know how to fry chicken. But that's not deep-frying; I use a cast-iron skillet.

No, frying does not have to be that exact. I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven and clip a candy thermometer to the side. Each recipe will give you a temp for the oil. The oil temp will drop after you put the food in, so I usually turn my burner on higher till the recommended temperature is achieved again.

order out, the mess isn't worth it

Open a window, turn on the exhaust & DO NOT STEP AWAY FROM THE OIL. And even if you use a deep dutch oven, put down a couple layers of newspaper on the floor to catch the spatters. Make sure you have all your ingredients right near by & have a place to set the fried food. And make sure to use the right oil- different oils have different smoke points & that makes a huge difference in frying. I prefer peanut oil to fry chicken, fyi.

Wear an apron, tie your hair back, make sure to remove any bracelets, wear shorter sleeved shirt & get to it! Food fried at home is so delicious & not to be afraid of.

I've also a novice fry-er but I've got a few successful dishes under my belt now, including fried pickles and Korean fried chicken. Get a thermometer with a pan clip and keep an eye on it as you go because the temp will change. Get all your ingredients prepped and your breading stations set up in advance and then, assuming that you're frying multiples of whatever it is, just try one and see if your inside and your outside cook at the same time. Adjust the temp as needed before you continue.

Besides a thermometer, a spider or other slotted utensil is very helpful. Like Emily G. I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven and it's fantastic.

Lastly, I have been reusing the oil a couple times by letting it cool and then lining a funnel with some cheesecloth and straining it into my storage container. I have two containers of oil to be reused, one that was used for chicken and one for veggies. (That's only because I don't eat meat and don't want my fried pickles to taste like chicken.) I haven't tried donuts or anything sweet yet, but if I do I'll keep that oil separate.

I would recommend frying in a DEEP pot. I made the mistake recently of frying brussels sprouts in a high-sided skillet that was still on the shallow side, and it was just a huge mess - grease splattered everywhere. I still feel like my kitchen isn't clean yet!

I use a store bought deep fryer, it's a small one with the usual temp. dial. It wasn't expensive and takes the guess work out of cooking whatever.

I got mine 14 years ago as a wedding gift and am still using it regularly. Just don't crowd your food in the pan.

Make small adjustments to the heat level of your burner. If you get impatient and crank up the heat you can easily overshoot your target temp and cause a major mess. On our glass top stove we only need to set the burner at medium or slightly higher for frying. Also, use a burner that's a little smaller than your pot. Splattering oil will smoke if it hits the hot edge of the burner that's not covered by the pot.

Test a few small pieces of food first. It the oils splatters and pops, it's probably too hot. If the food just sits there with no bubbling, it's too cold. When the test pieces come out right, add some of the regular pieces. Again, don't be impatient and dump everything in the oil at once. I can't seem to break my husband of this bad habit and things just don't cook right when they're overcrowded.

A deep fryer!! ;-) Unfortunately, you have to use an absurd amount of oil every time! I simply fry everything in a deep pot, without a thermometer- I just flick water into the oil...if it bubbles, it means it's ready!

Plenty of good tips. Mine would be fire safety. Be prepared to put out a grease fire if need be. You can buy a simple push button fire extinguisher(First Alert makes one called Tundra it comes in a can like whipe cream) and have it in a handy place. Or, at the very least have something like baking soda or corn starch to throw on the grease. DO NOT ever use water.

The other nice thing about having a dedicated fryer is that most of them let you keep the used oil for the next time. I always liked that feature.

Like others have mentioned, a deep, heavy pot. Cast iron or enamel help you keep a more consistent temperature because they retain heat better than stainless, so the temp won't drop as much when you add the food.

Keep the batches small or you risk dragging down the temperature.

Have a paper-towel-lined cookie sheet ready to transfer batches onto and keep it in a warm oven so that your first batch is as hot and crispy as the last.

i like to use my wok. lots of surface area for the amount of oil. I usually fry donuts for Fat Tuesday, then a few weeks later potatoes, then pakoras, last I will fry codfish balls; all using the same oil. once i have fried fish, i toss the oil.

Since deep fried foods are not that healthy, I would just order it once in awhile when I'm eating out.

We don't really deep fry any more for health reasons, but when we did we used a deep fryer. It wasn't expensive, about £20 (about $30 I think) but it was worth every penny as it took all the guess work away. It's still in the attic all packed up in case one day I have a craving for churros.

Unless you have very good ventilation in the kitchen I find it's not worth the trouble. The smell lingers and there's a fine film of oil everywhere.

I was raised in a large family, tons of people all over the place. My mother never had time to put oil on the stove, her best Christmas present to herself was a deep frier! Easy to use, tells you how far up to put the oil, has the temp range easy to set. All you have to do is follow the recipes and what they tell you to cook at. One thing I have learned over the years of using oil, in my family even being the only son, is the higher you cook at the faster it cooks and the less oil gets into your food. The lower the temp the longer it cooks the more oil in your food. Stay healthy with oily foods cook 350F and up.