Can You Deep Fry in an Instant Pot?

Deep-fried food is basically everyone’s guilty pleasure. Although we know that it’s not the best type of cuisine health-wise, everyone will agree that there is basically no food that doesn’t taste better after some deep frying.

But what are all the different methods and dishes you can use for deep frying? Is it possible to deep fry in an instant pot? These are the questions we’ll be tackling in this article. Stay tuned to find out whether you can use your instant pot for deep frying.

Frying Food Methods

There are several different methods to fry your food. For example, you can shallow fry. For this, use the deepest standard cooking pan you have (if it’s too shallow, the oil will splatter everyone around the pan). For this, you need to add some oil to the pan, heat it up a notch, and add the food you want to deep fry. Turn the food regularly to cook it evenly.

On the other hand, you can also do pressure frying. This method is a variation of pressure cooking. What happens is that you are bringing the cooking oil and the food that you want to deep fry to a very high temperature, but the pressure is held high, which ultimately leads to food being done faster, and the food will generally be very warm and very juicy once done.

Finally, there is deep frying which is usually done either in a deep pot or in a deep fryer (yes, there is a special dish for that). All you need to do is put enough oil in a pot and then submerge the item you wish to cook in the oil.

Instant Pot

So, you have purchased an instant pot, but you’re not sure what can you do with it, and what are the best ways to use it?

Well, an instant pot is a type of multicooker. That means that it has a variety of ways that you can make use of it. An instant pot can replace a variety of other pots, so it’s a great choice if you want to save up both money and space in your kitchen. It’s an all-in-one type of appliance you can use to make slow-cooked food, for cooking rice, steaming your vegetables, sauteing, or simply warming your food.

This type of pot is a relatively new solution, as it was introduced for the first time in 2010, yet, by now, many different models have been introduced to the market, and people are using instant pots for a variety of purposes. The sizes usually range from 3 to 8 quarts.

Can You Deep Fry in an Instant Pot

As you saw in the previous paragraph, there are not too many things that you can’t do with your instant pot. However, deep-frying is one of those things that you can’t use your instant pot for.

This type of pot is simply not intended to be used as a deep fryer. It seems feasible to just put oil in the pot and set it up so that it doesn’t use any pressure while cooking (in case it’s also a pressure cooker), however, it’s still not the best use that you can make of your instant pot.

The problem here is even bigger if you are dealing with an electric pressure cooker, and if you put a large amount of oil inside and heat it up to a very high temperature, it can result in a fire. It’s not certain to happen, but there is a certain risk of the pot scorching and being set on fire, and that’s a kind of risk most of us simply shouldn’t take.

One more thing to have in mind is that any instant pot, especially if it’s also a pressure cooker, is meant to only use water and steam while working. Adding any oil and heating it up is already contrary to the safety recommendations.

In addition, valves for emergency pressure release along with some other features might not operate properly if there is oil involved, which can ultimately result in unwanted accidents.

Another reason why deep-frying is not a very good idea with instant pots is that you actually can’t get the pot hot enough to deep fry the food. If you’d try to prepare fries in your instant pot, you’d very likely end up with some poorly boiled, too soft potato pieces. No matter how high you set the temperature up, you won’t get the oil to the desired temperature to fry your meal. You will probably end up poorly cooking your meal, damaging the pot, or even completely destroying it.

Cooking in boiling oil takes too much time and requires a lot of care and attention. Cleaning the instant pot after such an activity can be very difficult, or even impossible after repeated trials.

Conclusion

Using an instant pot to deep fry may seem like a good solution. E.g. covering a chicken in batter, putting it in an instant pot, and heating it up – sounds simple and effortless. Many people had this idea: why wouldn’t I use my instant pot like a deep fryer, since it already has such a versatile use.

The reality is that you can’t use the instant pot like a deep fryer, as it’s impossible to achieve a satisfyingly high temperature to actually fry the food, and also, it’s dangerous. You can damage the pot to the extent that it’s useless, or even worse, set fire to your home.

Deep frying requires a special type of pot, as cooking in boiled oil requires a certain depth of the pot, but also, resistance to heat, and ability to heat up to high temperatures.

However, with the instant pot, there are so many recipes you can try, that will make you forget deep frying. Deep-fried food is truly far from a healthy option, which is why it’s extremely tasty. Luckily, preparing food in an instant pot will make other food preparation methods just as tasty.