How To Filter Deep-Fryer Oil

I love deep frying food. When the weather gets cold the ice cream maker goes away and the deep fryer comes out. French fries, donuts, battered Oreos, everything tempura. It’s all amazing.

But what isn’t amazing is how expensive peanut oil is. The more food particles I can filter out of it, the longer I can keep a batch of oil in use.

I’ve tried every different technique for filtering the oil I could think of. Cheesecloth only worked if I layered four or five pieces together, and it was really difficult to keep little pieces of cheesecloth fabric out of the oil. And it was in no way reusable. A mesh strainer was easier, but a lot of tiny particles still got through.

I have finally hit on a method that keeps basically every single visible particle out: straining through a nut milk bag.

What the heck is a nut milk bag? It’s supposed to be used for making nut milk (duh). It’s made of a very tightly-woven material for keeping all of the non-milk nut bits in the bag, which makes it perfect for straining cooking oil!

What you need:

• Used cooking oil
• Nut milk bag
• Funnel
• Oil storage container
• Another person

Take the nut milk bag and put it inside of the funnel, draping it over the top of the funnel. If your bag has a drawstring, pull it tight to help keep it secure on the funnel.

Put the funnel in the storage container (I just use the plastic bottle the oil came in). While one person holds the funnel, the other person pours the oil in slowly. That’s it!!

You can hand wash the nut milk bag with water and dish detergent, let it air dry, and use it over and over again. Put the oil in the refrigerator to use again!

Not only will your oil last longer, but it will help keep your foods from tasting like each other (although nothing will help fishy smells – you might want to use a separate batch of oil just for fish).

Enjoy!