There Are A Few Steps To Follow For Storing Frying Oil Properly

Whether you regularly whip out your own deep fryer or occasionally fry foods on the stove, there are always times when this hot and fast cooking method comes in handy. Whenever you decide to make something like perfectly crispy fried chicken or potato latkes, you're inevitably left with a whole bunch of oil that seems wasteful — not to mention complicated — to just toss in the trash. Follow your instincts here, because simply throwing out your frying oil is a huge mistake you can make in the kitchen.

Instead, save your leftover oil for your next frying session by removing impurities and storing it in a container in the refrigerator. To walk you through the process, Chowhound spoke exclusively with chef Rick Bayless, who partnered with hot sauce brand El Yucateco to share his top Mexican cooking tips. "You just want to get all the little bits out of it, so I cool it down, pour it through a strainer, and then keep it in a refrigerator," he says. Bayless informed us that he uses a funnel with an attached mesh strainer to strain his oil into a bottle for storage.

According to Rick Bayless, straining your used frying oil helps improve its longevity. It's also helpful if you're reusing oil from frying fish or another pungent ingredient by removing any smelly particles. If you skipped this step, Bayless says, "When you heat it up again, it would not be as stable." Removing the impurities leaves you with a clean oil that won't have burnt pieces in it the next time you cook. If straining alone isn't enough to get your oil as clean as desired, you can also try mixing it with cornstarch before straining.

Once you've gotten rid of any unwanted food bits from the oil, Bayless recommends storing it in a glass bottle in the refrigerator. "If you save an oil bottle that you can just reuse, that has green glass, that's the best way to do that," he says. Although we're accustomed to storing oil in the room-temperature pantry, Bayless advised us that the fridge is a safer bet for used oil. According to him, the oil you save can be reused up to five times if you're only frying a small amount. "If it really turns a dark color, then you're done," he says. "You don't want to use it." In that case, carefully dispose of your cooking oil to avoid any plumbing issues.