I have a confession to make. Until yesterday, I have never deep fried anything in my life. The closest I’ve gotten is fried eggs, which I really don’t think counts. So when the Ninja Professional Frying System ($99) came my way, I was both intrigued and a bit nervous. I spent a week looking through recipes and trying to decide if I should dive head first into my first attempt at donuts, or keep it simpler and try some chicken. In the end, I asked a good friend/chef what he thought I should try first, and his suggestion was great — keep it simple and try French fries. And that’s exactly what we did.
First of all, the Ninja Fryer comes with very simple accessories and very helpful directions. There’s not a lot of confusion to be had in getting started, and I feel my only mistake was in not anticipating the amount of oil I would need. I used up the 48oz bottle of vegetable oil I had bought and still had to use the rest of my other 48oz bottle from my cooking shelf, which was more than half full. In the future, this girl is shopping at Costco for oil before diving into frying!
The directions for the fryer are very simple. Just like anything else, time to cook and temperature vary based on what you’re making. I followed the booklet that comes with the system and dunked in my frozen fries. (That’s right — not fresh ones. Simple, remember?!) One important point to know in advance is that once the oil pre-heats to the temp you requested, it beeps and then starts counting down the clock. All of this before you’ve gotten the food into the oil. My tip for this would be to spend the time it takes to pre-heat making sure your food is ready to be dropped in, and either add a minute to the countdown or be ready to quickly add it in when the machine beeps. Otherwise you lose a few minutes of the clock with prep time. We learned that the hard way, but by the 2nd round of fries we were good to go!
Features:
Makes cooking a snap with hands-off frying. Ninja’s patent-pending basket lid keeps food fully submerged in oil so food is cooked evenly through without having to be flipped or turned in the fryer.
- Removable enamel oil reservoir, an easy-to-empty oil spout and the lid/oil reservoir are dishwasher safe
- Equipped with Cool Zone Technology that keeps oil cleaner for a longer period of time
- Lid with large window for easy viewing
- Easy-grip basket handle
- Cool-touch exterior
- Powerful 1800 watts
- 3 liter capacity (cooks up to 3.2 lbs. of food)
- Includes delicious recipes
- Digital LCD timer and display
- Prepare your favorite fried dishes with 30% less fat and 40% faster due to its revolutionary heat combination that keeps cooking oil at a uniform temperature, so foods cook to light, crispy perfection – with less oil absorption.
Eight minutes later we had the most beautiful looking French fries I think I’ve ever seen. Or at least ever made in my kitchen! We let them cool for a few minutes and then dove in. DELICIOUS! We were knocked out by how perfect they were! Crispy on the outside, warm and well cooked on the inside, and tasty all the way around. 
We can hardly wait to make more, and I now feel as though I can tackle something bigger. My next plan? Cod! And the great thing is that you can re-use the oil in the system for a short time, meaning all that oil doesn’t go to waste. My friend Mike was here for the test, and he has some fryer experience. He suggested putting any fish free unused oil into mason jars to be re-used again. I might not be able to do that this time around if I make fish, but in the future I’ll have more experience and more opportunities to make good use of this fantastic machine.
The Ninja website has a lot of helpful how-to’s and recipes for anyone contemplating a fryer. I suggest checking it out, and then take this girl’s word for it — this machine is easy, safe and fun to use. Go get one and make yourself some home made fried chicken this summer. I know I will!
Merrie is a writer for the Jen is on a Journey and you can also find her at her blog, Sleepless Mornings: “I’m the mother of two beautiful children, an Executive Assistant, a scrapbooker, a baker, and sometimes I’m even fun to be around!”
Product was sent for honest review, all opinions my own.
