To deep fry your fish, choose a specialized oil. If not, you can burn your fish accidentally. Or your fish can’t have a crispy finish after frying. You can choose the best oil for deep frying fish from the list below:
Here are the best oils for deep frying fish you can buy in 2024:
- Less Saturated Fats (Canola Oil): Happy Belly
- Preserve Food Flavor (Canola Oil): AVO
- Best Chemical Free Refinement (Canola Oil): Healthy Harvest
- For Crispy Fish (Rice Bran Oil): Riceland
- Subtle Flavored (Rice Bran Oil): Gamma One
- Antioxidant Rich (Rice Bran Oil): Dr Adorable
- Rich Flavored (Peanut Oil): La Tourangelle
- Fast Heating (Peanut Oil): Planters
- Cholesterol Free (Peanut Oil): Snappy Popcorn
| 9 Best Oils For Deep Frying Fish | ||
|---|---|---|
Less Saturated Fats | Happy Belly
| |
Preserve Food Flavor | AVO
| |
Best Chemical Free Refinement | Healthy Harvest
| |
For Crispy Fish | Riceland
| |
Subtle Flavored | Gamma One
| |
Antioxidant Rich | Dr Adorable
| |
Rich Flavored | La Tourangelle
| |
Fast Heating | Planters
| |
Cholesterol Free | Snappy Popcorn
| |
Less Saturated Fats: Happy Belly
- Versatile
- Environmentally safe
- Good price
- Weak cap and less sturdy container
Saturated fat is an unhealthy and common ingredient in most oils. If you consume a large amount of saturated fats, it’s easy to lead to heart disease and other health problems.
A safe product should be limited to saturated fat under 10% of your daily calories. Or under 7% saturated fat can also help you reduce heart disease risk.
If you are looking for a healthy canola oil, consider this Happy Belly product that has only 5% of saturated fat.
| Happy Belly Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 7.7 pounds |
Volume | 128 Fluid Ounces |
Ingredients | Canola Oil |
Highlight Features | Light taste Cholesterol-free |
The Happy Belly Canola Oil is a healthy product because it has less saturated fats.
Preserve Food Flavor: AVO
- Incredible price
- Good for deep frying
- Not change your food flavor
- No USDA Organic on the label
Most kinds of fish have a delicate flavor, so oils with strong flavors will overshadow your fish taste. If you want to preserve its flavor, it’s best to fry your fish with a flavorless oil.
According to the manufacturer, this AVO oil comes with a bland flavor that won’t affect the taste of your fish.
In fact, customers said that this oil is flavorless, so it won’t change even a little the flavor of their food.
| AVO Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 8 pounds |
Volume | 128 Ounces |
Ingredients | Canola Oil |
Highlight Features | No harmful chemicals Non-GMO Project, USDA Organic, OU Kosher, and HACCP-based Good Manufacturing Practices Food Safety Program |
Thanks to an odorless flavor, the AVO Canola Oil can preserve any food flavors, especially fish taste.
Best Chemical Free Refinement: Healthy Harvest
- Sturdy bottle
- Light, pleasant, and healthy flavor
- Reasonable price
- Adds a lightly specific odor to your food while frying
Some kinds of oil will release toxic chemicals and leach nutritional value when cooking, leading to cancer or other diseases. If you care about health issues, consider the Healthy Harvest Production.
According to the manufacturer, their oil is produced by applying physical refining ways to retain natural antioxidants, fatty acids, and Omega-3. Thus, their products don’t contain toxic chemicals like other commercial oils.
| Healthy Harvest Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 3.52 Kilograms |
Volume | 128 Fluid Ounces |
Ingredients | Non GMO Canola oil |
Highlight Features | Physical refining methods Doesn’t contain toxic chemicals |
The Healthy Harvest Canola Oil is a healthy product because of its chemical free refinement.
For Crispy Fish: Riceland
- Odorless
- Stable at high heat for long
- Expensive
Crispy fish requires an oil that can keep the heat hot for a long time.
Among all kinds of oil, the rice bran oil reaches a very high smoke point level - 490 degrees Fahrenheit. So, this oil can fry your fish until it’s crispy without being burnt.
| Riceland Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 8 Pounds |
Volume | 1 Gallons |
Ingredients | Rice Bran Oil |
Highlight Features | All-purpose cooking oil Non-hydrogenated Light taste High smoke point |
The Riceland Rice Bran Oil can help you fry a perfectly crispy fish without getting burnt.
Subtle Flavored: Gamma One
- Reasonable brand
- Smooth light flavor
- Healthy oil
- A high price
If you need a neutral oil but don’t like canola oil, consider this rice bran oil that is also subtle-flavored.
This choice still has the benefits of the canola oil. For example, its smoke point is still high, reaching 470 degrees F, which allows you to fry your fish until it is crispy without getting burnt.
Besides, this is also a healthy oil, containing a high level of nutrients, vitamins and natural antioxidants.
| Gamma One Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 2.33 Kilograms |
Volume | 67.6 Fluid Ounces |
Ingredients | Refined Rice Bran Oil |
Highlight Features | NON-GMO Verified High in vitamins, natural antioxidants, and nutrients High smoke point |
The Gamma One Rice Bran Oil is subtly flavored, so it won’t change the taste of your fish.
Antioxidant Rich: Dr Adorable
- Light flavor
- Easy to work with
- Good packaging
- Overprice
Among all kinds of oils, the rice bran oil has a high level of antioxidants that brings many benefits for your health.:
It can fight against damages caused by free radicals.
Antioxidant helps you minimize stress and cardiovascular disease, especially it can improve your mental health and brain health.
| Dr Adorable Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 1.09 Kilograms |
Volume | 32 Ounces |
Ingredients | Rice bran oil |
Highlight Features | Refined cold pressed High smoke point |
The Dr. Adorable Rice Bran Oil not only is a healthy product but also brings many advantages about health issues.
Rich Flavored: La Tourangelle
- Good smell and taste
- Good price
- Thickened oil
This oil has a bold flavor of roasted peanut.
You might wonder why I recommend this product while one of the standard conditions to choose oil for frying fish is a light flavor that won’t change your delicate fish taste.
This product is recommended based on my preference. Although you can’t enjoy the original fish taste, you will be surprised because of the wonderful combination of fresh fish taste and nutty flavor of this oil.
| La Tourangelle Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 0.01 Pounds |
Volume | 16.9 Fluid Ounces |
Ingredients | Peanut Oil (100%) |
Highlight Features | A deep nutty flavor Non-GMO |
The La Tourangelle Peanut Oil has a rich flavor that brings a unique experience of enjoying fish.
Fast Heating: Planters
- Lightweight
- No odors
- No smoke
- Smooth flavor
- Reasonable price
- Small bottle
Why do you need quick-to-heat oil?
The quicker the oil is heated, the faster your fish is fried and the less oil your food is absorbed. This is good for your health.
After using, even customers also said that this Planters oil can heat quickly, helping them to shorten the cooking time.
| Planters Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 1.5 Pounds |
Volume | 24 Fluid Ounces |
Ingredients | Peanut oil |
Highlight Features | Original flavor |
The Planters Peanut Oil allows you to heat it quickly to cook and fry fish and other food faster.
Cholesterol Free: Snappy Popcorn
- Light flavor
- No additives
- Expensive
If you care about your health and are looking for a healthy oil, here is it.
The Snappy Popcorn peanut oil is not only cholesterol free, trans fat-free, and low in saturated fats but also high in unsaturated fats. Besides, it even has healthy ingredients like natural antioxidants and great fats to keep your body at a low cholesterol level.
| Snappy Popcorn Specifications | |
|---|---|
Weight | 7.96 Pounds |
Volume | 128 Fluid Ounces |
Ingredients | Peanut oil |
Highlight Features | Nutty taste No trans fat and added coloring |
The Snappy Popcorn Peanut Oil doesn’t have Cholesterol and other harmful ingredients.
How To Choose The Best Oil For Deep Frying Fish?
What Is The Ideal Smoke Point?
The smoke point is the temperature when the oil deteriorates and breaks down. In this condition, your oil is ineffective.
Deep frying (350 to 375°F) requires oil at a high smoke point. The best oil for deep frying fish should reach a high smoke point because this oil can allow you to fry your fish at a high temperature for long, effectively and safely.
A low smoke point will break down your oil, releasing free radicals and acrolein, which burn your fish. Thus, this kind of oil is useless for deep frying.
In case you don’t know the smoke point of each kind of oil, refer to the information below:
- Safflower oil: 510°F
- Canola oil: 400°F
- Vegetable oil: 400-450°F
- Peanut oil: 450°F
- Clarified butter (ghee): 450°F
- Coconut oil: 350°F
- Extra virgin olive: 325-375°F
Is Oil Flavor An Important Consideration?
This seems a question of preference, but it will influence the taste of your fish.
Fish has a delicate flavor, so you should choose oil with a neutral flavor that won’t overshadow the fish flavor even when deep frying.
For example, you shouldn’t use the extra virgin olive oil that imparts a strong flavor on your fish, especially since it has a low smoke point. Although peanut oil has a good smoke point, it has a slight nutty flavor. Or the clarified butter (ghee) also has a slight flavor of butter that imparts on your fish.
These are oils without flavors or with very neutral flavors: safflower vegetable, and canola.
What Is Healthy Oil?
Oil passing the smoke point will release free radicals, damaging your body cells. To avoid this, choose canola, sunflower or avocado oil that are healthy choices because they are at the ideal temperature range of deep frying - 350 to 375°F.
Which Brands Make The Best Oil For Deep Frying Fish?
Healthy Harvest
The Stroh Family - a Colorado farming family founded the Healthy Harvest brand in the 1900s. The highlight feature of this brand is that they aim to produce Non GMO products, so they have manufactured Non GMO and organic cooking oils in 2013.
FAQs
What oil is best for fish and chips?
The best oil for fish and chips should have a high smoke point that can sustain high heat for long because these foods require to be fried at high temperature.
The delicate flavor of fish requires an oil with a neutral flavor. If not, a strong flavor of oil will overpower fish.
If you don’t know which oil can meet these requirements, below are some examples:
- Canola oil
- Sunflower oil
- Safflower oil
- Peanut oil
Which is better for deep-frying: vegetable oil or canola oil?
Canola oil
Can I reuse frying oil that sat out overnight?
Yes, but it requires you to clean and store your frying oil properly:
After frying, let the oil cool until it reaches a safe temperature level.
Strain the oil through a fine-mesh strainer or a cheesecloth (best to use both) to remove large pieces of debris.
Store strained oil in a cool and dry place.
How many times can I reuse oil to fry fish?
Don’t reuse oil over 4 times and you just should keep oil for reusing within 3 months.
How do I clean oil after frying?
There are many ways to clean oil after frying, but I just recommend the most common ways below:
1. Corn-Starch
Let the oil cool.
Strain the oil through a paper towel, a paper coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve, or a cheesecloth to remove remaining fried food pieces that will be burnt when you reuse the oil.
Mix oil and corn-starch mixture together at a low heat.
Use a heat proof spatula to stir continuously.
Let the corn-starch mixture solidify in 10 minutes before straining.
Note: don’t heat until it boils.
2. Lemon
Heat the oil with some small pieces of lemons so that the black leftover particles can stick in the lemons.
Take them out of the mixture.
Strain the oil.
3. Storage
Keep the oil in a good cooking condition by putting it far away from heat, light, and moisture because these elements will degrade your oil quicker (you can’t use it anymore).
Keep your oil away from the stove where it is the source of heat. Instead, you can store your oil in the fridge and use it when it is hardened.
Conclusion
Why do you choose the best oil for deep frying fish instead of regular oil? This kind of oil that has a high smoke point allows you to fry your fish long until it’s crispy without getting burnt. Plus, most of them are flavorless or light flavor, so you can keep the delicate flavor of your fish. If you have a special taste, many bold flavored oils with high smoke points can give you a unique taste.
Jane Orta
