There are SOOOO many of these available. Is there anything special I should look into before buying one of these? Is it really necessary to have anything better than the basic? There are such big price differences.

I guess, main thing I am wondering is - is it worth the money to buy a more expensive one or do you get what you need from a small one?

in all honesty - you don't need to spend a lot for one

i have fry daddy and fry baby - there's no temperature control on those - you need to go by the sizzle and the cooking time of the food you put in - the small one is nice for a few fritters or hushpuppies for dinner

i also have an older model which is also a rice cooker, steamer, etc. it's ok - but they have nicer models now - like the ones where the cover closes automatically as the basket is lowered - no splashing grease anywhere!
i like the size of this one for chicken (it's round) but its hard for large fish fillets - they need to be cut

it will depend on what you want to deep fry mostly if you want round or rectangular


there is also one out there with the double baskets where you can cook 2 different foods at the same time

since i don't deep fry all the time - what i have is fine but i am thinking about the one that automatically closes as the basket lowers - less clean up for this old girl!

when i make my italian fried dough i have to do it in the large cast iron skillet on the stove top because of the size of them

Thanks for your response! The automatic one sounds nice!

Mmm - I almost forgot about fried dough! That is something I haven't had in a couple of years!

I've been thinking of getting my wife one of those for christmas. I'll consider your advice while shopping.

I've got a big Masterbuilt Turk N' Surf electric turkey fryer and a Presto multi-cooker which also deep fries as well.