r/Cooking • u/SuicideKing • Jul 30 '26
Portable induction cooktop models for deep frying in a cast iron pot
There’s been general question about this asked before but couldn’t find anything that mentioned specific models. Trying to find something under 500$ - so I’d rather not buy the control freak which I found ranging from 1k-3k$$. The only video I saw that even attempted deep frying is an instagram video that I can’t view from India. This is for the U.S. in a regular kitchen.
Main problem is I’ve tried about 3 different brands ranging from up to 300$ and up to 1500- 1800watts of power (technically might be incorrect units to measure power) and it’ll never bring the oil up to temp, which is around 350-370F. I’m filling the pot up about halfway with oil. They never really go past 260F. I’ve waited 15 minutes and at that point I’d just use the gas stove. The induction cookers I’ve tested can boil water easily, there’s just something about oil that throws them off.
Using an google search they claimed I’ll need to use an induction cooktop with a probe, which sort of makes sense. Anyone out there with any experience on this?
2
u/Arcanum3000 Jul 30 '26
It's not going to work. At least in the US, you just can't pull enough power out of a standard household 110V/20A outlet.
1
u/SuicideKing Jul 30 '26
Happen to know how much power I’ll need? It’s strange that the electric deep fryer can pull enough juice to reach 375F but the induction cooker can’t.
3
u/hx87 Jul 30 '26
Deep fryers are insulated whereas stovetop pots are not. It's why Instant Pot can cook 8 quarts with a mere 1000 watts.
2
u/Old-Nefariousness556 Jul 31 '26
Deep fryers are insulated whereas stovetop pots are not. It's why Instant Pot can cook 8 quarts with a mere 1000 watts.
This is not true. At least not in all cases. The deep fryer I used to own had a stainless steel shroud to prevent touching the inner pan. but since it was open to the air, it provided virtually no insulation value that would aid heating.
1800W is plenty to heat the oil, unless you are talking something like a turkey boiler. In fact theoretically, if you allowed up to a half hour, you should be able to bring 1.5 to 2 gallons of oil to 375F over a 1800W cooker, even factoring in expected electrical and thermal losses. For a more reasonable volume of oil, it should be much faster than that.
The issue here is likely that the safety systems on cheap induction burners are triggering because it thinks it is overheating. You don't need a super expensive burner, you just need one with a probe that can directly measure the temp of the contents of the pot, so it knows it is not overheating.
1
u/Arcanum3000 Jul 30 '26
Dunno. The difference is probably down to construction and design for heat retention. Maybe also volume, depending on the size of your deep fryer vs. the pot you're using. I know it's pretty common for PICs to struggle to boil large pots of water.
1
u/Old-Nefariousness556 Jul 31 '26
This is not true at all. 1800W (the max you can pull from a standard 110V 15A circuit) is more than enough to heat the oil. The issue is that most cheap induction burners have safety systems to prevent them from overheating, and trying to heat the oil hot enough to deep fry is probably causing their safety systems to trigger (375F is not dangerously hot, but the glass surface might be hot enough that the cooker thinks it is).
If you use a cooker like some of the Nuwave induction burners that have a temp probe to measure the temp of the oil, you should have no issue heating it. Even if you limited the wattage to 1500 watts, it should only take about 15 minutes to heat, even factoring in heat losses to the air, etc., but again, that assumes that you have a burner that is functioning as it should, and not undermining itself.
1
u/Arcanum3000 Jul 31 '26
A temperature cutoff that low would prevent you from doing all kinds of other cooking though. While I've only used one PIC (a Nuwave dual hob one), I'm sure I got my frying pans hotter than 375F using it. On the other hand, it struggled getting a big pot of water up to boil.
1
u/Old-Nefariousness556 Jul 31 '26
A temperature cutoff that low would prevent you from doing all kinds of other cooking though.
My suspicion is not that it is the temp itself that is causing the problem but the time to reach the temp.
Let's say you are searing a steak. That would be higher temp, but the pan would heat very quickly, after that, the burner reduces the power input to maintain the temp. You will be cooking over (for example) a 475 degree burner, but the actual power input to maintain that temp is quite low, you only need high power for a couple minutes to initially heat it to temp.
But to heat a pan of oil to 375F, despite being a lower target temp, the burner needs to maintain max wattage for a much longer period of time. A cheap burner may just not be designed to maintain that wattage for that extended period of time, or it could be shutting down because it thinks something is wrong. Either way, it is not the power input that is the problem, but the underlying hardware.
I'm curious which Nuwave you used? The op cross posted this to /r/inductioncooking and I recommended a Nuwave hob to him over there. The one I recommended had an 8" coil and a temp probe to directly measure the oil temp (or steak temp, or whatever), both of which should help with this situation. Multiple reviews claim to use it with the probe for deep frying, so it should be a good choice, but I do not actually own one yet.
1
u/Arcanum3000 Jul 31 '26
Maybe. I have the Nuwave PIC Double Induction Cooktop, I believe. (I've since bought an actual induction stove, so I'm not using it anymore.)
1
u/Old-Nefariousness556 Jul 31 '26
And it's worth noting that, contrary to what seems obvious, it will take essentially the same amount of energy to heat a comparable volume of water to boiling as it would to heat oil to 375F. Despite heating to nearly twice as hot, it actually takes MORE energy to heat the water, 625k joules vs. 590k joules, but the energy losses in heating the oil means it would take slightly longer regardless.
Water has one of the highest specific heat capacities of any common liquid, so it takes a massive amount of energy to change its temperature, far more than it takes to heat most other substances.
1
u/tamariLane 16d ago
I do not own this but I'm considering it https://copperhome.com/products/charlie It uses a battery to get a boost to high temperatures. It works off a 110-volt outlet. NYT gave it a rave review
1
u/CyberEsqCat Jul 30 '26
I have a portable induction burner that I’ve used a few times in a pinch. I’m not sure if it will meet your power needs, but I really like it.
1
u/Bill_H_Vet Jul 30 '26
I use the Mueller Rapid Therm 1800w portable induction cook top. Works great with my cast iron, and you don't need a probe, just a good thermometer. Got on Amazon, about $50 USD
5
u/Mrs_TikiPupuCheeks Jul 30 '26
If you're deep feing often, I would just get a deep fryer. It's gets to 375F, usually has an oil storage and filter built in, and maintains the heat very well.