Can You Reuse Oil After Frying Fish? (Answer With Explanation)

After deep frying a batch of salmon, tuna, or catfish, there is a large amount of oil on the pan. Now what to do with them? Reuse the used oil or throw it in a trash bin? Which should you go for?

I have asked many times that can you reuse oil after frying fish? The answer is a big YES. You can reuse oil after frying fish 3 or 4 times as you clean the oil after frying fish by removing food debris and storing it safely in a dry place. 

To know detailed information, walk with me. 

Mistakes You Should Avoid When You Reuse Oil After Frying Fish

Since there are many kinds of oil in the market, you can’t choose all the oils by considering the same criteria. If you do that, then there is a high chance of making mistakes while reusing. 

Here is a list of common mistakes that you can make because of unconsciousness or lack of knowledge. Such as

• Do not properly filter the oil while storing.
• Don’t use a clean container to store the oil.
• Keep the oil in the sunlight and sun heat. Which damages oil quickly.
• Not to attach any label on the container to keep time tracking. 
• Reuse oil after 3 months.

What Happens If We Reuse Oil

If you reuse oil before damaging and maintaining all safety measures (filtering, cleaning, proper storing process), it is a good idea. However, it saves unnecessary wastage of cooking oil and money. 

But, if you don’t follow all the things and use it after three months, it increases free radicals to cause body inflammation. 

And it is one of the major reasons for high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and hampering your immunity system. Even it enhances disease infection chance and the tendency to grow acne. 

Does Reused Oil Go Bad

It’s a million dollar question as with it, your life and health are related. If you reuse oil many times and don’t check whether it is okay or bad, you will put your health in danger. 

Consuming bad oil will cause heart attacks, cancer, and cholesterol. Not only that it also damages organ cells, and increases white blood cells. So you have to know how to check if reusing oil goes bad. 

Yes, reused oil can go bad. Here are two signs by which you can consider the oil is going bad.

The taste and color of reused oil change over time. It looks darker even after filtering. 

The oil has a foul odor or is rancid. 

How Do You Clean And Store The Oil After Frying Fish

You need a lot of oil for frying a batch of fish, and it is a drawback if you want to eat the fish fry. I know you can accept this downside but can’t avoid eating the fish fry. 

In this situation, if you learn how to clean frying oil and store it, then the problem is solved. And you can enjoy frying fish. It’s very simple to clean frying oil. Let’s see the process. 

Tools You Need

• Fish frying oil 
• A clean container
• Fine mesh strainer
• A clean heatproof bowl
• Cheesecloth or two pieces of kitchen tissue paper

Here is the step by step instructions

Step 1: First of all, preheat the fish frying oil at low to medium heat for 10-12 minutes. But don’t let them simmer. 

Step 2: In the meantime, take the heatproof bowl and spread the cheesecloth or tissue paper on the bowl. While spreading tissue paper, don’t keep any space between them. 

Step 3: After completing these 10-12 minutes, when the oil is roughly heated, pour them over the fine mesh strainer. If the oil has any batter, fish debris, or any other thing, they will remain on the strainer, and the oil goes to the bowl. As the oil is slightly heated, it easily goes into the tissue paper. 

Step 4: Keep the oil for some time until it gets fully cooled down. After that, pour the oil into the container and screw the lid tightly. So the oil can’t leak. 

Step 5: Keep the container in a safe and dry place to store. If you want, you can keep it in the freezer. But it is not compulsory. 

By following this process, you can store the fish frying oil for up to 3 months. But using the oil before this time frame is the best practice. 

Can You Fry Fish In The Same Oil As Chicken

It’s very time-consuming, inefficient, and uneconomic to use separate oil for frying fish and chicken. 

To avoid all these things, you can easily fry fish in the same oil which you use to fry chicken. But for this, you have to fry the chicken first, then fish. There are, of course, some reasons. Such as 

If you first fry fish and then chicken, you will get a fishy smell and taste to your chicken. Sometimes, the chicken looks undercooked which is very disappointing. To get the neutral flavor to your fish and chicken, you should follow the first chicken frying rules. 

It will be a great decision to use peanut oil to fry both chicken and fish because the fish and chicken absorb less fat but much flavor from the oil. And it is good for your health.

Does Used Cooking Oil Need To Be Refrigerated

The answer to this question is both yes and no. If you want to use your cooking oil for reuse, you should store them at room temperature within a sealed light-proof pot, jar, or container. As you save the oil from sunlight and heat, it will be usable for three months. 

If you think you will not use it frequently within these three months, then you can keep it in the refrigerator. But it is not necessary. Sometimes the refrigerated oil becomes cloudy. As soon as you bring it to room temperature, the cloud will disappear. 

Ways To Increase The Lifespan Of Your Cooking Oil

Oil is one of the much-needed kitchen elements for tasting any frying food. Even after deep frying, you have a lot of used oil. 

If you know how to increase your cooking oil’s lifespan, it will be easier for you to reuse them for many days without contamination. 

You can enhance the oil lifespan by following six tips. Here are the tips..

Filtering and Skimming

While you use oil for deep frying, then some food debris will mix with the oil. So you have to properly filter and skim the oil before storing it for the next use. 

Never Overfill Oil

Deep-frying indeed needs more oil than shallow frying. But that doesn’t mean you overfill the oil in the proportion of your foods. Pour oil into the pan according to your food. 

For example, if you fry one batch of salmon, pour 1 liter of cooking oil into the pan. This amount of oil is enough for deep frying. 

Even if you use higher oil levels, it will increase the chance of bubbling over the pan. However, it is an inefficient and less productive approach. 

Right Cooking Approach

You have to avoid using oil for frying different types of foods at a time. Because when you fry a batch of chicken wings, they leave blood in the frying oil, and then if you fry French fries or shrimp, they will get a darker color for the blood. So try to use oil separately for seafood and chicken wings. 

Maintain Temperature

Earlier I have said it, but again I’m saying because this is very crucial. If you overheat the oil, the extreme temperature will break down the oil more quickly than the normal time. 

The highest temperature is 350°f for frying fish. But if you keep the temperature within 280°f. that will be greater.

Keep The Oil Water-free

If there is any water in the oil, it creates more bubbles when you heat the oil for frying. It is very dangerous, and the combination of oil and water forms acidic compounds. This affects food taste negatively. So you must ensure there is no water in the oil. 

Clean Before Storing

After enjoying mouthwatering deep frying foods, you have to store the extra oil for your next use. But, before that, you should properly clean the oil and store it in a clean container. It will help you to avoid grime accumulation and long-term health problems.

Best Oil For Frying Fish You Can Use It Twice Or More

It is tough to choose the best oil for frying fish for reusing the oil twice or more times and get the neutral flavor to your fish without getting an oil flavor. 

Among all the types of oil, I’m making a list of the best oils you can use to fry your fish for the next time and reuse twice or more.  They are 

• Peanut Oil

This oil prevents flavor transfer; it helps to keep neutral flavor to your fish and prevents oil flavor transferring.

• Canola Oil

This oil has a high level of smoke point, which is one of the preconditions of getting crispy flavor to your fish fry. So you can choose it.

• Cottonseed Oil

Since this oil is comparatively cheap if you’re going to fry fish for a group of people. It is affordable. 

• Coconut Oil

Nutritionists say coconut oil is much better than other oil for frying fish and consuming oil with fish. So it can be your healthiest choice besides eating your desired fish fry. 

• Refined Safflower Oil

It is another high smoking pointing oil (approximately 510°F), so you can preheat and deep fry your fish by maintaining the exact temperature. 

• Soybean Oil

It is a great choice for frying fish as it has 450°f. high smoke point. So if your goal is to eat a batch of brown color, mouthwatering, interior juicer, and crunchy pomfret, salmon, or tuna, this oil can be the right choice. 

• Sunflower Oil 

If your target is shallow fish frying, it is the best option. Besides this, sunflower oil contains vitamin E, Omega 6, and high smoke points. It is perfect for frying fish by considering these three benefits. 

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This oil contains omega 1, omega 3, saturated fats (taken from fish), and linoleic. So you can choose this oil for frying fish. 

All of the above kinds of oil are the best choice for frying fish, and you can easily reuse them 2 to more times before getting complete damage.

Tips For Deep Frying Fish

Tips and hacks make your life easier. That’s why I have kept some fish frying tips for you. The tips are

• Don’t leave too many pieces of fish at a time in the hot oil because it makes a crowd. 
• When the fish pieces make a crowd in the pan, the oil decreases heat and cools down, which is a hindrance to get crisp flavor in your fish. 
• Keep all the fish pieces the same size. Don’t make a size too big and thick and a size too small and thin. If you do that, the small and thin pieces will burn, but the big and thick pieces remain raw. One word this is bad practice to get even frying fish. 
• You should not throw the fish like a tennis ball into the hot oil. This practice will increase the chance of hot oil sprinkling and burning your hand. So when you think that the oil is preheated enough, then slowly leave fish pieces one after another. 
• Don’t move the fish too much while frying. Let them have some time to fry properly. If you continuously move them, they don’t get proper heat and are not evenly cooked from the inner side. 
• Maintaining exact temperature to fry the first.
• You should cook the first side of the fish for 3-5 minutes and a second side for 2-4 minutes. Because when the first side is frying, the second side gets slightly heated and cooked. That’s why if you keep both sides of fish for the same time, there is a high chance of uneven frying. (The time can vary depending on your fish thickness. This time frame is perfect for standard thickness.)
• You should use an oil thermometer to check the oil temperature. By using this thermometer, you can easily maintain oil temperature and control the heat according to the batch of fish. 
• Try to use a long-handled spoon or tong to flip the fish because the hot oil is sprinkling all the time. 
• Don’t wear too much loose dress while frying fish. 
• Always use a sieve spoon to remove fish fry. It helps to spill extra oil from the fish. 
• You can insert a fork into the fish to check whether the fish is perfectly frying or need extra minutes. If you notice the fish is soft and makes cracking sounds after inserting the fork, the fish fry is done. If not, then let them have some extra minutes to fry. 
• Keep ready a serving dish with a spreading paper towel on the dish before removing the fish fry. The paper towel will absorb excess oil from the fish. It is a healthy practice not to consume too much oil.
• If you find the fish fry is done, remove them from the pan and keep them in the serving dish, which you prepared earlier. 

I hope these simple tips will help you for your next fish fry.

What Can You Cook With Used Frying Oil

You can fry anything as long as your oil is usable. So without keeping you waiting, let’s see a list of foods you can cook with used frying oil.

• Chicken fry
• Fish fry
• French fry
• Pasta
• Deep butter fry
• Egg roll
• Vegetable roll
• Emping
• Falafel
• Flauta
• dough fry etc.