Andrew Zimmern's Unusual Kitchen Tool Tip For Better Frying

Andrew Zimmern is a prominent member of the culinary community with multiple James Beard and Emmy Awards for his documentation of food and the people who make it. The chef is well known for his extensive television appearances, but also has a passion for philanthropy and the connection between social justice and food politics. Someone with this vibrant of a career in food must know a thing or two about cooking, which explains why he recently shared a simple but clever technique for frying food.

At the 2024 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, Zimmern explained that by preheating your frying utensils, you can avoid getting food stuck to them. Holding the metal tools in hot oil for a few seconds will do just the trick. Closing the dialogue, he also suggested buying an inexpensive cooling rack, like Hiware's two-pack of wire racks, which allows the food to breathe and shed some grease before reaching your plate. Besides improving tasty fried fare, a cooling rack is also the secret to better roasted vegetables.

Preheating tools doesn't seem like much of a stretch when you consider that preheating frying pans before adding oil is an essential step for frying food. This is because we want heat from the pan to transfer to the food without the fats sticking to the bottom. Nothing would be sadder in the kitchen than flipping your fried chicken — only to discover the entire crispy crust is stuck to the pan or utensil and not the protein. Clearly, Andrew Zimmern was thinking ahead and thankfully passed the wisdom on to us.

Like Andrew Zimmern, you're going to want to use metal tools for frying food. Stainless steel is resistant to corrosion and can hold heat well, whereas nonstick plastic tools can melt or chip over time — not the kind of seasoning you're looking for in your dish. It is indeed safe to use metal tools on cast iron, too. Yes, stainless steel is more prone to sticking, but Zimmern's tool preheating trick takes care of that issue.

He personally uses a slotted spoon, like OXO's Good Grips tool, for frying applications. This works well because the rounded edges of a spoon can gently scoop up your fried food while letting the grease drain through. Skimmers and spiders (types of kitchen tools, not bugs) are great for the same reason. Take, for instance, Swify's set of three different-sized spider strainers. Another option for turning and serving fried food is a pair of trusty tongs, like KitchenAid's utility tongs. Strong and reliable, these are helpful for moving multiple smaller pieces of fried food or flipping a large chunk of meat. Working with a flat or delicate piece of meat may only warrant a fish spatula. If you're really out of options, then grab a long fork, but you'll be getting the side-eye. Whatever you use, keep your kitchen utensils clean and your food crispy with Andrew Zimmern's tool preheating trick.