The best little deep fryer ever. I use it for chicken, and pork chops, even fish. My own personal fryer. I had this for over a year. It works excellent. Performance Set the dial, and let the oil get to the right temperature,and presto! Ease of Use I trust this product. Simple directions to follow. Durability Lasts a good while. Ease of Cleaning None messy, and easy to clean.

trulydevine

Undisclosed

The Presto 05471 Deep Fryer has proven to be a good value for the money. I needed a deep fryer that would do the job without me having to spend an arm and a leg. My husband and I have made fried pickles, french fries, and potato chips and so far have had great results. The oil temperature stays consistent and cooks food evenly through. The only downfall we've found is that once you are ready to dump the hot contents onto a paper towel, the basket collapses (because of how it is designed) so you can't flip the basket upside down or it will flop over and possibly touch your hand, which could cause an injury. The fryer is easy to clean, as the plug can be removed from the unit so you can wash the base in the sink (however, I would still be careful about keeping the water on the inside of the base and try your best to avoid the exterior). This has been a great product that I would recommend to people who want to cook gourmet food while on a budget. Ease of Use Collapsable handle makes it difficult to dump hot contents onto a paper towel.

CaitlinRice

USA

I bought the Presto 5471 Steel Deep Fryer because I wanted to be able to have adjustable temperature settings for frying foods. Frying in a pan can work, however if your oil is too low the food will soak up too much oil (unhealthy). This little guy helps in this respect. It is quite small, and the shape might not be ideal for most consumers. For instance, if you are cooking fries the instruction manual says you need to place them in one layer in the basket. Being a cylindrical shape, you can imagine that you won't get too many fries lined up at a time to cook. This means you'll end up making small batches of fries, which is okay for my household since there are only two of us here and I would prefer it if we decreased our fried food intake. It is annoying to have to wait two times just so my partner and I can have enough fries. The shape and size has been good for making items such as pot stickers and battered shrimp. While the small size of the item tends to make cooking less efficient, especially for bigger crowds or families, the size is helpful in freeing up space since it takes up more vertical as opposed to horizontal space. What is also handy is the deep fryer's pieces are collapsible enough so you can keep all the components together. The power cord, for example, is connected by a strong magnet that's easy enough to pull out the cord when needed (and serves as a quick release should it be necessary). The fryer basket handle comes off easily as well, so you can put that inside the fryer for storage. I usually keep this in a cupboard with all items in one place-pretty convenient. Cleaning of the unit isn't entirely simple, but not difficult either. The basket and lid and be removed so you can hand wash those. I find the basket to be hard to wash, but that is probably because the basket has such small holes and it's covered in oil. The lid is easy to wash, which is nice, but the inside of the fryer itself is not removable. Other deep fryer units have a removable fryer bucket that allows for easier cleaning and the ability to reuse and save oil in the refrigerator. You cannot do that with this deep fryer. I think this is one of the major annoyances for me, because you have to be very careful when washing this unit as one must take the whole appliance and carefully wash it without getting water on the outside controls. Even dumping out the water is a pain. You don't want any drops escaping and running down the side of the fryer. Also, it's just not as easy to save the oil, so I end up tossing it out more often. Overall, if this was an item I used often, I would probably buy a different unit that is of a rectangular shape and/or buy one with a removable fry bucket. This is fine if you want a small appliance that takes up less room, but there are other options with handier features. Durability Still going after these past years

shimmyjamily

San Diego, CA

Let me start with a caveat for my review - I am usually not the one using this fryer, it's mainly used by my wife. However, I decided to review this unit, because she absolutely loves it. We went through maybe three or so fryers before this one, so we have some frame of reference. My wife says that this one heats pretty quickly, and although it's pretty small in it's size, it can handle most every frying needs for our family of four. One thing that I really did notice on this unit compared to the others we've used is the fact that this does a fantastic job of keeping the odor inside the unit. If you are like me, the scent of fried food - although not pungent smell by any means - is quite nasty and is something that you want to avoid stinking up your kitchen with. If I had two complaints with this unit, it would be the fact that it is indeed a bit too small to cook up for a large gathering, and the oil container is not removable.

bluemonitor

Bloomington, IN

I bought the Presto 5471 Steel Deep Fryer as a Christmas gift to me and my college roommates, because we never had a deep fryer. I was looking for something affordable that could handle living in a college household and being used frequently. For a relatively inexpensive item, the Presto 5471 Steel Deep Fryer lives up to my expectations. It heats up to temperature quickly, and cooks food thoroughly. The only thing I wish was different about the Presto 5471 Steel Deep Fryer is that it could hold more. It has a small capacity, which works for a college household where everyone cooks individual meals, or someone living alone but I wouldn't recommend it if you are planning on cooking for a family of four or more. With such small capacity you wouldn't be able to hold everything you would need to cook for a family of four. The cord has a safety feature which makes it pull easily out of the back of the deep fryer, this is a good feature if you have small children in the house. The Presto 5471 Deep Fryer is also small enough where it can be stored away in a cupboard without taking up much space. I would recommend this to someone living alone, or with a small family because it is perfect for them.

sms3449

Rochester, NY

We got this deep fryer as a Christmas gift, and after using it, we are glad we didn't pay for it! It is way too small to cook anything! Also, the oil does not get hot enough to truly deep fry. We would not recommend this appliance to anyone. One thing to consider when purchasing a deep fryer is the amount of oil you will use. Keep in mind that you will need at least a half gallon to do the job. If you don't use the machine often, you will not be able to strain and recycle the oil. The thought of a smaller fryer is attractive for this reason, but this fryer will not do the job-unfortunately. We have ended up purchasing a larger, more powerful fryer that works well. Sorry to say that this product didn't pass the test.

ShannonNusser

Flemington, NJ

My wife and I have recently decided to go with a vegan diet and are having fun trying out lots of new recipes from the internet.  One of our personal favorites is a General Tao's Tofu which tastes great but takes a lot of time to prepare.  We decided that perhaps getting a small deep fryer would help since that is the part that takes the most time.  I found this unit on sale and now that we have it we couldn't be happier.  The unit heats up fast and having the variable temperature dial is a very nice added feature.  It holds about 1 quart of oil which is perfect plus it is easy to store and clean.  The fry basket handle folds and the power cord detaches for easy storage.  The lid does seem a bit flimsy but for the amount of use this will get I'm not too concerned.  The cord detaches very easily which is a safety feature in case the unit gets knocked off the counter or someone catches the cord.  

ljunk

Kent, WA

I purchased the Presto Deep Fryer 5471 as a Christmas gift for my son. He and his friends (all in their early 20s) love to make potstickers, egg rolls, mini tacos and other convenience foods that I often purchase from Trader Joe's, and the Presto Deep Fryer is perfect for them to cook up snacks fast. We had an earlier model Presto Fry Daddy Jr prior to this model, and it served is well though it had some design flaws. The lid was plastic and not functional at all during the frying process for obvious reasons. This new model comes with a removable basket for draining, and the lid is hinged and has ventilation holes to keep the grease in while preventing overheating. Another good featue of the Presto Deep Fryer 5471 is the adjustable temperature. Once I taught my son and his buddies that not every thing has to be deep fried on the highest setting to within an inch of it's life, they've learned how to use the adjustable setting to get the right temp and texture for each type of food cooked in the fryer. I also like the stainless design and the fact that it's compact and stores easily. Only problem with it is draining and changing oil without making a huge mess. When they figure out an easy way to do that, then we'll have a flawless design!

TheLiterati

Pasadena, CA