Is fried food ok if done in olive oil?

**Gedtec** · 02-09-2011, 06:17 PM

Is fried food ok if done in olive oil?

Say like a stake?

**gbrice75** · 02-09-2011, 06:21 PM

Steak isn't a great choice to fry because it will already be relatively high in fat... i.e. no need to add further fats to it.

Here's the problem: At the end of the day, fat is fat in terms of calories, and regardless of 'good or bad' fat, you need to be careful due to how easy it is to overeat fats given the higher calories/gram.

I think it's perfectly fine to fry protein (fish, chicken, etc) in olive oil (there are other good oils too ya know... macadamia nut, coconut, etc just to name a few) so long as you are accounting for the calories. Measure out 1tbsp of olive oil, fry your protein in it, and count that meal as a pro/fat meal.

Keep one thing in mind - frying your food in oil basically renders the fat 'useless' in terms of it's health benefits. In other words, drizzling fresh olive oil over greens is not the same as frying something in olive oil. I hope i'm being clear.

**Gedtec** · 02-09-2011, 06:25 PM

Yes you made it nice and clear, however, why does it become bad if you heat up the oil?

**gbrice75** · 02-09-2011, 06:27 PM

Without getting all technical - it's not that it becomes 'bad', it's just that heating up the oil destroys certain properties that make it a 'healthy' fat, so it basically just winds up being X amount of calories via fat. It doesn't become a 'bad' fat, just an 'empty' fat for lack of a better term.

**Gedtec** · 02-09-2011, 06:35 PM

I got you, that makes sense. I going to get a george forman grill.

**gbrice75** · 02-09-2011, 06:39 PM

Nice, let us know how it comes out!

**KeyMastur** · 02-09-2011, 06:39 PM

why in the world would you ever fry a steak ???? get a grill

**Gedtec** · 02-09-2011, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

why in the world would you ever fry a steak ???? get a grill

I love it! But yeah, I will grill it from now on. :-P

**Gedtec** · 02-09-2011, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by gbrice75

Nice, let us know how it comes out!

Will do. :-)

**KeyMastur** · 02-09-2011, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by Gedtec

I love it! But yeah, I will grill it from now on. :-P

get you one with a searing burner on one side. that's what i got and it kicks ass. locks that flavor in and gets the burn lines on the steak perfectly.

**gbrice75** · 02-09-2011, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

why in the world would you ever fry a steak ???? get a grill

Lmao I should have asked this! Steak is unbelievable on the grill... but fried? That's some Napoleon Dynamite shit!!!

**Gedtec** · 02-09-2011, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by gbrice75

Lmao I should have asked this! Steak is unbelievable on the grill... but fried? That's some Napoleon Dynamite shit!!!

Dang!

**J-Crane** · 02-09-2011, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by gbrice75

Lmao I should have asked this! Steak is unbelievable on the grill... but fried? That's some Napoleon Dynamite shit!!!

you've never had a country fried steak w/ gravy on top? wow must be a southern thing. its good tho but not so good for you the steak will absorb more or the oil then other meats

**KeyMastur** · 02-09-2011, 07:15 PM

Originally Posted by J-Crane

you've never had a country fried steak w/ gravy on top? wow must be a southern thing. its good tho but not so good for you the steak will absorb more or the oil then other meats

country fried steak isn't an actual steak down here in the south. i'm talking about a t-bone / porterhouse / filet / sirloin / ribeye. not beat-down flank steak or round steak

**DKbuilder** · 02-09-2011, 07:32 PM

In on this thread. I am not going to hijack your thread Gedtec, but I'd like to ask a related question!

How do I do my food (lean ground beef, chicken, turkey) in the best way? I want it to be as clean as possible. Now that I've read that olive oil becomes a "bad" fat when it's too high of a temperature, I've become slightly paranoid.

**J-Crane** · 02-09-2011, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

country fried steak isn't an actual steak down here in the south. i'm talking about a t-bone / porterhouse / filet / sirloin / ribeye. not beat-down flank steak or round steak

you can make it with any steak will taste different and will have to do all cook and prep your self you will have to cut and pound it if you try to fry it whole beef will burn on the outside and fill with oil in the center thats why most use flank or round its not only cheaper but will hold less oil

**Gedtec** · 02-09-2011, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by DKbuilder

In on this thread. I am not going to hijack your thread Gedtec, but I'd like to ask a related question!

How do I do my food (lean ground beef, chicken, turkey) in the best way? I want it to be as clean as possible. Now that I've read that olive oil becomes a "bad" fat when it's too high of a temperature, I've become slightly paranoid.

Cook them in a George Foreman grill.

**DKbuilder** · 02-09-2011, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by Gedtec

Cook them in a George Foreman grill.

Are there any alternatives? You can't really get a George Foreman grill in Denmark.

**jimmyinkedup** · 02-09-2011, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by gbrice75

Without getting all technical - it's not that it becomes 'bad', it's just that heating up the oil destroys certain properties that make it a 'healthy' fat, so it basically just winds up being X amount of calories via fat. It doesn't become a 'bad' fat, just an 'empty' fat for lack of a better term.

This is commonly believed however it is incorrect.
Good Read:

Olive Oil Myth: Olive oil loses its benefits when heated

The Facts: Excessively heating olive oil will evaporate the alcohols and esters which make up its delicate taste and fragrance. Heating olive oil will not change its health aspects, only the flavor. Use a cheaper olive oil which doesn't have much flavor to begin with if you want to fry with it, add a more flavorful olive oil after cooking or at the table.

Olive Oil Myth: Heating a cooking oil will make it saturated or a trans-fatty oil.

The Facts: As far as making a saturated fat, according to Dr. A. Kiritsakis, a world renowned oil chemist in Athens, (Book - OLIVE OIL FROM THE TREE TO THE TABLE -Second edition 1998), all oils will oxidize and hydrogenate to a tiny degree if repeatedly heated to very high temperatures such as is done in commercial frying operations. Olive pomace oil and virgin olive oil are both highly monounsaturated oils and therefore resistant to oxidation and hydrogenation. Studies have shown oxidation and hydrogenation occurs to a lesser degree in olive oil than in other oils. But in any case, the amount of hydrogenation is miniscule and no home cook would ever experience this problem.

The large refinery-like factories which take unsaturated vegetable oil and turn it into margarine or vegetable lard do so by bubbling hydrogen gas through 250 to 400 degree hot vegetable oil in the presence of a metal catalyst, usually nickel or platinum. The process can take several hours. You cannot make a saturated product like margarine at home by heating olive oil or any other vegetable oil in a pan. We don't know where this weird notion has come from. For more see our olive oil chemistry page

Changing a cis-fat to a trans-fat does not occur on a home stove.

Olive Oil Myth: Cooking in olive oil diminishes the nutritional value of the food.

Olive Oil Fact: Heating food will break down its nutritional value. High heat such as frying is worse than moderate heat such as steaming, which is worse than eating vegetables raw. It is not the cooking oil per se, but the high heat of frying. I am not aware of any edible cooking oil which of itself diminishes the nutritional value of the food cooked in it. Most nutritionists recommend lightly steaming vegetables or eating them raw. A touch of a flavorsome olive oil added at the table will add taste and healthful anti-oxidants. Such is the "Mediterranean diet" which has been shown to help prevent coronary disease and have other health

I often use macadamia nut oil as you said as well. Anyway just wanted to pass this info along.

**Gedtec** · 02-10-2011, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by DKbuilder

Are there any alternatives? You can't really get a George Foreman grill in Denmark.

A regular gill will do, as long as there is a way of letting the fat drain away, perhaps by putting the stake on a tray with holes in it, and something to catch the fat in underneath. Mind that you don't put the stake too close to the flames though - fire hazard.

**gbrice75** · 02-10-2011, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by J-Crane

you've never had a country fried steak w/ gravy on top? wow must be a southern thing. its good tho but not so good for you the steak will absorb more or the oil then other meats

I have, but that's not what the OP is talking about from what I can tell. He's just talking about throwing a steak in a hot pan with olive oil... doesn't sound too appetizing.