Churro Making Tips and Hacks

Having trouble with your churros or prepping to cook? Here are a few easy tips and tricks to make your churro experience as amazing as possible!

1. Churro maker position. You’ll want to hold your churro maker straight up and down over your frying oil. Don’t attempt any crazy heights, it’s best to hold the churro maker just a few inches away from the oil to avoid getting burned by splashing oil.
2. Oil disposal. Don’t throw away your empty oil container just yet! Pouring hot oil down your kitchen sink can actually damage your pipes. So, we recommend reusing your frying oil. After you’ve finished cooking your churros, remove the oil from the heat and let chill completely. Then, strain the solids out of the oil a few times using a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth and return the clean oil back to its container.
3. Churro removal. The best tool for removing your churros from the frying oil is metal tongs or a spider- which is a long-handled spoon with a fine-mesh basket in the shape of a shallow bowl used primarily for frying. You can also use a metal strainer ladle. Bottom line: pick something metal that can withstand the temperature of the oil and something that grabs just the churro, not a spoonful of oil. 
4. How much oil? You don’t have to be exact with the amount of oil you use for frying, as long as you have enough that the churros aren’t touching the bottom of the pot. If you’re wondering how much oil you need to cook churros, we recommend about two inches of oil or about halfway up the sides of your pot. But, if you’re cooking a larger churro or a funky-shaped churro, add more oil. Adding too much oil just increases the time it takes to reach the correct temperature.
5. No thermometer, no problem. Of course, we recommend using a food-safe candy thermometer like this one from ChefAlarm, especially if you plan on making churros often (which we also recommend!) But, not every kitchen has or needs a thermometer, so, what can you do to ensure your oil is at the perfect temperature? One way is to insert the end of a wooden spoon or a wooden chopstick into the oil. If the oil bubbles around it, you’re ready to fry! If you’re noticing your churros are burnt on the outside and undercooked on the inside, turn down the temperature. If they’re coming out greasy and oil-logged, turn up the temperature.
6. Timing. Classic churros are perfectly coated in cinnamon sugar- not grease. For this, you’ll want to let your churros drain on a wire rack or a paper towel-covered plate. When your paper towel gets soaked, replace it! But, don’t let your churros cool down completely; for the cinnamon sugar to stick to your churros they have to be still warm and slightly oily. So, timing is everything! Play around with it and see what works for you.
   
   

For more churro hacks and recipes check out our online recipe book!