Recently I was asked by Robert Ferguson, founder of Diet Free Life (dietfreelife.com)
to test a couple recipes using coconut oil. The experiment? Cook chicken wings and french fries in coconut oil to see if it alters the flavor.  As you can see from the picture above I used extra virgin coconut oil. Since this is my first time cooking with it I had no idea what kind or brand to buy.  It’s all pretty expensive compare to vegetable oil. After doing some reading on the benefits of coconut oil next time to fry I’ll buy the refined virgin coconut oil.

First was the chicken wings.  I tried them with a simple breading first.  I spiced it up a little bit just in case the coconut flavor came through, then the breading would compliment it.  I did a double dip of flour, egg and then flour again to give a crunchy batter.  I heated the coconut oil in my dutch oven, adding enough oil to the pot to cover the wings but not actually deep fry.

I fried them until the breading was golden brown. The results? There was the slightest hint of coconut flavor which could be increased with some coconut in the breading itself.  This would be an easy way to make wings or even shrimp into a Polynesian style recipe.
For contrast/comparison I cooked some other wings in vegetable oil.  The coconut oil wings were not as crispy but as far as flavor goes, the coconut oil wings flavor was so subtle that you really couldn’t tell the difference.

To see if the breading soaked up the coconut flavor I cooked some wings without any breading at all in both coconut oil and vegetable oil. The flavor was the same which surprised me. I thought that the meat would soak up more of the coconut flavor than the breading.  One difference was that the unbreaded vegetable oil wings were crispier than the unbreaded coconut oil wings.

The next experiment Robert wanted conducted was cooking french fries in coconut using a deep fryer.  I started by cutting the potatoes into french fry shape.  There are many gadgets that will cut then into the perfect shape but I just do mine using a chef’s knife.  First I cut the ends off and the square the potato off by cutting the sides off. Then I cut the potato into slices, then stack the slices up and cut them into sticks, making sure that they are all about the same thickness.  I put the sticks into cold water and let them sit for at least 30 minutes to draw out some of the starch. This will ensure crispier fries.

I tried melting and heating the oil in my deep fryer but it started to smoke and I was a little worried to use it, so once again I got out my dutch oven and heated the coconut oil.  I did the classic double fry, frying the potatoes for 3 minutes, taking them out, doing another batch for 3 minutes taking them out, then cooking the first batch again until golden and crispy. Be sure to do this with all subsequent batches.  This will give you a crispy fry on the outside and a fluffy potato on the inside.

The result was delicious! There was the most subtle flavor of coconut in the fries.  Once salted it actually enhances the flavor of the fries.

To conclude:
Coconut oil does not alter the flavor of America’s most beloved fried food.  You can add buffalo wing style sauce to any wings cooked in coconut oil without breading (the way they should be cooked) and the flavor will not change,and cooking fries in coconut oil will add only the slightest bit of coconut flavor.
Coconut oil is one of the few cooking oils that is loaded with healthy fats. Its a lot more expensive than vegetable oil or even olive oil and would be a definite splurge ingredient. But if you’re looking for a healthier way to have your favorite fried snack foods then it’s worth it.