How we test
Three cooks minimum, thermometer-first, two fryer sizes. No untested times.
1. Two basket sizes
Every recipe is tested in both a 5-quart and an 8-quart basket fryer. Times that only work in one size are labeled as such — small baskets run hotter and crowd faster.
2. Thermometer-first doneness
Published times are ranges; published temperatures are rules. Every protein recipe states its target internal temp, because fryers vary ±25°F and timers cannot see inside food.
3. Three cooks minimum
Nothing publishes off a single attempt. The first cook finds the ballpark, the second confirms it, the third tests the failure modes readers will actually hit (crowding, skipping preheat, wrong potato).
4. Failures published too
Every recipe's "why it fails" section comes from real failed batches during testing — not imagined. If we cannot break it three ways, we have not tested it enough.