Nothing except to add, deep fry outside. The mess, including fumes/grease residue is considerable on cabinets, floors and walls.

If you have an enclosed deep fryer (i.e. fry daddy/baby) it might be less, I don't know, but open pot frying is seriously messy and residual.

I would disagree with that, Bumblebeez; if you were deep frying a lot of very wet items such as French fries, possibly, but a few churros shouldn't be that big a deal.

On the rare occasions when I deep dry, I use a wok as the shape means there is plenty of room for the oil to expand (which it does when you put the food in). Don't fill more than halfway, and use a candy thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature- turn the heat up and down to regulate it. This is a LOT easier with a gas stove as electric stoves are difficult to get to cool down instantly.

Keep a large lid to hand to cover the oil should the worst happen and a fire start, and DO NOT be tempted to move the pot for ANY reason while it is hot. My FIL once tried to take a burning pan of oil outside, and the flames blew onto him and injured him. Others have tripped and sprayed burning oil through the house, with predictable consequences.

Not trying to scare you, as deep frying is fine with care, but you do need to be careful and alert.

I'm not much at frying so I can tell you things I've messed up that you can try to avoid: Don't scorch your oil! This is the first thing. For a one time project like this, a big electric skillet with a temperature control (readily available at garage sales) might be a good idea. You only need two inches of oil for churros and the diameter of the skillet might be a lot easier to work with than that of a deep fryer or wok (I've tried 'em all).

Make sure the sides are high enough that you have at least an inch and a half clear (rule of thumb, never put the oil more than halfway up in a pot) in case it tries to boil over. If it does boil over, back off. Don't worry about the mess--oil burns are horrible because the oil sticks to your skin (sugar burns are a lot worse but oil is bad). You remember the kitchen safety rules, right? Have your big lid, baking soda and fire extinguisher ready in case there's an accident, especially if you're cooking on gas (and another reason to use an electric skillet instead). Back off, and use the extinguisher from a safe distance. Pick it up and get ready to squirt before the fire starts. But back away if it bubbles over. And if you do have to extinguish a fire, make sure to turn the gas off as soon as the fire is out. Use a heavy pot holder because the knob might be hot.

You also need an oil or candy thermometer because while the skillet/pan/fryer should hold temperature (though the food cools it down), the number on the dial might not be accurate, and if you're doing it in a regular pot or wok, your stove probably doesn't even say.

Use a high heat oil (you don't have to be so authentic to need to use lard do you?)--that is, one that has a high smoke point. Safflower oil is good for frying and easy to get, as are Canola and Peanut oils. I think safflower has the most neutral taste. All have a smoke point around 470 degrees F, and you want to fry at just a tick above 350. The tick above is to compensate for the coldness of the dough going in, so aim for 365-375 on the thermometer.

If you see black spots forming in the oil, it's scorched and you're done. Cool the oil, pour it into a can and seal it, though it might be okay for composting or biodiesel if you have that--I don't know if scorched oil works for recycling. Anyway, then you have to thoroughly clean your pan and start fresh. That's why the thermometer and kind of oil are so important. If you use safflower oil and it never gets above 400 degrees, it's never going to scorch.

Oh! Another reason to use an appliance like an electric skillet or fryer, or an induction stove, is so you can spread newspaper around under the pot to catch the spatter (unless you're using a large wok, which should keep most of the spatter inside). Have long tongs that your kid can use to tend the churros without getting too many spatter burns. It's also good to have a skimmer (really big "spoon" with lots of holes or made of wire). Hanging onto the churros in the oil is going to be one of the hardest parts, especially while turning them.

The dough is similar to a choux paste, that is combine on the stove then stir in eggs, and is piped onto the oil. Start away from the body and draw toward you to be out of the way of the spatter as much as possible. Give each one lots of room. Don't do more than three to five at a time so the oil doesn't cool off too much. That way you also get to pay attention to perfect each one, but it's really for the temperature. Make sure that the oil is up to temperature before you do the next batch.

All the spatter warnings are because it can take you by surprise if you don't know. Dress for the occasion--clothes you don't mind getting oily and which cover you up. There's the girl who thought to make donuts while wearing a bikini, for instance, and got tiny "freckles" all over her arms and mid-section. Spatter burns aren't usually serious, but they can leave a mark and ruin a kid's Summer. :) The fire warnings are serious. If you're careful, and watch your temperature, and don't overload your pot or do anything really stupid, you're very unlikely to start a fire, but it's always a possibility with anything you cook, and oil is what we burn in lamps, right? So just be prepared for the worst and be careful, and it should be a really fun project. Oh, and you do know you'll need a pastry bag, right? This is not something to be using a baggie with the corner out to do, like frosting, at least if you're not an expert.

For the cost of a relatively cheap electric deep fryer, just buy one!!! The above hassle isn't worth it for a few churros!!!

Yeah I'm thinking this may not be the best idea after all after reading your comments! ha! Thank you for your warnings!

I didn't mean to scare you off!!

I've pan fried in the same way, I.e., shallow deep fried, on gas and never set it on fire, nor had a boil over, but I'm careful. I have had my share of spatter burns. The spots go away, but I've found that they linger longer than a more serious boohoo. The ruined summer comment was because of embarrassed teen about looks, not serious injury. I've also scorched oil way more times than my ego wants to admit. A thermometer costs a lot less than throwing away that much oil, and if I'd had access to one in the sticks of the sticks, long before Amazon, I would have had a lot more success! Plus, the frying reaction doesn't work right if the oil isn't hot enough, so it's important to get it just right. But that's not hard with a thermometer.

Frying is a transformative reaction and interesting for the science as well as being fun. Don't be intimidated. Just set yourself up for success and have fun.

It might be a sign -- I got my Clean Eating magazine today and there was a recipe for "baked" churros in the back -- maybe we'll give that a whirl first - know it won't be the same, but safer (and a bit healthier too!)

LOL! Oh, yeah! Definitely a sign.

Of course, for the real street vendor experience, the churros have to be fried at too low a heat so they soak up a lot of oil, then crisped under a heat lamp. :)

Do report back on the baked recipe! It sounds like a great idea. :)

In Spain, the churros are often taken with hot chocolate! Yum!

Jim - the recipe came with a chocolate sauce but he opted not to do that because he was traveling with them --- the first set came out too flat, possibly because the butter was not room temp as the recipe called for. His next batch were much better. They definitely were not exactly like the fried variety - but they actually tasted good and the kids loved them. (How can something covered in cinnamon and sugar not be good?!)

Thanks for the results post. It's great to know that they were well received.

WOW! I am amazed!
I have been cooking for well over 60 years,
and done more than my share of deep frying.
Yet I had no idea deep frying
was considered such a major undertaking.

Yes, it can be sort of messy,
But I seriously doubt frying a batch of Churros
Would leave much of a 'mess' anywhere.

As for 'danger',
I can honestly say I have never
had a pot of oil "boil over".
And the only 'spatter' burns I've had
came about because I was trying to
hurry some bacon along.
Just use your own natural common sense!

I do have a "Fry Daddy", but I prefer
deep frying in a shallower pan.
Lots less waste of oil!

Baking the Churros does sound like a good idea.
Thanks for posting the results.

Rusty

LOL! Rusty, it's no big deal to you because you know how to do it! The bad stuff mostly happens when one does it wrong. :)