The Complete Guide to the Commercial Deep Fryers Fry like a Pro with our Deep Fryer Buying Guide
Learn how to choose the best deep fryer for your needs with this in-depth guide. Having a commercial deep fryer in your cooking establishment can allow you to whip up some tasty treats for customers like chicken wings, French fries, and funnel cakes. From appetizers to main courses to desserts, a commercial deep fryer can offer you plenty of variety to add to your menu. But purchasing a deep fryer that isn t equipped for your needs can spell disaster. In this Guide: 1. Types of Deep Fryers 2. What to Consider Before Making Your Purchase 3. Deep Fryer Accessories 4. Top Deep Fryer Brands 5. Deep Fryer Maintenance
Types of Deep Fryers Before you take a look at the different deep fryer options you have, you need to ask yourself what type of food you will mostly be making with your deep fryer. Will it be dry coated or wet coated? Frozen solid or room temperature? You ll have to deal with more sediment (small pieces of food or coating that remain in the oil after frying) from dry coated food, which will influence the type of deep fryer you need. You also need to consider whether or not your fryer of choice has a cold zone, which is a part of the pot that isn t heated. This is where sediment will settle so it doesn t taint the oil and alter the taste of your food. However, a cold zone still needs oil, making it more expensive to fill a frypot with a cold zone, especially if your deep fryer is on the larger side. Take a look at the main types of fryers to start your search.
Open Pot An open pot deep fryer doesn t use tubes or burners to heat the oil. This means the bottom is open, making it much easier to clean than other models. The cold zone is smaller so if you don t need an oversized space for sediment, an open pot can save you money. But these types of fryers are less energy efficient, no matter their size. An open pot design is best for items like French fries and frozen foods. Pressure Fryer Pressure fryers are similar to pressure cookers, a common household appliance. But these commercial appliances hold oil, which is heated just as it is in traditional fryer, rather than relying on pressure and steam to cook its contents. Instead of remaining open, a pressure fryer has a lid that is closed to pressurize the food. This shortens cooking time and results in a moister product. You ll see many restaurants use pressure fryers for fried chicken. If you re cooking food with bones that s been freshly breaded, a pressure fryer is ideal. Flat Bottom If you re cooking foods that don t produce a lot of sediment, a flat bottom fryer could be your best option. There is no sediment zone so it will save you money on oil. You can also fry large batches of food, like tortilla chips, with ease. But for foods with a lot of coating, you ll find yourself having to filter the oil much more often. Electric You ll find that most deep fryers are gas powered. We ll go into more detail about the differences in a moment but electric models are versatile and ideal for establishments who either need a countertop model or do not have a gas hookup. Gas fryers have their burners outside of the oil. But in an electric fryer, heating elements are submerged in the oil. This makes the unit more heat efficient and provides a faster recovery time compared to gas fryers. Electric fryers can be more difficult to clean, unless they have lift-out elements so look for this feature if you re leaning towards an electric fryer. Tube Just as the name suggests, a tube style features a series of tubes that heat the oil. You ll enjoy even heat distribution with this design along with great energy efficiency. However, tubes can fail over time. There is a large cold zone which makes tube fryers ideal for foods with a lot of breading, like fried fish. Keep in mind that such a large cold zone, while great for keeping sediment out of your frying oil, will cost more to fill and its location beneath the tubes makes it more difficult to clean.
What to Consider Before Making Your Purchase When making the big decision of which fryer to go with, there are several questions you ll need to ask yourself. Go through this list to make sure you re covering all of your basic and advanced frying needs.
Gas or Electric? Countertop or Floor? The first factor to look into are your local utility costs. If one is extremely higher than the other, that could determine your answer. If you re looking for an open pot or tube design, these are only available in gas-power. If you re operating with a tight floorplan, a countertop model can provide you with the appliance you need without taking up valuable real estate. However, they won t be able to fry as much at one time. Gas-powered fryers heat up and cool down faster and are available in more shapes. Electric fryers are easier to setup and offer more efficient heat transfer. There s less chance for unit failure and they re portable, making them ideal for pop-up restaurants or caterers. Before you decide between the two, you ll need to have a fairly accurate estimate of how much food you ll be frying a day. Depending on what you re frying, you might also need more than one fryer to prevent cross-contamination so keep this in mind when considering your available space.
kg Open or Pressure? Capacity Requirements? You ll find that the majority of fryers are open models, meaning there s a vat of oil and a basket that s submerged with the food to be cooked. But a pressure fryer works like a pressure cooker you might have in your home (never use a home pressure cooker as a pressure fryer though). Once the oil is brought to temperature, the food is submerged and put under pressure. This shortens cooking time and provides a moist and juicy finished product. This is a great method for cooking chicken or any other food that would typically require a long cooking time. A fryer that s too big will use too much oil and take up valuable space while one that s too small can leave you scrambling to keep up with orders. How do you know what size to get? First, consider your available space. Then do your best to estimate how much food you ll need to fry in an hour. A good way to calculate a fryer s cooking capability is to multiply its oil capacity by 2. For example, a fryer that holds 5 pounds of oil should be able to produce 10 pounds of food per hour. There s a large variety when it comes to oil capacity though. A small countertop model might hold only a few pounds of oil while a large floor model can hold up to 150 pounds.
Filtration Needs? Recovery Time? No matter how delicious your recipe or how high of quality ingredients you use, poor oil will negatively alter the taste of your food. If you ve ever tasted food made in dirty oil, you know that this will quickly turn customers away and prevent them from coming back. Filtering your oil is key to keeping it up to standards. But manually filtrating oil takes time and there s plenty of room for error. Make sure that you consider filtration systems, which allow the operator to filter the oil with a single press of a button. A built-in filtration system will cost more but save money over time as it can nearly double the life of your oil. When you add frozen food to hot oil, the oil s temperature temporarily dips. The time it takes to heat back up is known as recovery time. To keep your kitchen running as efficiently as possible, you ll want to look for a short recovery time. An electric fryer will always offer you the fastest recovery time. Having a slow recovery time not only slows down your food production but also costs you money with more energy use.
Deep Fryer Accessoriess The right accessories can help you get the most use out of your deep fryer and make cleaning and maintenance easier. Take a look at some of the more common accessories that you might need.
Cleaning Supplies Fryers need to be cleaned regularly so you ll want to make sure you have the right tools to get the job done. There are cone filters for manual filtering, fryer brushes for scrubbing, and fryer powder that helps remove sediment. Fryer Screen A fryer screen can extend the life of your oil by catching large pieces of sediment. There are different designs and shapes to accommodate your type of fryer. Fryer Oil Test Strips Using an oil test strip will help assure you that your oil is safe to use, either after filtering or cleaning your fryer. Burn Protection Gear You ll want to have the proper protective gear when operating and maintaining your fryer. There are gloves, aprons, and goggles to choose from.
Fry Dump Stations If you work at high capacities, a fry dump station will allow you to fry and dump without worrying about damaging or contaminating your food. You ll be able to work with large quantities and keep up with customer demand. French Fry Scoop If you re making French fries, you ll need a French fry scoop to make sure you get every last golden fry out of your fryer. You can also easily scoop and pour into a fry container to speed up production. Fryer Covers When you re not using your fryer, a fryer cover can help keep dust and debris from getting in the oil. This is not only more sanitary but will help extend the life of your oil.
Top Deep Fryer Brands We re proud to offer products from several of the leading fryer providers in the industry. Here are some of our favorites. No matter which you choose, you can rest easy knowing that your product was designed with efficiency, durability, and safety in mind.
Pitco Pitco is a favorite fryer supplier for restaurants around the globe. They ve been supplying fryers since 1918 and consistently provide the latest in fryer technology. Their models are built with efficiency, product quality, and safety in mind. They offer gas and electric fryers, including energy efficient models, built-in cleaning and filtration systems, and digital or computer controls. Winston If you ve decided on a pressure fryer, Winston is known for providing some of the top models found in cooking establishments. They make open fryers as well. Winston prides themselves on designing models that evenly and consistently cook food with less work needed from the operator. Their programmable controls also make it easy to store cooking times and temperatures for simpler cooking. Their designs also help extend oil life and nearly eliminate flavor transfer.
Wells Wells provides a variety of fryers, including countertop options, built-in models, and free-standing floor designs. They offer both gas and electric powered fryers. They are leaders in the commercial deep-frying field because of their advanced blade heating technology, which provides consumers with even heat distribution, energy efficiency, extended oil life, and consistent safety. Bertos Bertos has been making commercial cooking equipment, including fryers, for 40 years and has established a great reputation in the international market. Their products are built to last and certified for full compliance with regulations. They consistently strive to improve their products and are energy efficient to reduce their environmental impact.
Deep Fryer Maintenance To make sure your deep fryer enjoys a long life of frying up tasty food, there are a few steps you ll need to take to keep it clean and fully operational.
How to Clean Out Your Deep Fryer Keeping your fryer clean is extremely important. Even if you have a built-in cleaning and filtration system, you ll still need to manually scrub your fryer regularly. Here s how to go about it. Start with an empty fryer. You can either filter the oil or drain and dispose of it if it needs to be completely replaced. Use approved brushes to scrub all visible surfaces of the fryer. Focus on removing sediment and visible debris. There are sanitizing sprays you can use as well. Only use solutions that have been designed for fryer cleaning. Once your fryer is visibly clean and sanitized, you can either pour in your filtered oil or replace it with new oil. You can also boil out your fryer to clean it even more.
How to Filter Fry Oil Filtering your oil is crucial to not just the taste of your food, but your overhead costs and safety of your employees. If you re not lucky enough to have a built-in filtration system, which usually only requires the press of a button to operate, you ll have to manually filter your fryer oil. Here s how to do it. 1 Put on protective gear as you want the oil still hot but not as hot as its cooking temperature. 2 Make sure you know exactly how the unit needs to be drained. Place a heat-resistant container beneath the valve or drain pipe, making sure that it s sitting flat on the floor s surface. 3 Insert a filter into a filter stand. Secure it to your container. 4 Sprinkle filter powder into the oil. This helps remove sediment by bonding to it, making it more likely to get trapped in the filter. 5 Begin to drain the oil into your container. As the oil is draining, scrub the frypot to remove remaining sediment 6 Close the valve once all the oil has been filtered. You can either perform a boil-out cleaning or replace the oil at this point.
How to Boil Out a Deep Fryer Boiling out your deep fryer will ensure that it s as clean as possible. It will remove caked on sediment and help to sanitize the surfaces of the fryer, especially in hard to reach areas. Your fryer needs to be empty before starting this process. 1 Check to see that the valve is closed and then fill the frypot about halfway with hot water. Make sure that the burner tubes or heating elements are submerged. Add a cleaning solution. 2 Set the thermostat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the solution boil for about 20 minutes. 3 Turn off the thermostat, place a vessel under the drain valve, and slowly drain out the water. 4 Leave the drain open and rinse out the frypot. Dry with a clean towel. 5 Refill with either new or filtered oil.
Ready to fry up some crispy and delicious treats? Your options are almost limitless once you re equipped with the best commercial deep fryer for your needs. Whether you operate a restaurant, catering company, or food truck, the right deep fryer can allow you to offer one-of-a-kind dishes along with the classics that customers demand. Have fun, get creative, and stay safe as you impress customers with your new frying skills. ekuep team
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