PROFESSIONAL DEEP FRYERS

Someone asked me what size of a deep fryer should he get for his possible restaurant, well, my answer is this, it depends on the size of the contents that he'll be deep frying, such as, will he be doing fries and onion rings only? Will he be deep frying pounds of chicken parts? Is he deep frying half a moose?

The size of the deep fryer is done by weight, such as 35-40 pounds for example, meaning that's the amount of food it can handle. So if you are deep frying fries and onions rings or small snacks or appetizers, something this big would be too costly you'll need a smaller one, possibly a table top 16 lb. fryer. It depends on the size of the kitchen also, the best way to get anything is to talk to current restaurant managers or kitchen managers and inquire what they have, or take a class on running a restaurant, or if you've worked in a pro kitchen before, then you have an idea of how a pro gig is taken care of.

There are other factors involved in a deep fryer, such as cost, should you purchase brand new or a used one? There are many instances where a restaurant went under because of the economy, and they have fairly new equipment, always search for quality at a valuable price, watch the cost.

Most deep fryers have sloped sides so that all the cooked pieces of food will slide to the bottom of the fryer onto a screen. Also there's a thing called recovery time, meaning if the oil is hot at 345 deg. F to 375 deg. F. which is about normal, when you add in new items, such as new chicken parts which is cooler at room temperature like 75 deg. F. it will lower the oil temperature considerably. So the recovery time is the time it takes for that oil to get up to speed at that 345 to 375 range. You get what you pay for.

Most pro kitchens use gas, liquid propane or natural gas for its cost.

BTUs are a rating of how much heat it takes to cook, the more BTUs,  the more heat for cooking.

Learning how to set up your own fryer will save you money, as well as learning to repair minor issues with your fryer. Cleaning, and using the right fats to fry with. Use oils that have a high smoke point, such as Canola oil, Vegetable oil which has a nutrual flavor.