[Veightnur]

Hello!

I'm looking for some advice.

I have a small cafe/restaurant. We are known for our homemade fried chicken. But I think my method needs some re-thinking as I currently need to replace my oil in our fryers daily once we use one to produce sfc...

Its the coating, a mixture of flour and egg, that seems to render the oil unusable after cooking off a few batches.

It's obviously the coating floating around and continuing to burn that is doing this. I understand that filtering is the best way to go after a batch. But it is a busy place and it just isn't viable. We can shift 90 pieces of chicken in an hour or so and thats about as long as it takes to turn fresh oil into burnt, smokey, black oil.

Are there super fine mesh baskets available to help keep the coating away from the elements? Ive seen the filter bags that say they're safe to use at operating temperature. But im assuming they're not safe to use whilst cooking...?

Many thanks
Marc

 

[halb]

The logical thing would be to have at least two fryers. When the oil gets skunky in one switch to the other and filter the oil in the first. When the second one gets bad switch back to the first and filter the second. Rinse, lather, repeat.

 

[maryb]

I do believe you can get a filter that runs continuous, pump to filter then back to fryer.http://www.jbtfoodtech.com/en/Solutions/Equipment/Stein-MX-Series-Filter

 

[halb]

Gotta sell a lot of fried chicken to afford that and the fryers you use it with.

 

[someday]

Unfortunately it sounds like you aren't well equipped to handle the volume of your fried chicken. There is not much to be done mid service using the things you already have on hand. Like said above, you'd most likely need new equipment, or at least an additional fryer.

I think that straining and cleaning and refilling mid service would not be doable.

However, I tend to think that a large commercial fryer would be able to withstand a night of frying chicken. There is no reason why a "few batches" should render the oil unusable...I can see the oil needing replacing at the end of a shift but after a few batches?

Are you expecting the oil to stay clear? What are your expectations? Most fryers and fryer oil should get you through at least a couple services, even with volume. Unless you are running a very, very busy place...but 90 ct fried chicken doesn't seem too much to my. I dunno, something else might be going on.

Are you losing a large amount of coating to the fryer? Is the chicken coming out OK?

I personally don't use egg when I make fried chicken...I'm a firm believer in the buttermilk brine-->flour-->buttermilk-->flour-->fry process.

Tell us more about how you treat the chicken.

 

[koukouvagia]

Flour might be the culprit. It tends to fall off the chicken and burn in the oil. Floured chicken is very good and well suited to make at home because I'm only frying a batch or two and then throwing the oil away. But for a commercial kitchen it might be better to switch to a wet batter because it's easier to clean the oil between batches.

 

[Veightnur]

We have 3 fryers in total. We currently switch to others after a few batches.

Our method is to marinade in milk and cream overnight, make a batter with egg, flour, seasoning/spices, coat the marinaded chicken in that for a few hours then a dip in the flour before we fry it off.

Perhaps just lesss flour and more of a wet batter mix is the way forward.

It just seems to have gotten worse all of a sudden. I used to change oil once a week now I change two fryers daily ££££.

Im aware this doesnt make sense

 

[flipflopgirl]

If that chicken is flying out of the kitchen I would hesitate to change your current procedure...except that last step.
I get that after resting the outside may be a bit wet in places but that's ok.
That final dusting is doing nothing for the product and is fouling the oil.
Sorry I can't offer any magic...anything coated in dairy will end up making a mess of things.
I would sit down and work some figures on a replacement fryer and then step up sales with picnic baskets to go as a weekend special....
Maybe even have a Sunday dinner hotline and encourage pre ordering.
Best of luck.

mimi

 

[chefbillyb]

I would have the cook skim off all the floating batter pieces with this.....

 

[someday]

We have 3 fryers in total. We currently switch to others after a few batches.

Our method is to marinade in milk and cream overnight, make a batter with egg, flour, seasoning/spices, coat the marinaded chicken in that for a few hours then a dip in the flour before we fry it off.

Perhaps just lesss flour and more of a wet batter mix is the way forward.

It just seems to have gotten worse all of a sudden. I used to change oil once a week now I change two fryers daily ££££.

Im aware this doesnt make sense

Did you or your vendor switch to a different oil? They vary in quality...

I did fried chicken one time at a place I worked at...I kind of hated it, but it was really good. We just did a traditional flour dredge and didn't seem to have a huge problem. We filtered every night and changed the oil probably 2 times a week.