| For a time I worked in a convenience store as a clerk | | | | timer, which sounds when the cooking cycle has |
| and cook and I used a deep fryer quite a bit for | | | | completed. After 4 cooks the oil in the fryer needs to |
| cooking battered chicken and French fried potatoes.Of | | | | be filtered to clean it for future cooking cycles. Another |
| course the chicken doesn't start out battered. It comes | | | | alarm indicates when oil filtering needs to occur.The |
| delivered frozen in big cardboard boxes. Before the | | | | heat on the oil is turned off, so the oil can cool down |
| chicken is ready for the cooking part it must be | | | | enough to work with. The cooking basket is raised and |
| prepared and time to thaw out. Each piece of chicken | | | | removed from the fryer. A valve is turned to allow the |
| is rinsed in cold water, then put in a vat of tenderising, | | | | oil to drain down into the filtering drawer. When the oil |
| salty water to soak for several hours in a refrigerated | | | | has drained the empty oil reservoir is brushed, including |
| area. It is again rinsed and kept cold, until needed for | | | | the heating coil element, to remove anything sticking to |
| cooking.When needed for cooking the chicken is | | | | their surfaces. A pump is turned on which circulates |
| breaded in a special spicy flour mix, dipped in spice | | | | the oil repeatedly through the filter. The filtering can |
| water, and breaded with mix again. Each piece is than | | | | take place for 10 or 15 minutes, depending how dark |
| carefully placed in the boiling oil in the deep fryer; | | | | the oil appears in color. When the oil has become |
| starting with the large, meaty pieces, and finishing with | | | | lighter in color it is pumped back up to the oil reservoir, |
| the thin bony pieces. This gives the thick meaty pieces | | | | after the valve at the bottom of the pot has been |
| more time to cook. They get the hottest oil in the pot | | | | closed. The heating element is turned on and the oil is |
| to start off the cooking process. The deep fryer is on | | | | brought back up to cooking temperature. The |
| a timer and part way through the cooking process the | | | | unpleasant part is scooping out the sludge at the |
| timer sets off an alarm which notifies you that it's time | | | | bottom of the filter drawer. Then the cleaned filter is |
| to stir the chicken, so it gets all sides cooked evenly, | | | | dusted with a special powder, put back in its place |
| even the sides touching when first put in the fryer. | | | | under the fryer pot, and all is ready to go again.Yes |
| After stirring the chicken it cooks until the end of | | | | the fryer does most of the cooking for you but watch |
| cooking cycle alarm goes off. Then the pot elevator | | | | out for the hot oil when loading the food into the |
| will automatically lift the cooking basket out of the hot | | | | cooking basket. Even wearing rubber gloves won't |
| oil, allowing the chicken to drip off the excess oil.The | | | | stop the oil from burning you, should it splash on your |
| deep fryer also cooks French fried potatoes. After | | | | hands as the food drops into the hot oil. The secret is |
| cutting the potatoes into the elongated cube shape in a | | | | to be brave and gutsy. Get the food close to the oil |
| cutter, the fries are battered, dipped and battered | | | | before you drop it in. That way the splash is really |
| again. They then can be gently lowered in hands full, | | | | small, and doesn't jump up to fry your wrist.Happy |
| into the boiling oil. The cooking is again controlled by a | | | | cooking. Cook, but don't be cooked. |