FRY FRY AGAIN

Learn how a deep fryer can benefit your pizzeria—and how to maximize its usage and longevity in the pizzeria setting.

BY TRACY MORIN

While foods served fresh out of the deep fryer may feel like add-ons at your pizzeria (or may not grace the menu at all), many owners believe they’re a must for a successful operation. “There are plenty of pizzerias that don’t have a deep fryer, but if you do, it opens up so much more opportunity—it’s a very important tool in a pizzeria,” says Chuck Sillari, co-owner of Mortadella Head in Somerville, Massachusetts. “I have owned restaurants with and without a deep fryer, and I can attest that having one definitely helps your business.”

Sillari remembers how, at the first restaurant he ever opened, the head chef was “totally against” having a deep fryer in his kitchen. “His opinion was that deep fryers were only for places that sold low-quality food and that they were too messy in the kitchen. So we used deep pans with oil on the stove top whenever we needed to deep-fry something,” Sillari recalls. “Fast-forward 20 years, and I couldn’t imagine running a kitchen without a deep fryer.”

The Right Equipment

A deep fryer offers many benefits for any restaurant. Sillari explains that this vital equipment speeds up the line and prep, and allows chefs to create fun and creative menu items. “Having a deep fryer makes frying easier and less time-consuming,” adds Lori Bogedin, chef, culinary expert and owner of TwigsCafe in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. “Since it’s automated, you may offer food items that provide a large profit margin. Furthermore, having a deep fryer saves oil, and it can come with a preinstalled food odor filter that makes meals smell wonderful.”

To select the right equipment, Sillari recommends first considering the kitchen layout and the volume of what you plan to cook, then making sure the deep fryer fits into the rest of your line for maximum efficiency. Bogedin advises choosing a deep fryer with a detachable oil reservoir, which ensures that any used oil can be securely poured into a container after usage. “You can also invest in deep fryers with a cool-touch surface to minimize burns during cooking. Also make sure the fryer has a decent drainage system,” she suggests. “Otherwise, cleaning the fryer can be very irritating!”

Ultimately, fryer selection starts with identifying your menu, according to Wendell Hays, director of product management and customer service for Frymaster in Shreveport, Louisiana. “If you’re primarily doing freezer-to-fryer foods, the most common fryer size is a 14” frypot with two fryer baskets per pot,” Hays explains. “If you are primarily doing chicken wings, the most common fryer size is an 18” frypot. If you are doing a lot of fresh breaded products, like bone-in chicken, you may need an even larger frypot.” Next, decide whether you will be using gas or electricity to run your fryer.

Once you decide on a frypot size and energy type, you’ll need to think about how you’re going to manage your oil. “The biggest mistake made when restaurants first start frying food is focusing on equipment cost rather than oil cost,” Hays notes. “The most expensive part about fried food is the oil. If you filter the oil often, you can significantly extend oil life and reduce oil expense—and the oil savings will generate a fast ROI.” (For a further breakdown on filtration, see the sidebar at right.) Finally, when selecting a fryer, decide on the type of controller desired. Hays notes that the most basic option is a simple timer controller, while the next level up involves a computer controller that can store recipes and provide help with cooking compensation. “Oil temperature varies throughout a cook; when you add frozen food to hot oil, the temperature drops,” Hays explains. “As the oil heats back to a set point, if you drop in a second basket of food, the temperature of the oil drops again. With cooking compensation, the controller adjusts cooking time based on actual oil temperature to make sure the food is cooked properly every time.”

The most advanced option is a touchscreen controller. “Touchscreens make fryer operation simple and intuitive,” Hays says. “Filtering operations, preventative maintenance and troubleshooting are so much easier when the controller can help your crew take care of the fryer. The simplicity of a touchscreen controller makes training and operation easier for everyone.”

The Filter Factor

Wendell Hays, director of product management and customer service for Frymaster in Shreveport, Louisiana, notes that the typical filtration options on fryers include automatic, manual, portable and no filtration. Which is right for your business? Here’s Hays’ breakdown:

Automatic is the lowest-fuss option, because it takes the work out of filtration—the fryer will prompt the user to filter when needed. Simply skim any large particles off the top and push the filter button. Because it’s easy, employees are more likely to filter more often, and it’s simple to train new team members on the system.

Manual filter systems that are built into the fryer work the same as auto filtration fryers, but these require the user to know how to filter the fryer. The user must power off the fryer, open up the drain valve, turn on the filter pump, let the filter pump run long enough to filter the oil, close the drain valve, wait for the frypot to fill, turn off the filter pump, and then turn the heat back on to the fryer. Because it’s harder to do, users often will not filter as often, which leads to shorter oil life. Training users is also more difficult.

Portable filters create an even cheaper solution, but they require you to purchase and store another piece of equipment. In addition to all of the steps required for manual filtration, the employee has to retrieve the portable filter, roll it up next to the fryer and plug it in.