When and Why to Clean Your Deep Fryer

Why clean a deep fryer?

Previously we’ve written about the benefits of filtering your oil to keep your food tasting great and to extend the life of your cooking oil. But what if your oil looks clean but you still smell that burned odor and the taste of your fried food is off?

If the fryer hasn’t been cleaned that could be the problem.

Particles, flour, crumbs, meat and fish can get burned onto the side of your fryer, the heating elements and the baskets. This can affect the taste and quality of the fried food. And we all love fried food. The solution is a deep cleaning of your fryer on a regular basis to keep the oil clean and the food tasting great.

How often should you clean a deep fryer?

Unfortunately, the answer is that it depends. It depends on how often you use the fryer, the volume of what you fry, the quality of the oil, the filtration of the oil  and what you fry. For a very high volume, fast-service chicken restaurant you may need to deep clean daily. Most restaurants clean once a week and others every month or two. Observe the condition of the oil and the fryer. Taste test the food.  If the food is off, check the oil then the fryer. If the fryer looks like it has food particles burned on its parts then clean the fryer. There are various ways to check the quality of your oil. This is one method for testing your oil. The best solution is find a regular schedule to clean your fryers and stick to it.

Tools you need to clean a deep fryer?

• A long handled non metal fryer cleaning brush
• Heat-proof gloves
• Water pail for fresh water
• Plastic scrubbers
• Paper towels
• Deep fat fryer cleaner
• Oil tub for collecting cooled oil
• Rod for cleaning out fryer drain line

How do you clean a deep fryer?

Most kitchens use the boil out method. This involves cooling the oil, draining the oil then boiling a cleaning solution in the fryer for 30 minutes. Here are steps to cleaning a deep fryer.

1. Turn off the fryer and let oil cool to room temperature.
2. Drain the oil into a container or caddy.
3. Use the cleaning rod to insure the drain line is clear.
4. Rinse the fryer with hot water. Drain the hot water and properly discard.
5. Fill the fryer with cool water and a cleaning product a few inches from the top. 
6. Boil slowly for 20 to 30 minutes. 
7. Turn the fryer off and slowly drain the water and fryer cleaner into a container. 
8. Using a long handled synthetic brush clean the walls and heating elements of the fryer.
9. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and drain. Wash and scrub baskets with soap and water.  Dry thoroughly.
10. Close the drain valve!
11. Fill with new or recycled oil.

There are a variety of cleaning products you can use in cleaning the fryer.Fry-Whiz and Fry-Clone are two of them.

 You can also use soap and water.
 This video shows a fryer being cleaned via the boil-out method.