portable deep fryers, what you guys think ?

these come in stainless for about 2x the price...... i dont think a stainless one would be too hard to get past the HD around here....

they come in several different sizes from one basket up to four.....
http://www.thedeepfryerdepot.com/

The hD would have a problem with a mobil fryer, no way inside a truck. If its outside they wold want Fire protection, and also roped off from the public. I like the looks of this unit, the only worry I would have is recovery time.............

THANX! for the web site. They have other stuff I can use!

In Illinois as strict as they are you can use these as long as you have a cover-roof over it. It could be a tent, umbrella or you could put a normal house exhaust hood over it and not hook up the blower motor. All they want is to protect what ever your cooking from the birds. I think it's a great looking unit. If you used the FF2EC-ECONO-2 BASKET 4 GAL. Cajun Fryer, you would even need a tent because it has a cover built in. And with all do respect to my Chef friend that posted above if you use any equipment in the BOH in Springfield Illinois today it has to be on wheels in order for it to be moved every night so you can clean behind it. Neat stuff, I'd buy one but I have several fryers in my garage that I built from scratch. Some were a successful project one wasn't and to this day it still troubles me that my master plan didn't work out. I love to build equipment, although I have to admit I sometimes run amok (sp?) and it ends up costing me more than buying a new one. LOL
 
Jack

Without a thermostat You may burn your oil or have bad recovery like pNWCHEF said. Not a bad unit for home cooking but not so good while you have other things going on at the same time.

Dr of BBQ


In Illinois as strict as they are you can use these as long as you have a cover-roof over it. It could be a tent, umbrella or you could put a normal house exhaust hood over it and not hook up the blower motor. All they want is to protect what ever your cooking from the birds. I think it's a great looking unit. If you used the FF2EC-ECONO-2 BASKET 4 GAL. Cajun Fryer, you would even need a tent because it has a cover built in. And with all do respect to my Chef friend that posted above if you use any equipment in the BOH in Springfield Illinois today it has to be on wheels in order for it to be moved every night so you can clean behind it. Neat stuff, I'd buy one but I have several fryers in my garage that I built from scratch. Some were a successful project one wasn't and to this day it still troubles me that my master plan didn't work out. I love to build equipment, although I have to admit I sometimes run amok (sp?) and it ends up costing me more than buying a new one. LOL

Jack

Your equipment building skills are on a plaque in the Cooking Hall of Fame for that BEAUTIFUL Big Honkin' Grill you built. I'll never forget that thing!

"BEAUTIFUL Big Honkin' Grill". That's funny and thank you.

Dr of BBQ

"BEAUTIFUL Big Honkin' Grill". That's funny and thank you.

I've been looking for the thread that shows that Beauty for the last 30 minutes.
Since Sex is out of the question tonight, could you please post a picture of that baby so I can get excited about SOMETHING??

Chicnscoop
Without a thermostat You may burn your oil or have bad recovery like PNWCHEF said.

 
Sorry but I have to disagree on that. He (PNWCHEF) didn't mention it not having a thermostat, but instead spoke to recovery time meaning the number of BTU's produced in order to regain the proper frying temperature, after you dumped in a big load of frozen product. He was making a reference to the horse power vs your talking about the gas peddle. LMAO excuse my metaphors....but even the Cajun Fryer FF2 Super 2-BASKET FRYER, 6 GALLON CAPACITY $400.00 unit runs in the area of 140,000-145,000 BTU. 
 
If you look at most standard BOH deep fryers they only put out 90,000 BTU/Hr. And the FF6-SIX BASKET Cajun FRYER, will according to the web site feed 150 people per hour using both sides & 65-70 per hour frying on just one side. So I'm thinking (and I could be wrong ) but I'm thinking they'd do quit well at an event.
 
 
 

 

Foodbme
I've been looking for the thread that shows that Beauty for the last 30 minutes.
Since Sex is out of the question tonight, could you please post a picture of that baby so I can get excited about SOMETHING??

 


 

hey DR, 
on your stabilizer feet, do you just drop them where they land, or do you lift up on the unit so it will go into the next hole..... wondering if you go for rock solid, or just taking the play out of suspension?
 
yea, i dont think recovery would be a major issue with one of these, here is the diagram showing how the heat is supplied to the oil....

the smaller units have a single run at 45 degree angle from front to back
and they have a big thermometer right on the front, so yea, maybe a little more attention needs paid to it, but after a dozen or so runs with it, should be like second nature, kind of like driving a stick compared to an automatic....

i bet with the lid down, she holds a lot of heat in and lets you back off the gas a bit during slow times

THANX Dr. That's a piece of Art!

Foodbme your welcome.
 
BackAlleyBurger, it takes very little charcoal to hit and hold 500 degrees for about 3 hours.
 
But on your other question "hey DR, 
on your stabilizer feet, do you just drop them where they land, or do you lift up on the unit so it will go into the next hole..... wondering if you go for rock solid, or just taking the play out of suspension?"
 
Short answer Rock Solid. Those are a standard stabilizer jack sold at a trailer store here in town. But after I bought them they were backwards for what I wanted. I didn't realize they were backwards for my use (i didn't notice) and dropped them off at a friends body shop and told Dennis an employee to measure and design the brackets we'd need and I had them bent and cut at a an local iron and steel fabricators. I then dropped those off and the next day my friend Dennis (body shop) called and said come look at the trailer.
 
I went by and said wow very cool exactly what I wanted. You pull back on the leg and that releases the lock it drops down and you step on the pad and push it to the ground, and it locks solid. So if the ground street what ever is not level no problem. Now the funny part...Dennis said they wouldn't work at first because the pads are slightly angled so he took the whole thing apart and rebuilt it with the legs in backwards. LMAO I would have never thought of that and they work great. When your done you lift on the hitch end and pull the front legs down and out. Then drop the front to the ground and release the back legs the same way. It takes about 30 secs to break it down. Long explanation but I thought it was a funny story and a strong testament to Dennis a skilled craftsman.

I have some experience with this particular fryer, the 8 1/2 gallon, and the 6 gallon fryer.
 
I have a potato slicer that I use to slice a potato into paper thin potato chips.  Almost one long chip if you're lucky.  I've had a problem with recovery times, especially in the larger unit.  I'll be the first to admit I might not have the burner set to optimum efficiency and I've adjusted it differently with the smaller unit and it's done better.  But still not where I think it should be based on other's testimonials.
 
I also think that I'm slicing that potato so thin and getting it so crispy that it boils every molecule of water right out of the chips.  Boiling water takes a lot of energy.  In french fries and most other fried foods there is still moisture left inside so it doesn't take as much energy to get those items done.  It's just a theory I have and any other ideas would be appreciated.
 
One thing I haven't been doing is leaving the lid down.  That might help and I'll try it next time.

alpaschall
I have a potato slicer that I use to slice a potato into paper thin potato chips.  Almost one long chip if you're lucky.  I've had a problem with recovery times, especially in the larger unit.  I'll be the first to admit I might not have the burner set to optimum efficiency and I've adjusted it differently with the smaller unit and it's done better.  But still not where I think it should be based on other's testimonials.

I also think that I'm slicing that potato so thin and getting it so crispy that it boils every molecule of water right out of the chips.  Boiling water takes a lot of energy.  In french fries and most other fried foods there is still moisture left inside so it doesn't take as much energy to get those items done.  It's just a theory I have and any other ideas would be appreciated.

One thing I haven't been doing is leaving the lid down.  That might help and I'll try it next time.

 
Very interesting, a couple of questions.
 
Can you share the brand name and model number of your slicer? Or better yet some pictures and brand and model number. Heck if you get the camera out shoot some of your finished product as well. I'd love to see them. I need to do potatoes but just can't make up my mind on the direction to go.
 
Also I cook (fry), but not deep fry, awesome chicken, and the trick to it is to turn up the temp to very high just as your putting the chicken into the pan. No matter what the temp of the food product when it's first put into the grease your going to lower the grease temperature, dramatically. So I crank it up to offset the cooler product your trying to fry. It's kinda a balancing act, as to when you turn it back down. I'm not sure if this applies to deep fryers or not but it sure works using a black iron skillet. 
 
Not sure about the water thing but that is also interesting and there are much better informed on the RF pro section than me on that topic.
Jack