NATURAL GAS FRYERS
Open natural gas fryers consist of one or more vats that contain sufficient oil so food floats in the container rather than lying on the bottom. Food then cooks through a process of heating and dehydration that produces a crisp outside while sealing moisture in.
A variation on the open fryer is the split vat. It contains a single frypot that is divided into two sections, allowing for simultaneous frying of two different kinds of food without flavor transfer. The unused section can be turned off when not needed.
Fried foods continue to be popular with today’s diners and natural gas fryers continue to win the favor of food service professionals.
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Natural Gas Fryer Descriptions
Open Fryers
- Frying oil is heated by high-efficiency or infrared burners located either under the unit or inside immersion tubes
- Baskets of food are lowered into cooking oil heated to 300°F to 350°F
- Unit consists of one or more vats that contain sufficient oil so food floats in the container rather than lying on the bottom
- Variation is the split vat, which contains a single frypot that is divided into two sections, allowing for simultaneous frying of two different kinds of food without flavor transfer
- Unused section of split vat can be turned off when not needed
Pressure Fryers
- Similar to open fryers, but offering much greater production volume
- Airtight lid traps steam emitted by frying food, thereby creating pressure inside the fryer vat and achieving higher internal food temperatures
- Fries foods quickly, sealing moisture in and oil out
- Tasty, high-quality and healthy alternative to conventional frying
Specialty Fryers
- Designed for frying or cooking foods that must float on surface of cooking medium
- Shallower, but wider and longer cooking pot, allowing more surface area for floating food products
- Cooking medium can be oil or, in the case of products such as bagels, water
Function(s)
- Uniform and rapid heating that cooks food through a process of heating and dehydration, producing a crisp outside while sealing moisture in.
- Fryers are used to produce entrée and sandwich foods such as chicken and fish as well as popular companion products like French fries, onion rings, mushrooms, zucchini, mozzarella sticks, even ice cream
- Specialty fryers are designed for the special cooking needs of donuts, bagels and funnel cakes.
Application(s)
- Gas fryers are used in virtually every type of food service operation including quick service and full service restaurants, educational and health care institutions, employee cafeterias, correctional facilities and concession stands.
- Pressure fryers and specialty fryers find their niche in facilities that specialize in a high volume of fried foods or in bakeries and other food service operations that produce donuts, bagels and funnelcakes.
Available Features*
- Floor, countertop, drop-in, portable and battery configurations
- Deep cool/cold zone to trap food particles and prevent carbonization
- Automatic basket lifts
- Multivolt, solid state or programmable computer controls
- Built-in filter system
- Electronic ignition
- Heat lamps
- Full pot, split vat, half-size, 1 to 6 well models
- Boil-out mode
- Dump stations
- Infrared or tube-fired burners
- Automatic self-cleaning burners
- Drain valve
- Paperless filtration
*Listed features offered by some, but not necessarily all vendors.
Benefits
- Reduced operating costs
- Quicker recovery
- Computerized temperature and time control for perfect results
- Eliminates temperature overshoot
- Even heating eliminates scorching
- Electronic ignition saves energy
- High-efficiency burner technology
- Automatic basket lifts for consistent frying results
- Built-in filter systems make filtering easier and safer
- Fuel efficiencies exceeding 80%
Energy Input
- 80,000 to 255,000 Btu
Fuel Type(s)
- Natural gas and LPG
Ventilation
- 200 to 300 cfm per linear foot
