Frying Overstatement and Goals:

Chili’s uses an all-vegetable (no cholesterol) trans fat free frying oil to prepare all fried foods.
Our menu items are healthier because of this process. Due to the process involved in making
Chili’s frying oil trans fat free and due to current market conditions for soy beans, our oil is a
premium product that we need to manage wisely.

The goal of this material is to give you information and the tools necessary to maintain both the
frying oil and our fryers. By conducting proper maintenance of both we can provide our guests
with great tasting fried foods and we can extend the life of our frying oil to keep our expenses
in-line.

Fried Food Facts

Did you ever wonder how food is cooked when you drop it into that big vat of cooking oil? Well, maybe
not but, it’s important to understand the process of how food is cooked during frying so you understand
the reasons why we have standards for how we fry food, why we maintain our oil, and why we need to
keep our fryer’s in top working condition.

Deep frying food is really a dry roasting process that results in a crispy exterior and a moist flavorful
interior. Due to the high temperature involved and the high heat conduction of oil, it cooks food
extremely fast. Chili’s FF’s and Kickin’ Crispers are great examples that represent this cooking method.

So, how does deep frying work? The hot oil heats the water inside the food steaming it from the inside
out; oil cannot go against the direction of this powerful flow because (due to its high temperature) the
water vapor pushes towards the surface. As long as the oil is hot enough and food is not cooking in the
oil for too long, oil will only be absorbed into the outer surface - Good. However, if food is cooked in the
oil for too long and at too low of a temperature much of the water will be lost and you’ll end up with
soggy, greasy food - Bad. This is why we fry at 360°F and why we set timers for all of our fried foods!

Over heating or over-using the frying oil leads to the formation of bad tasting (rancid) flavors and toxic
compounds. Remember, oil is absorbed into the outer surface of the food we fry in it. So, whatever,
the frying oil tastes like is what will be tasted in our food.

We’re going to tell you how to keep these off flavors to a minimum so we can have great tasting fried
food for our guests and we maintain our bottom line.

5 Enemies of Fry Oil

1. Food Particles: Food particles left in the fryer will continue to cook and burn. This includes
both the large particles you can see and smaller particles like flour or developed compounds
that you can’t see. Any food particles left in the fryer turn to Carbon which will cause the
shortening to break down. Salt is also huge component to break down of fry oil.
Solution: Skim the oil frequently during both shifts to remove large food particles. Filter 2X per
day using filter pads provided by Gycor. The filter pads remove food particles and carbon from
the oil that you can’t see and, greatly helps extend the quality and life of the oil. Never salt food
over the fryers.

2. Heat: Exposure to heat or excess heat, hotter than 360° F, causes oil to break down.
Solution: Ouch! Turn off the fryers when they are not being used or reduce the temperature to
about 200°. Calibrate the fryers on a regular basis. The temperature of the fryer should never
exceed 360° F.

3. Air: Air introduction to oil causes a chemical reaction that breaks down oil faster.
Solution: If the fryer filters are left unattended and run longer than 5 minutes, an
overabundance of air will be introduced into the frying oil. Use a timer when filtering.

4. Water: Water in your fryers will cause it to bubble and pop creating a danger to you and those
around you.
Solution: Keep all water or wet utensils out of the fry oil.
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 5. Fryer Cleaners/ Soap: Cleaners and soaps have a chemical reaction with hot frying oil that
causes the oil to break down extremely fast.

Proper Care and Maintenance of Fryers & Frying Oil

As mentioned above, fried foods take on the flavor and color of the frying oil used during cooking.
Listed below are steps to follow daily and weekly for the care & maintenance of your frying oil that will
give our guests great tasting fried foods and will extend the life of the frying oil.

Daily Maintenance
1. Check the temperature of your fryers daily. Temperatures should be at 360°F.
2. Skim debris from the surface of the frying oil throughout the shift.
3. Maintain proper fill levels in fryers of frying oil.
4. Filter the frying oil 2X Daily; following the lunch and dinner rushes.
5. Rotate frying oil from cleanest to dirtiest daily.
6. Dump frying oil from any fryer if it is smoking. Frying oil that is smoking will rapidly cause any
fresh oil added to it to go bad. Adding fresh oil to bad is like throwing money away! If it’s
smoking it can not be saved. Dump it!
7. Use only the number of fryers needed to complete prep or handle business.
8. Dial down the temperature of 1-2 fryers to 200°F during non peak hours. We recommend
leaving Fryers #1 and #2 at 360°F to handle orders for non peak hours.

Weekly Maintenance
1. Tighten bolts and screws as needed.
2. Inspect all removable parts and tighten all connections.
3. Observe drain valves to make sure they are not leaking.

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 FILTERING A FRYER (2X Daily)

Why do we filter 2X per day?

• Removes food particles and carbon from oil.
• Extends the life of fry oil – saves $$!
• Results in great tasting fried foods for our guests.

Tools Needed:

L-shaped Brush Fine Mesh Skimmer Crumb Scoop Fryer Friend

Thermal Insulated Filter Machine

Goggles Apron
Gloves (Fry Dog)

Additional Tools Needed:

Green Scrubby

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 ASSEMBLING FRYER MACHINE (FRY DOG)

Start with a clean, dry fryer machine (fry dog).

Inspect and replace any worn or missing o-rings
on the filter machine. It is recommended that o-
rings be changed every 90 days.

Insert the clean and dry filter screen that covers

the drain hole. If the equipment is missing the
filter screen it needs to be ordered from the
manufacturer; otherwise, the filter pad will clog
the suction hole. (The filter screen can be
cleaned through the dish machine.) Ensure that
it is completely dry before using. We
recommend that it be air-dryed overnight.

Place the filter pad on top of the screen. The

pads are designed to be placed in the filter pan
with little or no excess; however, in some pans
the pads will seem a little larger than the bottom
of the pan. The pads remove excess carbon
from the fry oil and must be used!

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Place the hold down ring securely on the filter
pad. If there is excess material, ensure that the
hold down ring is centered on the pad. When
placing ring, exercise caution so that you do not
rip the pad by forcing the ring down. The ring
should fit flat on the bottom of the filter pan and
not on top of the metal screen under the filter
pan.

Add the crumb catcher. If the crumb catcher is

missing, a new one can be ordered from the
manufacturer. The crumb catcher is used to
reduce shortening flow rate problems due to
excessive crumbs.

Replace lid and push the filter pan back into

place. Make sure it is completely in. The doors
should be able to close completely when the unit
is fully in place.

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 FILTERING THE FRYER

Filtering a Fryer
Ensure oil in fryer is hot (above 250°F) before
attempting to filter the fryers. Use caution when
handling hot oil.

Wear protective clothing when handling hot oil.

This includes:
• Thermal Gloves
• Thermal Apron
• Protective Goggles

Turn fryer off.

Remove fry baskets, crisper grate or crumb

screen and place on a sheet tray.

These should be washed by hand in the

dishwashing area.

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Skim fryer using a skimmer (spider); remove as
much debris as possible.

Use an L-Shaped brush to stir debris under

tubes. By stirring the debris it will flow into the
filter pan.

Push the red handle to open drain valve. The oil

will drain into the filter pan.

As the oil is draining, use the L-shaped brush to

free up any debris.

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Clear the drain valve with the Fryer Friend (clean
out rod).

After the oil has drained out use the crumb

scoop to scoop out debris between the heating
tubes.

Rotate the yellow handle to the open position.

The filter pump will start and oil will return to the
fry vessel. Leave the drain valve open.

Use the L-shaped brush or Fryer friend brush to

clean the fry vessel as oil flows. Do not pull on
probes.

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Allow oil to flow for 5 minutes. This is polishing
the oil and lengthens the life and quality of the
oil. While oil is polishing check the probe and hi-
limit for damage or disconnections from
brackets.

Push the red handle to close the drain valve.

Fry vessel will fill.

Allow oil to bubble 30-45 seconds after vessel

fill. This ensures lines are cleared of oil.

Rotate the yellow handle to turn off (close) the

filter pump.

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