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pressure fryer

So You Want to Sell Fried Chicken?

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Let’s take a look at the equipment you would need to get your commercial kitchen pumping out great fried chicken.

It’s no secret that there are plenty of advantages to serving fried chicken. Chicken is the world’s most popular protein, it can be fried in batches and held for hours, and it’s an incredibly profitable menu item. Plus, according to a recent Technomic report, chicken menu category sales have increased at an average rate of 12% since 2019.

Are you ready to get in the fried chicken game? Here’s a quick summary of the commercial kitchen equipment you’ll need to consider for your foodservice operation:

Frying; The Star of the Show

When it comes to commercial deep fryers, operators have two main choices: open fryer or pressure fryer.

Pressure Fryers

If you’re serving bone-in fried chicken, you’ll probably want to invest in a pressure fryer. Pressure fryers consistently produce flavorful, tender, and juicy fried chicken every time. Not only that, but pressure frying is faster than any other method when cooking in high volumes.

When exploring pressure fryer options, it’s important to consider how much product you’ll need to be frying and what advanced features you might need.

Henny Penny offers several pressure fryer models to fit the needs of different commercial kitchens. We have standard pressure fryers for normal volume kitchens, 8-head pressure fryers for added capacity, and Velocity Series pressure fryers for high-volume kitchens looking to save on oil, labor, and time.

Open Fryers

If you’re serving a variety of fried food times, including fried chicken, an open fryer might be perfect for your operation. Open fryers produce a crispier product, increase overall throughput, and allow plenty of freedom for customization. When looking at open fryers for your commercial kitchen, there are a few things to consider.

  1. Are your menu items freezer-to-fryer or freshly breaded?
  2. Will your kitchen be frying in large quantities?
  3. Are you looking for an all-purpose “workhorse” fryer to handle all your menu needs?
  4. Do you want something more advanced to improve operations, maintain consistent food quality, and save money?

Henny Penny offers a wide range of open fryers, so there are plenty of options for every unique kitchen.

No matter what fryer you go with, all Henny Penny fryers include built-in oil filtration as a standard feature. This means oil filtration is no longer a chore and can be completed in just a few minutes at the touch of a button.

Keep in mind that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ best commercial fryer for fried chicken. Still struggling to decide between open and pressure frying? Check out this in-depth blog covering the differences and similarities between the two frying methods.

Heated Holding Cabinets

When you’re serving fried chicken, a holding cabinet is one of the most valuable pieces of kitchen equipment you can invest in.

Since diners are embracing off-premises channels at an unprecedented rate, peak order times and volumes have fluctuated. At the same time, operators are struggling to keep their kitchens staffed with enough employees to handle the rush.

The answer to these challenges? Cooking in large batches and holding product until it’s ready to serve.

Today’s holding cabinets are much more than stainless steel hot boxes – they can keep fried chicken fresh for long periods without sacrificing product quality. This way, the chicken will still be moist on the inside with a golden crunch on the outside. The customer won’t even be able to tell that it’s not fresh out of the fryer!

At Henny Penny, we offer two main options for holding cabinets: our standard cabinet, and the more advanced SmartHold model.

Our standard heated holding cabinet includes temperature control to keep fried chicken ready to serve (the recommended holding temperature for fried chicken is between 175- and 185-degrees Fahrenheit). A simple water pan allows the cabinet to create steam and help maintain the chicken’s moisture.

Our SmartHold cabinets feature something a bit more advanced – precise humidity control. This is ideal for naturally moist products like fried chicken. SmartHold allows operators to hold fried chicken and almost any other food for up to 200% longer than most other holding cabinets.

According to our corporate executive chef Gregg Brickman, either of these cabinets will make a major difference in your commercial kitchen. He says that holding cabinets can relieve as much pressure for today’s kitchens as adding another employee or sous chef.

Breadings and Seasonings

Aside from your kitchen equipment, you’ll also want breadings and seasonings to bring your fried chicken menu to life with flavor and texture.

Henny Penny offers an extensive collection of breading and seasoning formulations. There are options for every taste, menu, and health concern. Click here to explore flavor profiles and menu suggestions for each of our exclusive breadings and seasonings.

In Conclusion…

Clearly there is a lot to consider regarding fried chicken restaurant equipment. And beyond the equipment itself, there is even more to think about.

How will the kitchen process flow? Where will you source frying oil and other product? How will you get customer service once the equipment has been installed?

Answer all these questions and more by downloading From Sourcing to Serving, a comprehensive guide from our chicken experts. It’s packed with 22 pages covering everything you need to know about adding chicken to your menu!

Open Frying VS. Pressure Frying

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Shopping for the right equipment can be GREAT (so many choices!!) and HARD (…so many choices…). The fryer is a critical piece of equipment that often throws operators for a loop and raises the subsequent question: ‘Open fryer or pressure fryer?’.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT?

Pressure frying raises the boiling point of water.

First, let’s talk pressure frying 101. Frying revolves around ‘water’ (aka the moisture inside of fresh or frozen product). The typical frying process, without pressure, can only cook to the boiling point of water which is 212 degrees. Pressure frying allows that moisture to boil at an even higher temperature, closer to 240 degrees.

By increasing the boiling point of water, less of the product’s moisture is lost while cooking. On top of that, frying under pressure – around 12 psi – enables lower oil temperatures than conventional open frying.

Pressure fryers produce a tastier, healthier product.

When it comes to frying proteins, be it bone-in chicken breasts, filet mignon or even salmon, there’s no substitute to the pressure fryer. Since less moisture is lost during the cooking process, the finished protein is extra juicy and superior in terms of flavor and tenderness.

And since pressure frying seals in natural flavors while sealing out excess oil, the product not only tastes better, but it’s healthier too!

Pressure frying shortens cook times.

The phrase ‘time is money’ holds especially true in commercial kitchens. Due to the increased boiling point of water, pressure fryers offer quicker cook times than their open counterparts.

Lower cooking temperatures, less moisture releasing from the product, and reduced exposure to air also create the perfect conditions for cleaner oil that lasts longer.

Open fryers produce a crispier, appetizing product.

I don’t want to come off as too partial to pressure fryers because open fryers are every bit as useful; even more so for cooking non-proteins.

Open fryers can be found in any kitchen used to cook fries, mozzarella sticks or onion rings — and for good reason. They’re efficient, versatile and turn out a tasty product.

Open fryers are easily configured to fit a kitchen’s unique needs.

Open fryers, particularly with more than one vat, allow more freedom for customization.

Split vats offer the flexibility to cook smaller batches of different items at once, with independent controls and completely separate cooking environments. In multi-well fryers, full and split vats can be mixed-and-matched depending on what the kitchen needs.

Open fryers are the Energizer Bunny of foodservice equipment. 

Today’s open fryers can recover temperature in a matter of seconds, load after load. When combined with the ability to filter one vat while actively frying in the others, mealtime rush is a breeze.

WHAT’S SIMILAR?

Some menu items could go either way.

Menu items like fried chicken or potato wedges are commonly prepared in both types of fryers. One of the first things to consider when choosing between open and pressure frying is the desired end-result. Crispy? Juicy? Crunchy? Tender?

Some kitchens employ both fryers and offer two versions of the same product. For example, a pressure-fried chicken sandwich vs. a crispy chicken sandwich. The first is (obviously) pressure-fried and the second is open-fried to achieve a crispier, crunchier sandwich.

Don’t tell anyone, but you can open fry in a pressure fryer simply by keeping the lid open. This isn’t a best practice for high-volume kitchens of course, but it can be done.

Associated costs are comparable.

With both fryers, the actual cost of ownership is about the same. From sustainability to maintenance and labor, there isn’t much difference in cost from open fryers to pressure fryers. Even without an official Energy Star rating, pressure fryers save energy with quicker cook cycles and lower oil temperatures. However, Energy Star rated fryers offer the added bonus of rebate dollars depending on location.

Like any valuable asset, fryers must be taken care of to maximize their useful life. Be sure to ask about product warranties when shopping around. Aside from updating equipment to keep up with the latest and greatest technology, there’s no reason a fryer can’t last 10 or 15 years with proper care and maintenance.

No matter what fryer you choose, effective oil management practices will help you save money on increasingly expensive frying oil. Click here to access our free download package, including everything you’ll need to become an oil savings expert and analyze your own operation.

Curious about frying options from Henny Penny? Click here to learn more.

Originally published on www.HennyPenny.com
by Chef Gregg; Henny Penny Corporate Executive Chef

The Ghost Kitchen Series: Velocity Pressure Fryer

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Our Velocity Pressure Fryer was made to sustain the highest-volume bone-in chicken programs, making it easy for wing-concept ghost kitchens to sacrifice two feet of wall space for extreme productivity.

Our Velocity series cooks 8-heads of chicken with 25% less oil than other high-volume fryers and provides up to four times longer oil life.

Batch cooking is a breeze when you combine a Velocity with any of our holding cabinets – Henny Penny sheet pans can be secured by a lip on top of the fryer.

Two half racks are then placed on each sheet pan and slid into the holding cabinet, allowing workers to skip re-racking and reducing product handling.

While product is being transferred to hold, Velocity filters automatically between every single load. Learn more about the Velocity series here.