Oil Changes

Cleaner, fresher fryer oil results in top-quality fried foods

By Lisa Bertagnoli, Special to R&I -- Restaurants & Institutions, 8/1/2004

Taco John’s harbors no fear of frying. Fully half of the menu items at the 400-unit chain at one point or another do time in the deep-fat fryer. The chain’s list of fried offerings ranges from Potato Olés, its signature deep-fried seasoned potato nuggets, to the shells for crispy tacos and churros.

To be sure, high-quality ingredients are essential to making good food, but Taco John’s executives stress the importance of clean, fresh fryer oil in producing those popular items.

A fryer-dedicated employee and frequent oil changes help Taco John’s turn out high-quality fried items, such as its signature Potato Olés.

“The quality of the frying oil is as critical as any other product component,” says Eric C. Haviland, director of strategic product development at Cheyenne, Wyoming-based Taco John’s.

“I can’t take a poor-quality product, fry it in great oil and make it great, but I can take a great product, fry it in bad oil and deliver bad taste,” Haviland says.

Because it is shelf-stable and turns out crisp, golden product, Taco John’s uses hydrogenated soybean oil for frying. Due to health concerns about trans fats, Haviland is testing several zero trans-fat oils. He evaluates the oils based on the resulting food-to-fat ratio, the oil’s shelf life, and how well it stands up to heavy-duty frying.

1998
Year the Boston-based Legal Sea Foods chain switched to a more heart-healthful oil blend, including soy and grapeseed, for frying fish.

Each restaurant in the system has a single employee dedicated to the fryer bank—which can hold from one to four fryers, depending on unit sales volume. “It’s their piece of equipment,” Haviland says. “They’re the experts and they know what to look for.”

The designated fryer specialists are trained to drain and filter the fryer oil on a daily basis. Complete oil changes are not based on a set schedule of how long the oil has been in use but instead on its appearance. “‘Every seven days’ doesn’t work,” says Haviland, referring to a rule of thumb regarding fryer oil.

Employees at high-volume Taco John’s outlets might find it necessary to change fryer oil as often as every two days, he says.

Their guide is a four-color poster depicting the seven stages of fryer oil. Stage One shows golden, clear oil—freshly poured into the fryer. A Stage Seven photo shows a murky brown substance, oil that has degraded from overuse. Team members know to change the fryer oil before it hits the Stage Seven look, no matter how “new” the oil is.

“Clean grease” ensures that best sellers such as fried chicken salad at Heaven on Seven are consistent in flavor and quality.

Salt, a friend to many foods, is one of fryer oil’s worst enemies; employees are trained not to season foods above the fryer but at a workstation 18 to 24 inches away from the fryer. Along similar lines, employees place food in the fryer basket at a workstation, not above the fryer oil. That process keeps debris, such as loose breading, from falling into the fryer oil. Left in the oil, such food continues to cook until it turns into carbon, another enemy of fryer oil.

At the four Heaven on Seven locations in Chicago, fryer oil is changed every two days and filtered after lunch and after dinner. “The key to good frying is clean grease,” says Jimmy Bannos, owner of the Cajun-Creole concept. Bannos estimates that 30% of his menu is fried, and the list includes good sellers such as fried chicken salad ($9.95) and Louisiana crab cakes ($10.95).

To keep the oil clean between changing, employees skim the fat of any debris between batches. Heaven on Seven fry cooks also take care to make sure debris never makes it into the oil. For instance, after flouring or breading food, they give it a good shake to release excess coating before sending the item to the fryer.

“It’s not that hard,” Bannos says of fryer-oil maintenance. “You just have to change the oil and keep it clean.”

Trans-Fat Facts
Trans fat is made when vegetable oil is hydrogenated—that is, has hydrogen added to it. The process increases oil’s shelf life and flavor stability of foods made with it. Trans fats are most common in solid fats such as vegetable shortenings and hard margarine.

They’re very much in the spotlight now; research indicates that trans fats raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, so-called “bad” cholesterol, and thus increase the risk of coronary heart disease. As a result, many companies are looking to reformulate products that traditionally have been made using trans fats. Starting Jan. 1, 2006, food labels that list saturated fat and dietary cholesterol also will be required to include the amount of trans fats.

Lisa Bertagnoli is a Chicago-based freelance writer.