Deep fat frying apparatus with improved under-fryer cooking liquid

Abstract

A deep fat fryer structure includes a floor mounted housing having an upper internal portion in which a side-by-side pair of large capacity metal frypots are operatively supported, each of the frypots having an upper, heated cooking portion from which an unheated well depends. Cooking liquid may be drained from the wells for filtration purposes by a valved drainage conduit system having an open outlet end. Filtered cooking liquid may be returned to the upper frypot portions, or their depending cold wells, through a valved supply conduit system connected to the outlet of a height-adjustable filtration pump disposed within a lower rear portion of the housing. An open-topped, wheel supported overflow pan nestingly receives an open-topped cooking liquid receiving container and may be rolled into the housing directly beneath the frypots to receive cooking liquid drained therefrom, the receiving container having a filtration structure supported on its bottom wall. Aligned outlet openings in the bottom walls of the overflow pan in the receiving container are sealingly communicated by interenagable O-ring slip fitting members which permit cooking liquid downflow through the outlet openings into a drain sump secured to the bottom of the overflow pan. Secured to the drain sump is a transfer pipe having an outer end provided with a quick disconnect fitting member which, when the overflow pan is rolled into the housing, is brought into automatic coupling engagement with a mating quick disconnect fitting on the filtration pump inlet. When the cooking filtration process is completed, the overflow pan may be rolled out of the housing, and the receiving container lifted out of the overflow pan to permit easy access to the filter structure for cleaning thereof. The entire filtration system requires no more floor space than that occupied by the frypot housing.