If you love fried foods, chances are you have a deep fryer. Fried foods give us comfort, and taste way too good. Cleaning a deep fryer can be challenging, but we have some tips to make it easier for you.
To clean a deep fryer, you must unplug it, and let it cool down completely. Drain the oil, to keep it for later, or throw it away in a sealed container. Wash the frying basket in the sink, with dish soap. Soak the pot with hot water, and dish soap, and use a scrubbing pad to clean it. Rinse the fryer, and set out to dry.
Once you start frying foods a home, it becomes an obsession. You start experimenting with different foods, pushing the limits. This can cause things to get messy. We’re going to show you, exactly how to clean a deep fryer, and how to keep it clean.
How Often Do You Clean a Deep Fryer?
Properly maintaining your deep fryer, is crucial, to keep it in good working condition. Oil builds up fast and can become tough to remove. When you use your deep fryer daily, you should make a ritual out of cleaning it every day.
If you use your deep fryer more than once a day, one good clean at the end of the day is fine. If you only use it once per day, make sure you clean it after using it. Having a cleaning schedule can keep it from becoming a headache.
If you use your deep fryer a lot, you should consider deep cleaning it, once per week, or twice per week. This will keep the grease from building up and becoming impossible to get off. By cleaning it after you use it, or once per day, you make the deep cleaning a breeze.
The Best Way to Clean a Deep Fryer
Now that you know how to maintain your deep fryer, we’re going to show you the best way to clean it. You don’t need any fancy cleaning tools, just soap, a scrubbing pad, and some elbow grease.
1)Let Cool
First, you need to unplug your deep fryer and let it cool down. A deep fryer is an electronic appliance and must be unplugged from the wall, to clean. Let the fryer and its parts cool down completely, before cleaning.
2)Remove Fry Basket
Remove the frying basket, and put it in the sink. You can remove the frying basket, and clean it in the sink, with dish soap and warm water. Let it soak well before scrubbing it.
3)Drain Oil
Pour the used oil in a container. If you plan on keeping it, put it in a food-safe container with a lid. If you plan on throwing it away, make sure it is in a container with a lid. Do not pour oil down the sink, or leave it in an open container.
4)Scrub
Use a sponge, and hot water, to scrub food particles out of the pan. Use a little bit of dish soap. The soap will help cut through the grease. Scrub in a circular motion, and work hard to get the food particles off.
5)Soak
Rinse it out, and then fill it up with hot water. Let the hot water soak inside of the fryer pan. While you do this, clean the lid with a sponge and hot water, and set it to the side.
6)Scrub the Basket
Finish scrubbing the basket and the lid, rinse them off with water, and let them dry. Set them to the side.
7)One Last Scrub
Now that the pan of the deep fryer has soaked, scrub it down one last time. Pour out the soapy water, and rinse it with fresh water. Let all of the pieces dry before using it.
That’s it. It’s an easy process, as long as you keep your deep fryer clean. The better you are at maintenance, the easier the job can be.
How Do You Clean a Deep Fryer Basket?
The deep fryer basket can be removed, and cleaned separately. The best way to clean it is to let it soak in the sink, with hot water and dish soap. After it has soaked for a while, use a scrubbing pad, or brush to clean all of the food particles off.
Wipe it clean with a washcloth, to make sure that there are no grease or food particles left. Then, rinse it with water. Let it dry completely, before putting it back into the deep fryer. You should clean your fryer basket at the end of the day, or after you use it.
If the soap, and water, don’t fully do the trick, you may need to use baking soda or vinegar. The basket can get a lot of grease build-ups, and sometimes you have to use something stronger to remove it.
How Do You Remove Sticky Oil From a Deep Fryer?
To remove sticky oil from a deep fryer, you can start by soaking it in hot water, with dish soap. If you regularly clean your deep fryer, this should get the grease to come off. If you have let your deep fryer get dirty, and have not cleaned it recently, you may need to try something more effective.
Whenever you need to give it an extra cleaning, or a deep cleaning, you should use a cleaning solution, such as vinegar, or baking soda. This will help cut through the grease, and make it so you can wipe it clean. Sticky oil can be a pain, but if you keep up with the maintenance, cleaning it up should be a pretty easy task. Try to have a cleaning routine or schedule.
What is the Best Grease Remover?
Depending on how dirty your deep fryer is, dish soap, and warm water, cut through grease enough to clean it. You will only need something stronger if you let it get too dirty, or need to deeply clean it.
Cleaning solutions:
- Dish soap and warm water
- Vinegar and dish soap
- Baking soda
If dish soap doesn’t get the job done, you may need to try vinegar or baking soda. To use baking soda, create a paste, using baking soda and water. Use a soft brush to rub the paste into the fryer, and let it sit. Then scrub it clean, and rinse with hot water.
You shouldn’t need any products stronger than these, however, if you are still having trouble removing the grease, you may try Simple Green. It works well for cleaning grease and is non-toxic.
How To Clean a Deep Fryer with Vinegar
Vinegar works the best if you are deep cleaning your deep fryer, or cleaning it after it has become extra dirty. The vinegar and hot water cuts through grease and loosens hard food particles.
Mix up, six ounces of household white vinegar, with hot water in a bucket. Then pour it into the deep fryer pan. Let it soak well, and use a cleaning pad, to scrub the grease or food loose. You can add a little bit of dish soap in the mix, to make it cut through the grease even easier.
After you have cleaned it out, pour out the vinegar into the sink. Then rinse the inside of the deep fryer out with warm water and a washcloth. Let it dry completely before plugging it back in, or turning it on.
How To Clean a Deep Fryer Element
You may need to clean the deep fryer element. They can get food particles stuck them, and may get sticky grease on them. To clean them, you must use a sponge, or washcloth, with warm water and soap. Scrub the element softly. Then dry it off with a dry paper towel.
Be careful not to damage the element. Use only soft sponges, or scrubbing pads. Also, make sure that you do not damage any of the wires or electronics, these parts can be sensitive. You just want to softly wipe it clean, removing any grease or food.
After that, let it dry off completely, before putting the deep fryer back together, and using it again. Wipe the heating element clean after each use, and you can avoid having any heavy grease, or food, stick to it.
Related Questions
Is it safe to mix vinegar and Dawn dish soap?
This is safe and it works very well. The dish soap is a degreaser and helps along with the vinegar, to cut through heavy grease. When using a deep fryer, you get a lot of grease build-up from the oil. Using vinegar and Dawn will keep your unit clean.
How often should you change deep fryer oil?
The oil in your deep fryer should be changed after 8-10 uses. If you are a commercial kitchen or someone who uses it multiple times per day, consider changing the oil out every 2-3 days, to keep it fresh. You can pour the oil into a food-safe container, to store it, while you clean the unit.