To deep fry or not to deep fry...

nskitts · Newbie Joined: 14 Jun 2011 Posts: 80 Location: Jackson, OH

How big of a risk is it in a restaurant to not offer french fries, deep-fried appetizers, etc.?

I would like to open a 'raunt and not have to mess with the mess of a deep fryer.

If you had smoked baked beans, slaw, potato salad, mac and cheese, whatever else you can can cook in the smoker or oven, etc., would that all be enough to not have a deep fryer?
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CrashLandingBBQ · Joined: 26 Jan 2013 Posts: 11

Good question, we actually are debating this very same topic as we speak with our place. I personaly dont want anythingto do with frying anything(btw we have a double fryer under the hood). She wants to have fries and chicken strips incase of the kids. We will be serving hamburgers also so might have to do as she likes and add em... but I wont be happy bout it.

ckone · Posted: Feb 07 2013 Post subject:

I feel you on not wanting the mess. You will save on insurance too, but you will miss it if you don't have it. Or at least I did. And that was at an Italian/Pizza place where calamari and cheese would have been it for the most part.

the thing about fired stuff is people love it, and it tends to be cheap to produce.

for Q, beans, slaw, and potato salad are all I expect. Anything more than that is a bonus to me. Mac n cheese, and something like a Squash casserole I'd say you are good to go.
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Ridge View BBQ · Posted: Feb 07 2013 Post subject:

We didn't fry until our insurance went down (when your a new business your considered "new" no matter how long you have been at it) so after proving we weren't a high risk and got the insurance down some we added fried food. But that was in concesssions,I don't know if our restaurant would be as popular as it is w/o fry's??? Something else to rack ones brain about I guess Smile

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MikeJack · Newbie Joined: 11 Jul 2012 Posts: 42

We opened about a month ago with one 50lb fryer and can hardly keep up during a rush. Will be adding a second fryer asap just for our hand cut fries. You will make more money off your fryer than any other piece of equipment in your kitchen except your smoker...Just my two cents and experience...

daddywoofdawg · Posted: Feb 08 2013 Post subject:

You can get away without deep fried,I have for years yes i vend but haven't be asked to many times,but my new trailer does have a fryer so i will use it.But with people wanting to eat healthy,you could have oven baked fries,It's something diffrent.
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qfanatic01 · Posted: Feb 08 2013 Post subject:

I hate fryers!, but 30% of our side sales come out of them. We hand cut fries too, so there is a bit of profit to be considered. We use b-red potatoes and a lemon wedger. I buy my potatoes from the farm and have been paying 20 bucks a hundred for a couple of years now. Idaho russets are the only other way to go for fresh cut stick fries, but are more expensive and we ran into shortages a couple years back so we switched. Russets from other regions have too high moisture content and sog out almost instantly. My 2 bits on fresh fries. We sell corn fritters and chicken strips as well. I would like to do some kind of homemade onion product again. We did onion straws and they were popular, but we ran into a few problems. One, not enough fryer space. Second, if the fryers didn't have fresh oil and weren't hot enough the straws were greasy. Finally, they were a big reason why our oil got dirty so fast, even with daily filtering. Fresh fries and fritters are light on debris and are more forgiving with the greasiness, they tend to just cook darker as the oil ages.
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daddywoofdawg · Posted: Feb 08 2013 Post subject:

Just a FYI:Idaho russets come from ND seed potatoes.
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qfanatic01 · Posted: Feb 08 2013 Post subject:

YardFullOfOak · Posted: Feb 08 2013 Post subject:

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Feb 08 2013 Post subject:

We've been doing it for years with no fryers.

But if you have the proper exhaust hood, fire-supression, and take care of your fryer shortening properly, it is a high-margin item and you would be leaving money on the table if you don't do it.
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haven · Joined: 23 Aug 2012 Posts: 8

Don't forget fried okra. oh and maybe some Brunswick stew.

Shotgun Petes · Posted: Feb 12 2013 Post subject:

...we have been the #1 ranked BBQ in Mid-Missouri on urbanspoon.com for almost 3 years and have been featured inside and on the cover of Inside Columbia Magazine twice this past year. Recently we moved from a shack to a full service restaurant.
...the only sides I serve are smoked baked beans, potato salad and Cole slaw. I get asked for fries a lot but when we tell them we don't have them rarely do we get walk outs. Once they try the BBQ they forget about the fries anyway. Very Happy

...having said that, if I had a place to put a couple of deep fryers I would sure do it because I would love to be able to offer Fried Catfish...hushpuppies and fries! ...simply because I know I cook a mean catfish and them along with fries are a big money maker!

...I say if you have room for the equipment and can afford to do it then you should most definitely but don't fret about it if you cant. You can certainly make it work without fried food.
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pitmaster t · Posted: Feb 12 2013 Post subject:

Got 3 in one place and installing a second at the other place as we speak. I'm in the south and we fry everything. Handcut fries and chips, fried pickles, cheesesticks, fried green beans, fried green tomatoes, heck the other day we was goofing around and even fried some spinach. Like I said we fry everything. Laughing

Oh yeah, we have smoked wings on our menu. To crisp the skin we even drop them in for a few seconds. Like I said everything!!! Laughing

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Paul L. · Newbie Joined: 10 Feb 2011 Posts: 29 Location: STL

Sure they're a mess, but we'd be missing out on a lot of business without ours. When we moved we added a 3rd and 90 days later, I wish we would have added a 4th fryer.

Having said that, one of the darlings of the local bbq scene is packed everyday without a fryer to be found.

People come for our bbq, but that little kid who only eats fries or chicken strips may not let his folks come back.
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Harry Nutczak · Posted: Feb 20 2013 Post subject:

Something you guys with fryers may want to try, it's going to sound goofy, but fried curly-leaf parsley is a great garnish that people will actually eat.

The color stays, it's crisp, and looks great on most meats.
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RodinBangkok · Posted: Feb 22 2013 Post subject:

Along with Parsley, any of the Thai Basils hold up well (keep a good flavor) when deep fried, use them as a bed or garnish. Best if you do a chiffonade for a bed, or for sprinkling on sandwiches.
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rubbbq · Posted: Feb 22 2013 Post subject:

We've been open 3 years - no fryer. Try serving Kettle chips as an alternative to fries. They are nicer than greasy potato chips, thicker, you can dust them with your dry rub to "pretty" 'em up a bit - and if you can get them made locally they're even better. Nicest thing about kettle chips vs. fries - they don't have to be served hot! Much easier to serve throughout the day
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Smoky Bro · Posted: Feb 24 2013 Post subject:

Of all the crummy cleaning jobs I had to do at restaurants over the years, dealing with the Fryolator was always the worst. We do get asked for fries sometimes but we offer pot salad, slaw, beans, & mac, so usually it's not an issue. Also helps keep the insurance & equipment costs down, and the place smells like wood smoke, not fry grease.

That being said we were just down south and had a non-stop smorgasboard of fried goodies - okra, hush puppies, corn sticks, pickles, gator tail, oysters, shrimp, etc, and it was all awesome!

ExperiencedRookie · Posted: Feb 25 2013 Post subject:

Those of you who do fry:

Do you use frozen pre breaded options or do you put in the egg wash, bread, and fry to order?