Infused Fryer Oil

[chefliamsf]

     Greetings fellow Chef's:

     After a long and wonderful career I have decided to retire. My Sous Chef has worked with me for some time and he is more than ready to take my place. Before I go, I have one more idea to pass on and I would like to know what my peers think of it. After years of watching fryer oil being used and then thrown away, I always thought to myself, there has to be a way to use the oil further. Then the idea hit me. Infused fryer oil. I have tested this method and it is impossible to mess up.

     Use your fryers as normal but when it comes time to dump them, take the oil and store it in a large metal pot. Cover is and let it cool for a few days. Then filter the oil multiple times. I pay a crew extra to stay till 4 or 5 a.m. Filtering begins right after dinner service. Be sure that before you go any further, the oil is clean and free of debris. Fill the original oil containers with the new Infused oil and store for exactly one week in a cool dark place. Fill a fryer with your aged Infused oil and use for fish, or chicken. Repeat the process each time you change your oil and people will love the food that was cooked in the Infused oil.

     Attached is a picture of the Infused oil after storage and before going into the fryer.

     I hope this will help, and bring much new business. Thank you again everybody. Your comments and feedback are greatly encouraged and are appreciated.

     Chef Liam Rampart

     San Francisco, CA

 

[gobblygook]

What is the oil infused with?  Otherwise, you just have filtered oil and I thought most everyone filtered their oil and re-used it. The idea of filtering oil when it's room temperature is problematic as it doesn't filter nearly as well as warm (hot) oil due to the change in viscosity.

 

[frostheim]

I think he might be referring to the infusion of flavors from whatever you're frying. I heard about a place that used filtered oil like this. They filtered and reused the same oil for frying their burgers every day and it made the burgers more savory.

 

[chefliamsf]

Precisely! I have found that fried vegetables, particularly fried pickles, add a lovely flavour. I find that the vinegar from the fried pickles not only neutralizes the flavours of past usage, but also enhances a good batter (Beer, egg wash, etc...). I neglected to mention earlier that adding a small bouquet de garnier to the aforementioned stored oil also adds to the flavour. Please let me know how this works out for you, should you decide to try it. Thank you very much for your feedback!

     Chef Liam Rampart

     San Francisco, CA

 

[gobblygook]

Aside from adding the bouquet de garnier to the oil, I'm failing to understand how this is different than using the fryer, filtering it, and tossing it back in the fryer to use tomorrow.  Is the week of "resting" adding to the flavor or did you not normally filter the oil before?