SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DEEP FRYING POULTRY WHILE AVOIDING SKIN DAMAGE
A system and method for cooking a food item, such as poultry, includes heating cooking fluid in a cooking vessel to a temperature sufficient to cook poultry and placing the poultry on a substantially horizontal perforate plate, breast down, such that the poultry is at least partially immersed in the cooking fluid. The perforate plate prevents poultry skin from sticking to a support, such as a deep fry cooking basket. The immersed poultry is cooked for a selected cooking period and then removed, along with the perforate plate from the cooking fluid. The poultry is then removed from contact with the perforate plate.
This application is a Continuation to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/443,186, filed on Feb. 27, 2017, which relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/253,253, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/072,391, filed Mar. 25, 2011, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/904,803, filed Oct. 14, 2010, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/856,230, filed Aug. 13, 2010 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,309,151), which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/775,725, filed May 7, 2010 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,265), which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 12/251,019, filed Oct. 14, 2008 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,850,965), which is a Continuation-in-Part of 1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/345,187, filed Feb. 1, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/706,859, filed Aug. 8, 2005; 2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/425,317, filed Jun. 20, 2006 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,707,857) which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/345,187, filed on Feb. 1, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/706,859, filed Aug. 8, 2005; and 3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/539,655, filed Oct. 9, 2006, which is a Continuation-in-Part of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2006/30946, filed Aug. 8, 2006, which is a PCT of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/425,317, filed Jun. 20, 2006, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/345,187, filed Feb. 1, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/706,859, filed Aug. 8, 2005, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Such incorporation by reference includes, but is not limited to methods and apparatuses for cooking unitary food articles, such as a whole fowl, in complementary cooking steps wherein a first portion of the fowl is immersed in hot fluid, such as cooking oil, for a first cooking period, and the fowl is then removed from the fluid, rotated and re-immersed such that the fluid contacts a portion of the fowl that was not previously cooked in the oil. See, for example, the description associated with the issued claims of U.S. Pat. No. 8,309,151.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis application relates generally cooking poultry. The application relates more particularly to safer deep frying of whole fowl with use of minimal cooking oil while maintaining a good appearance on an exterior surface of the fowl.
BACKGROUNDPoultry, such as chicken, turkey, duck or goose, is a hugely popular food item throughout the world. It is often seen as a more healthful meat alternative over beef or pork. Whole fowl are typically prepared by baking in ovens. Sometimes whole poultry, such as chicken, may be cooked by direct contact with heated a heated pan or via contact with a heated fluid such as hot air contacting a bird disposed over a grill as it rotates over a rotisserie. There are also popular cooking alternatives for fowl, such as chicken, when the whole bird is separated into breast, wings, thighs, ribs and legs. These alternatives include pan frying or deep frying in lard, oil, shortening or the like, which are fluids maintained at cooking temperatures. Steam frying, such as simultaneously with vegetables, is also used as a healthful cooking option.
More recently, deep frying has become more popular for large, whole fowl such as whole turkeys. Deep fried, whole turkeys are treasured for their great flavor. Early, whole bird deep fryers were designed for outdoor use and fueled by natural gas or propane. These fryers could be extremely dangerous when used improperly. For example, oil spillover could feed oil directly into an open flame causing ignition and spread of flaming oil. Placing a frozen bird, rather than fully thawed, room temperature bird could exacerbate oil boil over.
SUMMARYIn accordance with an example embodiment of the subject application, a system and method for cooking a food item, such as poultry, includes heating cooking fluid in a cooking vessel to a temperature sufficient to cook poultry and placing the poultry on a substantially horizontal perforate plate, breast down, such that the poultry is at least partially immersed in the cooking fluid. The perforate plate prevents poultry skin from sticking to a support, such as a deep fry cooking basket. The immersed poultry is cooked for a selected cooking period and then removed, along with the perforate plate from the cooking fluid. The poultry is then removed from contact with the perforate plate.
Various embodiments will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings wherein:
The systems and methods disclosed herein are described in detail by way of examples and with reference to the figures. It will be appreciated that modifications to disclosed and described examples, arrangements, configurations, components, elements, apparatuses, devices methods, systems, etc. can suitably be made and may be desired for a specific application. In this disclosure, any identification of specific techniques, arrangements, etc. are either related to a specific example presented or are merely a general description of such a technique, arrangement, etc. Identifications of specific details or examples are not intended to be, and should not be, construed as mandatory or limiting unless specifically designated as such.
The dangers of frying whole turkeys in hot oil cause significant public concern. It will be appreciated that while “turkey” is used herein, the concepts disclosed may apply to any unitary food article, particularly poultry or fowl. Concerns are even greater if one wishes to deep fry whole turkeys indoors. Underwriter Laboratories standards for consumer product certification, Section 1803, limit unitary articles of food, such as turkeys, to no more than 15 pounds with no more than 5 liters of oil for deep frying. Cooking an entire 20 lb. turkey fully immersed may require 3 gallons (11.35 liters) of oil. Cooking even a 14 lb. turkey, which is within UL 1083 guidelines, could require 2 gallons (7.57 liters) of oil, which over 50% more than allowed by those same guidelines. Thus, full immersion cooking for consumers is not available for turkeys in a desirable size range. In addition, there is substantial cost to purchasing larger quantities of oil, in addition to problems introduced with storing large quantities of oil for reuse.
The applications and patents noted above addressed the afore-noted concerns by teaching a poultry cooking mechanism and method that cook a full bird in multiple steps, cooking a portion of the bird at a time, reorienting the bird and performing a complementary cooking operation on the previously uncooked portion. Embodiments include cooking a bird in a vertical orientation, that is, with a longitudinal axis of the bird being oriented generally vertically. One cooking operation would have the neck area disposed at the bottom and the leg area above the fluid surface. A complementary cooking operation would have the leg area disposed at the bottom and the neck area disposed above the fluid surface. Use of a cooker disposed to operate in a vertical orientation allows for one that uses less counter surface space. Cooking a bird in a relative horizontal position suitably involves one operation with the breast portion above the cooking fluid and a complementary operation with the breast portion below the surface of the cooking fluid.
When a fowl is cooked as a whole, as opposed to being separated into parts such as breast, thighs, ribs, legs and wings, it is customary to have the bird on a platter, breast side up, where it is presented and provided for carving. Any visible damage to the skin or surface of the bird, especially with a large, exposed area such as associated with the breast portion, would create a disruption of aesthetics of the meal presentation and result in a lessened enjoyment. Also, intact skin of the bird prevents direct contact between more absorbent meat and hot cooking oil which can adversely affect the texture and nutritional quality of exposed meat. Use of conventional surfaces, such as the bottom of a wire cooking basket, to support a breast portion during cooking provides a substantial likelihood, if not near certainty, that damage to the breast skin will result due to sticking to the basket.
Referring to
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In the illustration of
Perforate plate 360 is selectively usable and may also be unused while a turkey is cooking with its legs contacting the basket bottom, as potential damage to these surfaces of the bird in this situation may be less aesthetically problematic. Perforate plate 360 is suitably placed within basket 304 during a cooking operation portion wherein the perforate plate 360 is supporting the weight of the turkey by contacting the breast portion. In the example embodiment of
With a cooking basket 1404 having an integrated perforate plate 1460, both complementary cooking operations, that is, cooking the bottom portion of the bird and then the top portion of the bird, would utilize the perforate plate 1460 at the bottom of the cooking basked to support the bird. A perforate plate 1460 may not have the same freedom of fluid circulation through it relative to a more conventional fry basket bottom. In certain applications, it may be advantageous to have better circulation and heat transfer. By way of example, a bottom portion of a fowl comprises thighs and legs, which are considered dark meat which may be conducive to cooking with higher heat or for longer periods of time. Therefore, performing this cooking step using a mesh basket without a perforate plate can be advantageous. Conversely, a top portion of a fowl comprises a breast, ribs and wings, which are considered white meat which may be conducive to cooking with lower heat or for shorter periods of time, particularly when the white meat portion is cooked as a second step after having already been subject to warming during cooking of the bottom portion of the bird. For this cooking step, cooking with a perforate plate in place at the bottom of the basket can be advantageous.
From the forgoing, it will be understood that any suitably arrangement of perforations of any suitable construct can be used. Particular designs are contingent on accommodating fowl of various sizes or weights and are suitably engineered accordingly.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the spirit and scope of the inventions.
Claims
1. A method comprising:
- heating cooking fluid in a cooking vessel to a selected cooking temperature;
- placing a food item on a substantially horizontal perforate plate such that the food item is at least partially immersed in the cooking fluid, wherein the perforate plate forms at least a portion of a bottom wall of a cooking basket such that all contact between the food item and the bottom wall is at the perforate plate;
- rotating the food item such that a different surface portion of the food item is in contact with the perforate plate;
- cooking the at least partially immersed food item for a selected cooking period after rotation of the food item;
- removing the food item and perforate plate from the cooking fluid; and
- removing the food item from contact with the perforate plate.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising applying a non-stick lubricator to the perforate plate prior to placing the food item on the perforate plate.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising placing the perforate plate in a cooking basket prior to placement of the food item on the perforate plate such that the cooking basket is at least partially immersed in the cooking fluid and the perforate plate is fully immersed in the cooking fluid.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the cooking fluid flows into the cooking basket through sides of the cooking basket that are substantially open wire mesh and through a plurality of openings in the perforate plate that range from approximately 1 mm to approximately 10 mm.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising placing the perforate plate in a cooking basket prior to placement of the food item on the perforate plate such that the cooking basket is at least partially immersed in the cooking fluid and the perforate plate is fully immersed in the cooking fluid.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the perforate plate includes a plurality of openings therethrough ranging from approximately 1 mm to approximately 10 mm, wherein the openings comprise a beveled rim oriented to flare away from the food item placed thereon,
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the perforate plate comprises an integrated non-stick surface contacting the food item during cooking.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the nonstick surface comprises polytetrafluoroethylene.
9. A method comprising:
- heating cooking fluid in a cooking vessel to a selected cooking temperature;
- placing a food item substantially horizontally in a frying basket in a first orientation such that the food item is at least partially immersed in the cooking fluid;
- cooking the immersed food item for a first selected cooking period;
- removing the immersed food item from the cooking fluid after the first selected cooking period;
- placing the food item on a substantially horizontal perforate plate that forms at least a portion of a bottom wall of the frying basket such that the food item is at least partially immersed in the cooking fluid;
- repositioning the food item on the perforate plate;
- cooking the at least partially immersed and repositioned food item for a second selected cooking period;
- removing the food item and perforate plate from the cooking fluid after the second selected cooking period; and
- removing the food item from contact with the perforate plate.
10. The method of claim 9 further comprising applying a non-stick lubricator to the perforate plate prior to placing the food item on the perforate plate.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising placing the perforate plate at a bottom of the frying basket prior to placing the food item on the perforate plate.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising removing the food item and perforate plate from the cooking fluid by grasping a handle on the frying basket disposed above the cooking fluid so as to raise the frying basket, perforate plate and food item simultaneously.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein during the second selected cooking period the cooking fluid flows into the frying basket through sides of the frying basket that are substantially open wire mesh and through a plurality of openings in the perforate plate that range from approximately 1 mm to approximately 10 mm.
14. A system comprising:
- a cooking vessel configured to receive and heat cooking fluid to a cooking temperature;
- a frying basket having a perforate exterior and a top opening configured to receive a food item so as to rest on a bottom surface of the frying basket; and
- a perforate plate food support that includes a plurality of openings therethrough ranging from approximately 1 mm to approximately 10 mm, wherein the openings comprise a beveled rim oriented to flare away from the food item placed thereon,
- wherein the cooking vessel is configured to receive the frying basket through a top opening of the cooking vessel,
- wherein the frying basket is configured to receive a perforate plate through the top opening so as to rest generally horizontal on the bottom surface,
- wherein the perforate plate is configured to support a first portion of the food item disposed in the frying basket when the food item is in a first orientation,
- wherein the cooking vessel is configured to support the food item disposed in the frying basket such that a first portion of the food item is cooked within the cooking fluid while a second portion of the food item is disposed above a surface of the cooking fluid, and
- wherein the cooking vessel is configured to support the food item disposed in the frying basket in a second orientation such that the second portion of the food item is cooked within the cooking fluid while the first portion of the food item is disposed above the surface of the cooking fluid.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein
- the frying basket is configured to receive the food item disposed in the frying basket generally horizontally in the first orientation, and
- the cooking vessel is configured to support the food item disposed in the frying basket generally horizontally in the second orientation so as to cook the second portion disposed within the cooking fluid while the first portion is disposed above the surface of the cooking fluid.
16. The system of claim 15 further comprising a perforate plate comprised of a nonstick surface.
17. The system of claim 15 further comprising a perforate plate configured to receive an application of nonstick coating on a surface thereof.
18. The system of claim 14 wherein all surfaces of the food item are cooked by contact with the cooking fluid after completion of cooking in the first and second orientations.
19. The system of claim 15 where the openings comprise a plurality of slits.
20. The system of claim 14 wherein a portion of a surface of the food item is cooked during both the first and second orientations.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 17, 2019
Publication Date: Jan 9, 2020
Inventor: Ronald M. POPEIL (Beverly Hills, CA)
Application Number: 16/573,377