The invention relates to a self-cleaning deadweight holder configured to hold a deadweight within a cooking apparatus. In some embodiments, the holder may comprise a top plate, an exhaust cylinder, a bottom plate, a plurality of support plates, and a plurality of guide plates. The top plate may include a through hole disposed at substantially a center of the top plate and configured to allow at least one of liquid and steam to pass therethrough. An outer diameter of the bottom plate may be less than an outer diameter of the top plate and an outer diameter of each of the plurality of guide plates, and the plurality of guide plates may be configured to permit movement of the deadweight therethrough. In some embodiments, the cooking apparatus may comprise a cooking chamber, a steam box, a vent tube, an exhaust tube, a drain tube, and a pressure relief tube.

A cooking apparatus provides a frame for supporting a pot or cooking vessel. A basket is sized a shaped to fit the interior of the pot or cooking vessel. The pot is movable from a cooking position to intermediate draining position to a discharge position. In the discharge position, a pot lid is receptive of food articles that had been cooked. The lid is preferably pivotally attached to the frame and/or cooking vessel.

An automated cooking system for adding time and labor efficiencies in food production environments such as restaurants. The automated cooking system includes at least a fryer, a dispensing freezer, a hot holding station, a plurality of baskets, and a gantry system. The gantry system includes a gantry control for a gantry, configured to engage and move each of the baskets. The basket and gantry include interface elements for enabling precise movements and rapid opening and closing of baskets at the system. Aspects of an automated cooking system and a corresponding method for discharging cooked food product help to avoid the problems associated with manually operating a cooking system. Specifically, the system described herein provides for apparatuses and methods to cook and dispense food product in a more efficient manner with regard to both time and labor considerations within food production environments.

Systems, methods and apparatuses for making fryers safer and/or more energy efficient are disclosed. Methods and devices in accordance with the present disclosure generally comprise a cover, having a number of flaps, doors or plates that open upwardly or downwardly to receive a basket. Flaps/doors may be solid, perforated or the like. The cover can be maintained in a suitably rigid closed locked position, for example, by a locking mechanism, preventing the basket(s), body parts, or other items from unintentionally being placed in the fryer. In such embodiments, the cover also prevents the loss of heat from the oil. Alternatively, the cover may be maintained in a closed position, though not necessarily locked, with a primary purpose of preventing heat loss from the oil. In such embodiments, the cover may be vented.

Methods for managing basket workflow at an automated cooking system. One method includes: illuminating a visual indicator to communicate that a fryer vat is available; identifying, by a camera and an image processor, a food product in the basket; initiating, by a fryer controller, the correct cooking cycle for the identified food product; and illuminating the visual indicator to communicate that the food product in the basket is fully cooked. Another method for managing basket workflow at an automated cooking system includes: detecting, by the camera and the one image processor, that a maintenance operation is required in the fryer vat; illuminating the visual indicator to communicate that the fryer vat is unavailable to be used due to the maintenance operation; and initiating, by the fryer controller, the maintenance operation. An automated cooking system and a method of cooking food products with an automated cooking system are also provided.

A turkey cooking device comprises a base, a burner, a gas supply device, a turkey pot, a temperature control device disposed on the base or the burner, and a safety valve disposed on the burner. The burner and the turkey pot are disposed on the base. The burner is located below the turkey pot and connected to the gas supply device. The temperature control device comprises a temperature controller, which abuts against the outer circumferential wall of the turkey pot, is electrically connected to the safety valve and controls the burner to open or close through the safety valve. The temperature control device controls the safety valve to close to cut off a gas source when detecting that the temperature of the outer circumferential wall of the turkey pot reaches a preset temperature, so that the situation that food is affected under an excessively-high oil temperature and consequentially the health of eaters is affected is prevented; user attendance is not needed, and the device can be easily and conveniently operated by users; and fire accidents caused by spontaneous combustion of cooking oil under an excessively-high temperature can be prevented.

An automated French fry device includes a cooking housing and a plurality of dispensing chutes extending downwardly from the cooking housing. A touch screen is mounted to the cooking housing for ordering French fries. A plurality of hoppers contains French fries and a dispensing unit dispenses a small order of French fries, a medium order of French fries or a large order of French fries. A cooking unit is integrated into the cooking housing to cook the French fries. A box dispenser is attached to the cooking housing to release French fry boxes. A conveyor unit is movably attached the cooking housing to facilitate the employee to receive the small order of French fries, the medium order of French fries or the large order of French fries. Additionally, the touch screen is in communication with the dispensing unit, the cooking unit and the conveyor unit.

A deep fryer and related methods of frying a whole turkey in a reduced cooking oil volume. A frying basin can have a rounded profile avoiding dead spaces within the frying basin. The frying basin can include a recessed channel at a bottommost portion of the frying basin to accommodate a heating element, such that the heating element does not project above a floor of the frying basin. The deep fryer can have a rotisserie assembly for mounting and rotating the whole turkey such that only a lower half of the whole turkey is submerged within the cooking oil at any one time. The deep fryer can include a kick-stand feature that allows a user to lower and raise the rotisserie assembly including the whole turkey using only one hand such that a user need not lean over or otherwise put their hands or body above the frying basin.

An automated cooking system for adding time and labor efficiencies has a fryer including a plurality of fryer vats, heating elements, and a vertical transport assembly associated with each of the fryer vats. The vertical transport assembly is configured to support and move a basket of food product into and out of the cooking medium at the fryer vat, and optionally also with reciprocating shaking movements as well. The vertical transport assembly includes a lift base, a platform support hanger, and a basket support platform. The basket support platform includes a tray-shaped platform portion defined by a wire rack construction that circumferentially surrounds a bottom portion of the basket to retain the basket, the platform portion having an angled entry taper to correct any misalignments of the basket and the basket support platform as a gantry moves the basket onto the basket support platform.

A water-oil separation type frying device includes: a frame; a frying portion installed on the frame; a circulation portion configured to circulate water filled in a lower portion of the frying portion; a filter portion installed at a predetermined position of the circulation portion to remove foreign substances from the water circulated along the circulation portion; a control portion configured to control the frying portion and the circulation portion; and a lifting mechanism including a frying plate accommodated in the frying portion so that food that needs to be fried is placed on the frying plate during frying, and a mechanism for lifting up and down the frying plate.