The Best Fryer for Breaded Chicken? Start Here.

The breaded chicken boom shows no signs of slowing down. Fast-casual concepts built around fried chicken are expanding across the country, and established brands are adding chicken offerings to capture market share. But here’s what many operators discover too late: frying high-sediment, breaded chicken requires equipment designed specifically for that challenge.

Standard fryers that handle other proteins just fine can become liability risks when faced with the constant sediment production of fresh breaded chicken. Crumb buildup beneath burner tubes doesn’t just affect oil quality—it creates hot spots that burn oil, impart off-flavors, and force expensive oil changes every few hours instead of every few days.

Meet the Chicken Champion: Pitco’s SSH75 Fryer

When some of the nation’s leading fried chicken restaurants need consistent results across hundreds of locations, they turn to Pitco’s Smart Solstice Supreme SSH75. Why? Because it’s a fryer engineered explicitly for high-volume breaded chicken operations.

The SSH75 features an 18″ x 18″ cook area that maximizes throughput while incorporating Smart Solstice technology designed to handle the operational realities of high-sediment frying. But the real story isn’t in the specifications. It’s in how this fryer solves the daily challenges that can make or break a chicken-focused operation.

Why Smart Solstice Means Smarter Chicken Frying

1.5″ Full Port Drain: Speed When You Need It

Traditional fryers with smaller drains create bottlenecks during cleaning and filtering. The SSH75’s oversized drain removes sediment faster, cutting filtration time and getting your fryer back in service quickly. During peak periods, those saved minutes directly impact throughput.

Enhanced Filter Pump: More Effective Filtration

The upgraded pump system provides more thorough sediment removal during filtration cycles. This means cleaner oil and better consistency in your final product.

Improved Oil Return System: Better Tank Rinsing

The enhanced return system provides better tank rinsing, removing sediment that standard systems leave behind. This addresses the sediment buildup that affects flavor and forces more frequent oil changes.

Autofiltration + Filter Lockout: Consistency Without Compromise

Here’s where Smart Solstice technology addresses the human factor. The system can be programmed to require filtration after a set number of cook cycles. Some operations set it at 10 cooks, while others adjust it based on their volume. If filtration is skipped, the fryer locks out until proper maintenance is completed. For multi-unit operations, this feature ensures consistent practices regardless of individual operator habits.

Filter More, Worry Less: Oil Quality = Food Quality

The relationship between filtration frequency and food quality becomes critical with breaded chicken. Sediment doesn’t just sit harmlessly in the oil. It burns against hot surfaces, creating compounds that customers taste immediately.

Regular filtration with the SSH75’s advanced system means:

• Extended oil life: Proper sediment removal helps maintain oil quality longer
• Consistent flavor profiles: Clean oil maintains the taste customers expect
• Reduced waste: Less frequent oil changes directly impact food costs
• Equipment longevity: Clean fryers operate more efficiently and last longer

The Smart Solstice system supports filtering best practices even when kitchen staff get busy or cut corners. That built-in consistency becomes invaluable when managing multiple locations with varying experience levels.

Making the Smart Choice

If you’re launching a fried chicken program or expanding existing chicken offerings, the equipment decision you make now will impact operations for years. Some of the country’s most successful chicken concepts have proven the SSH75’s capabilities in real-world, high-volume conditions. The math is straightforward: better sediment management equals longer oil life, more consistent food quality, and reduced operational headaches.

Learn more about the importance of oil management and filtration by checking out our oil cost calculator: