The Art of Cleaning the Cool Daddy Deep Fryer

Owning a deep fryer means the sky is the limit to the amount of different tasty items one can fry up. The process of deep frying can be quite cumbersome given the mess and the ability to only get a few turns out of one batch of cooking oil. Eventually the used oil has to get discarded and you have to start all over again. This leads me to the worst part of the deep frying process, the cleanup.


I currently use a cool daddy deep fryer by Presto. My favorite frying items include fried chicken (Paula Den recipe), buffalo wings, donuts (paczki), and occasional fried potatoes. There are many copy cat oven baked substitute recipes for these items that simply do not measure up the deep fried method. I have no reservations cooking with oil with regards to the odor, the grease, or the heat. I actually have a deep fry table in my garage set up for special frying occurrences. My hang up with deep frying is all in the cleaning.

Removing the Used Oil in Deep Frying

Once the oil has been pushed to its limits, it is time to discard. Once the oil has cooled down to room temperature, pour it into an empty sealable container such as a milk carton or empty laundry detergent container. The oil can then be discarded into the trash or it can be saved along with other used oil batches and submitted to neighborhood collection sites that will take used cooking oil. Some people have found numerous uses of this recycled cooking oil.

Cleaning the Interior of the Cool Daddy

Remove the inner pan and basket and submerse and wipe out with a few paper towels before submersing in a sink full of hot soapy water. Allow to soak for about ten minutes before giving all items a good scrub with cloth or pad. The bucket will come clean fairly quickly with a good degreasing dish detergent. The basket will take a little extra elbow grease given all the “crusties” that tend to stick within the webbing of the basket during the frying stage. Sometimes I take a sharp object such as a fork or butter knife to scrape these cling-ons off the basket. Give both items a good rinse and allow time to dry.

The only other “interior” piece that requires some thorough cleaning is the odor filter. I am not too sure exactly how much this little foamy black bad is able to absorb and grease. Every time I fry chicken in my garage, the whole area smells like a KFC. I am surprised I don’t have a herd of cats at my back door wanting free samples. This black pad slides out easily from the top lid and requires a good rinse and soaking in hot soapy water. Make sure to clean the after the bucket and basket have been cleaned, because this little item will quickly make the wash water very greasy and dark.

Cleaning the Exterior of the Cool Daddy

This exterior of this appliance requires nothing more than a large bucket of hot soapy water and a good wash cloth. Wipe the top and sides clean and follow up with a drying towel. Make sure to even clean the temperature knob using a little elbow grease if needed. Pay attention to surrounding area of fryer such as table or counter that will most likely catch some grease spattering.

. The trick with all deep fryer and even skillet clean up is having ample patience with grease. It sometimes takes two or three soapy water changes to effectively cut the grease on the appliance as well as the surrounding area.

Cleaning Caution

I know I am probably stating common sense tips here, but feel it is necessary to post them anyway. Never submerse your deep fryer cooking unit into water. Do not place the unit in a dishwasher. Do not submerse power cord in water or dishwasher. Finally, never proceed cleaning the fryer or parts when the unit is still hot.