Fried Chicken

Quick Reference

Storage:		34°F - 41°F	Walk-in cooler
Cooking time:	Breast	16 minutes	335°F Fryer
	Thigh, Wing, Leg	14 minutes	335°F Fryer
Cook more time:		74 minutes
Holding time:	Cooked	3 hours total
	Holding Cabinet	Up to 3 Hours
	4 Shelf Holding Unit	Up to 3 Hours
	Display Cabinet	1 ½ hours (Maximum)
Minimum internal cooking temp:		165°F internal
Minimum quality serving temp:		150°F to 160°F

Q.A. Standard: Raw chicken should feel wet to the touch without feeling slick or slimy and free of yellow skin. Chicken should not have a bad smell. Cooked chicken should be golden brown with a crispy breading completely coating each piece. It should not appear greasy.

Tools Needed

Dip pot
Dip pot basket
Breading tubs and lids
Breading tub plugs

Work Safe

Wash hands before starting to work and after handling anything that is not food related. Wearing single use gloves is required whenever raw chicken is being handled.
Raw chicken must be time and temperature controlled for safety (TCS). Keep raw chicken refrigerated and iced to maintain a temperature of 34°F - 41°F until ready to cook.
Raw chicken should be stored on the bottom shelves in the walk-in cooler
Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 165°F when cooking and maintain it for 17 seconds
Cooked chicken must be time and temperature controlled for safety (TCS) and should maintain a minimum temperature of 135°F
Remove single use gloves and wash hands after handling raw chicken
Clean and sanitize all surfaces that may come into contact with chicken
CAUTION: You must take every step necessary to avoid cross-contamination when handling chicken. Clean and sanitize the breading station after breading chicken. Do not store any other food item around the chicken where any chicken liquid can splash on the food item. Never store chicken above any other food item. Never store other food items on top of chicken boxes. Keep a good distance between any other food item and chicken.
Wash, rinse, and sanitize all utensils and surfaces that touch any food every four hours or anytime they become contaminated

Receiving and Storage

Raw bone-in chicken and raw chicken fingers are received twice each week. The temperature of the chicken at delivery must be between 28°F and 32°F. All cases of raw bone-in chicken and raw chicken fingers will have a “use by” (expiration) date marked on them. Never accept cases of raw bone-in or raw chicken fingers that do not have at least 5 days remaining before it expires.
Raw bone-in chicken t must be time and temperature controlled for safety (TCS). Keep raw bone-in chicken refrigerated and iced to maintain a temperature of 34°F - 41°F until ready to cook.
Upon receipt of the raw bone-in chicken, scoop ice into an ice bag. Tie the ice bag in a knot. Place the bag on top of the CVP seal. Ensure the ice spreads out over the CVP seal. When the ice melts, take the bag to the mop sink and pour the water down the mop sink drain.
For example: If you have received a case of raw bone-in chicken or raw chicken fingers with an expiration date of the 22nd, you could not receive the case of chicken after the 18th. See chart below.

Date	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd
Days Remaining	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
	SFM Can Deliver								SFM Cannot Deliver

Breading

Before breading, take chicken fryer out of idle mode
Pre-marinated chicken is cleaned at the plant prior to being packaged in the sealed bags
Do not wash or rinse pre-marinated chicken
Double check the following:
- 1.Ensure there are no stray feathers on the wings
- 2.Ensure all fat tails have been removed from the breasts and thighs
- 3.Holding the thigh in both hands, pop the thighbone out of the socket. This is not done at the plant. Run your thumb under the spine removing the kidneys and other organs from under the bone.
Set up breading station by filling dip pot ¾ full of cold water
Place one small scoop of ice in water and stir to melt ice
Empty dip pot each time chicken is breaded
Pour the contents of the dip pot directly down the drain of the mop sink
Ensure that no tools come in contact with the contents of the dip pot
Rinse any leftover materials in the mop sink down the drain
Wash, rinse and sanitize the dip pot and basket. Place the clean, empty, dip pot back at the breading station until ready to use again
Refill the dip pot with water and one small scoop of ice when ready to drop next batch of chicken
Check to make sure breading is sifted and tub is 2/3 full (to the line on the tub)
If tub is not 2/3 full, add more breading
Place a 12x18x6” white lug onto back of breading station
Remove one or two bags of chicken from the walk-in cooler
Tear corner of bag(s), and drain as much liquid from the bag(s) as possible into a garbage can
Keep as much water as possible out of the breading. Water will cause the breading to become lumpy and mealy.
Wear single use gloves anytime raw chicken is handled
Place no more than 16 pieces of chicken into breading at one time
Cook no more than 32 pieces of chicken at one time
Tumble the chicken pieces and press the breading into the chicken pieces. Tumble and press the chicken 15 – 20 times!
Tumbling and pressing will give the chicken pieces a good “blow-off” and will make the chicken crunchy. This step is critical in giving our chicken the appearance we want.
Make sure all chicken pieces are evenly coated with breading
Lift the dip basket out of the water and tilt it at an angle so the basket remains out of the water
Pick up a piece of chicken in each hand and gently tap the heels of your hands together to remove any excess breading
Place the chicken pieces into the dip basket
Slowly lower the dip basket into the water for about 5 seconds
Do not turn basket or shake up and down. This will wash off the breading.
Slowly raise the dip basket out of the water. Let the water drain for 10 seconds and then shake the basket vigorously up and down to remove any excess water.
Try to keep as much water as possible out of the breading. Moisture will cause the breading to become mealy.
Empty the basket of chicken pieces back into the breading
Again, tumble the chicken pieces and press the breading into the chicken pieces. Tumble and press the chicken 15 – 20 times!
Make sure all chicken pieces are evenly coated with breading
Pick up a piece of chicken in each hand and gently tap the heels of your hands together to remove any excess breading (Do not tap the chicken pieces together)
Place the chicken pieces into the 12x18x 6 inch white lug
After all pieces have been breaded, carry the white lug to the chicken fryer

Cooking

Lower the full size open basket into the shortening
Pick up a piece of chicken in each hand and lower the chicken pieces into the back of the chicken basket until they are just below the shortening level and let go. This will prevent splashing of the shortening which could cause burns.
Drop chicken breast only into the shortening first as this allows them more cooking time than the smaller pieces
Drop the chicken pieces from the back of the basket to the front of the basket. When you reach the front, start over again at the back until all pieces are submerged.
Make sure all chicken pieces are fully submerged into the shortening
Once all chicken pieces are fully submerged, “float” the chicken by gently lifting the basket up and down two times. This will prevent chicken pieces from sticking together and allow for more consistent cooking.
When using the full size open basket, it may be necessary to fill the shortening level slightly above the fill line
Press chicken timer button that is set for 16 minutes
An alarm will sound after two minutes, signaling that it is time to drop the rest of the chicken
Begin with the thighs, and repeat the same process as with dropping the chicken breast
The other pieces (i.e. thighs, wings, and legs) will cook the remainder of the cook time, 14 minutes, with the chicken breasts
While chicken is cooking, clean up breading station and sift breading after each batch
When timer goes off press the button to turn it off
Using the handle on the basket, lift the basket from the shortening
Place chicken basket into bracket and let excess shortening drain for 30 seconds
Do not allow chicken to remain over shortening. It will absorb excess shortening and become greasy.
HOLDING – HOLDING CABINET (HATCO)
Take basket of chicken to loading area and empty onto a full size baking pan with a grate
Using yellow tongs, place the chicken pieces in order according to the diagram on the following page
Load all chicken bone side down / skin side up on tray
Always store the chicken baskets on the fryer bracket when not in use
Take loaded tray to Holding unit or display cabinet
Hold chicken for up to 3 hours in the Holding Cabinet or until needed in the display cabinet
When Fried Chicken is placed in the Display Cabinet immediately press the 74-minute display timer. If less than 74 minutes remain, write the discard time on a deli liner and place it under the grate.
Once chicken is placed in the display cabinet, it may be held for up to 1 ½ hours as long as the total holding time does not exceed the 3 hour total hold time
The timer will sound to allow enough time to drop more chicken before the 1 ½ hour holding time expires
After 1 ½ hours, the chicken in the display cabinet must be discarded
Chicken should maintain a quality serving temperature of 150°F to 160°F
Take the chicken fryer basket and dump any remaining crumbs into the trash can. Ensure that the basket is completely empty before cooking any more chicken.

HOLDING – 4 SHELF HOLDING UNIT (MARSHALL AIR)

All four shelves of the Holding unit should be set with the upper shelf at 250°F and the lower shelf at 200°F
Take basket of chicken to loading area and empty into a full size 4” deep pan with a grate
Up to 32 pieces of fried chicken can be held in each pan
Slide the pan of chicken onto one of the top three shelves of the 4 Shelf Holding Unit
Hit the timer that corresponds with the shelf that the pan of chicken was placed on to begin the 3-hour countdown
Take the chicken fryer basket and dump any remaining crumbs into the trash can. Ensure that the basket is completely empty before cooking any more chicken.
Hold chicken up to 3 hours in the 4-shelf holding unit or until needed in the display cabinet
When chicken is needed in the display cabinet use yellow tongs to place the chicken pieces in order according to the diagram below
Load all chicken bone side down / skin side up on tray
Always store the chicken baskets on the fryer bracket when not in use
Take the loaded tray to the Display cabinet
Press the 74-minute chicken display timer. If less than 74 minutes remain, write the discard time on a deli liner and place it under the grate.
Once chicken is placed in the display cabinet, it may be held for up to 1 ½ hours as long as the total holding time does not exceed the 3 hour hold time
Fried Chicken can be held on the top three shelves of the 4 Shelf Holding Unit. The Bottom Shelf should be used to hold 1/3 size 6” deep back up pans of Green Beans. All Back up pans should be covered with a lid.

Sifting

Sift breading after every drop of chicken
Check bottom of sifter to ensure breading tub and plug are in place
Remove plug from breading tub on top of breading station
Turn sifter on
Use plug to scrape breading through hole into sifter
Continue sifting until all breading is sifted
Remove top breading tub
Discard breading crumbs from sifter basket
Remove bottom breading tub and place in top position
Place empty breading tub in bottom position
Make sure plug is in place in bottom tub
Empty dip pot each time chicken is breaded
Pour the contents of the dip pot directly down the drain of the mop sink
Ensure that no tools come in contact with the contents of the dip pot
Rinse any leftover materials in the mop sink down the drain
Wash, rinse and sanitize the dip pot and basket. Place the clean, empty, dip pot back at the breading station until ready to use again
Refill the dip pot with water and one small scoop of ice when ready to drop next batch of chicken
Every Tuesday afternoon, any chicken breading in tub(s) must be discarded and all breading tubs and plugs washed, rinsed, sanitized, and air dried

Serving

2 & 3 Piece & Biscuit (Dine-In)

Place a deli liner in a 3 pound food tray
Place chicken pieces into food tray
Place a biscuit on top of chicken
Place on serving tray

2 & 3 Piece & Biscuit (Take-Out)

Place a deli liner in a 9 inch box
Place chicken pieces into box
Place a biscuit on top of the chicken
Close the lid
Place the 9 inch box in a plastic carry out bag
Place 1 napkin per piece of chicken and a fork on top of the 9 inch box in the carry out bag

2 & 3 Piece & Biscuit Combos (Dine-In)

Put a deli liner in a 3 pound food tray
Place chicken pieces into food tray
Place a biscuit on top of chicken
Place fry on top of deli liner on serving tray

2 & 3 Piece & Biscuit Combos (Take-Out)

Place a deli liner in a 9 inch box
Place chicken pieces into box
Place a biscuit on top of the chicken
Place fry in the 9 inch box
Close the lid
Place the 9 inch box in a plastic carry out bag
Place 1 napkin per piece of chicken and a fork on top of the 9 inch box in the carry out bag

2 and 3 Piece Dinners (2 Sides & Biscuit)

Side Item Choices

Green Beans – 4 ounces
Mashed Potatoes – 4 ounces potatoes with 1 ounce gravy
Cole Slaw – 4 ounces
Fries – 1 regular size carton (place in 9 inch box)
Side Salad

Eat In

Place appropriate pieces of chicken (1 large and 1 small for 2 piece dinners, 2 large and 1 small for 3 piece dinners) in large compartment on 3-compartment plate
Place side item choices in each of the other 2 compartments on the plate
Place a biscuit to the side of the chicken pieces
Place on tray for dining room orders
Serve with a fork

Take Out

Place a deli liner in a 9 inch box
Place two pieces of chicken (one large and one small) or three pieces (one breast, one thigh, and one small piece) in the 9 inch box
Stack the squat bowls containing the side items or the fry (in the carton) in the 9 inch box
Place a biscuit on top of the chicken
Close the lid
Place the 9 inch box in a plastic carry out bag
Place 1 napkin per piece of chicken, a fork, and a knife on top of the 9 inch box in the plastic carry out bag

8 & 12 PIECE WITH BISCUITS (SIDE OPTIONAL)

8-piece Fried Chicken Box:

Place a deli liner in the bottom of a family box
Place 8 pieces of chicken in the box
Place a deli liner on top of the chicken
Place 4 biscuits on top of the deli liner

12-piece Fried Chicken Box:

Place a deli liner in the bottom of a family box
Place 12 pieces of chicken in the box
Place a deli liner on top of the chicken
Place a deli liner in a 3-pound food tray
Place 6 biscuits in the lined 3-pound food tray
Place the food tray in a 6-pound bag

FEEDS 5 FAMILY SIZE CHICKEN DINNER

The 10 piece Fried Chicken Dinner consists of 2 Chicken Breasts and 8 “Cook’s Choice” Pieces, 5 biscuits & 2 large sides.
“Cook’s Choice” means that it is our choice what pieces to use in the dinner based on availability.
The 10 piece Fried Chicken Dinner should consist of the following pieces:
2-Breast + COOK’S CHOICE which is defined as the same numbers of the default breast for the dinner.
Thus…
- 2 thighs / 2 wings / 2 legs and…
- One large (white or dark) and one small (white or dark)
Remember “Cook’s Choice” means it is our choice as described above. NEVER ask a customer what pieces they want.
If a customer does request specific pieces, select the Chk PC – Cooks Choice line in the virtual receipt, enter the number specified and then touch the appropriate breast, wing, thigh, or leg button. If a customer requests breasts, beyond the defaulted two breasts an upcharge will be applied.
When boxing the order, always select the “Cook’s Choice” pieces based on availability, while still ensuring that the customer receives a Mix of white and dark meat/large and small.

Packaging

Place a deli liner in a family box
Use yellow tongs to place the 10 pieces of chicken in the family box
Place a deli liner on top of the chicken
Use yellow tongs to place the 5 biscuits in the large family box on top of the deli liner
Place the family box of chicken and biscuits in a t-shirt bag
Place the requested side items in a drink carrier
If a customer requests fries as a side item, place the boat of fries into a 6-pound bag

Large Side Item Choices

Green Beans

Portion green beans into a 16-ounce (pint) container. Fill to ½ inch from the top of the container.
Dine In – Place container of green beans on a service tray with requested number of forks
Dine out/Drive-thru – Place a lid on the container. Place container upright in 6-pound bag with the requested number of forks.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Portion mashed potatoes into a 16-ounce (pint) container. Fill to ½ inch from the top of the container.
Portion gravy into a squat bowl. Fill to ½ inch from the top of the container.
Dine In – Place both containers on a service tray with requested number of forks
Dine out/Drive-thru – Place a lid on both containers. Place containers upright in 6-pound bag (mashed potatoes on bottom with bowl of gravy sitting on top of it). Serve with the requested number of forks.

Cole Slaw

Portion cole slaw into a 16-ounce (pint) container. Fill to ½ inch from the top of the container.
Dine In – Place container of cole slaw on a service tray with requested number of forks
Dine out/Drive-thru – Place a lid on the container. Place container upright in 6 pound bag with the requested number of forks.

French Fries

Place a deli liner in a 3-pound food tray. Empty two (2) large sized fries into the food tray.
Dine In - Place the boat of fries on a service tray
Dine out/Drive-thru - Place the boat of fries in a 6-pound bag with the logo facing up

Pre-Close

Filter chicken fryers (See “Fryer Filtering” section for detailed instructions)
Stores with Holding Cabinet: 1 ½ hours before closing, turn off the Holding Cabinet and clean inside with sanitized towel
Stores with 4 Shelf Holding Unit: 1 ½ hours before closing, turn off the 4 Shelf Holding Unit and clean inside with sanitized towel
Wipe down tops and sides of chicken fryers and other related equipment
Clean and dry bottom breading tub and lug
Wipe down surrounding walls of breading machine

Close

Serve all customers
Turn off power to fryers
Turn off display cabinet
Discard any remaining chicken
Wash, rinse and sanitize yellow tongs, trays, and chicken baskets. Allow to air dry.
Clean display cabinet with sanitized towel
Clean glass with window cleaner
Sift breading into clean tub
Cover breading and store in the walk-in cooler
Wash, rinse and sanitize dip pot, dip basket, sifter, top of breading tub and lug. Allow to air dry.
Wash breading machine with soapy water. Rinse and wipe down with a sanitized towel.
Reassemble the breading station

Trouble Shooting

PROBLEM	POSSIBLE CAUSE
Raw chicken has foul odor	Chicken has spoiled – DO NOT USE!
Raw chicken feels slimy	Chicken has spoiled – DO NOT USE!
Cooked chicken is greasy	Shortening not pre-heated to proper temperature
	Temperature of fryer should be 335°F
	Check calibration of fryer
	Lowering and raising basket of chicken before cooking is complete
	Chicken left draining over shortening for longer than 30 seconds
	Chicken held past the maximum hold time
Chicken is too dark in color	Shortening needs changing
	Chicken cooked too long
	Incorrect fryer temperature
	Breading not sifted properly
Chicken is too light in color	Chicken not cooked long enough
	Incorrect fryer temperature
Breading is missing on chicken pieces.	Chicken not double breaded
	Pieces not coated evenly when breading
	Overloading basket/pieces sticking together
	Raw chicken is not cold enough. Should be 34°F - 41°F.
	Chicken tapped together when breading (tap your wrists - not the chicken)