Recirculating hot oil cooking apparatus

In a recirculating hot oil cooker for animal or vegetable product pieces,

• an elongated pan assembly having front, rear, bottom, and side walls for containing a volume of hot oil flowing between a product entry zone located near said front wall and adapted to receive said product pieces in raw form for cooking and a product exit zone located near said rear wall and adapted to discharge said product pieces after cooking, a sump formed in the bottom of said pan near said product exit area for withdrawing oil from said pan;
• an inlet header assembly for supplying hot oil to said pan assembly at said product entry zone and including an inlet feed jet extending across substantially the full width of said front end wall of said pan assembly underneath the surface of said volume of oil to supply a substantially uniform stream of oil at a substantial velocity across said product entry zone;
• a pump and heat exchanger assembly coupled between said sump and said inlet header for recirculating reheated oil therebetween to establish said flowing volume of hot oil in said pan assembly;
• a first flow directing assembly mounted at the rear of said product entry zone, said first flow directing means comprising a plurality of fin means positioned at spaced preselected non-normal orientations behind said product entry zone so as to repetitively alter the localized flow direction of said volume of hot oil thereat, said first flow directing means including means to repetitively move the same for such purpose;
• and
• a second flow directing assembly mounted adjacent said inlet feed jet, said second flow directing means also comprising a plurality of fin means positioned at spaced preselected non-normal orientations adjacent the inlet feed jet and movable so as to repetitively alter the flow direction of said inlet stream of oil across said product entry zone, said second flow directing means likewise including means to repetitively move the same for such purpose, said first and second flow directing assemblies cooperating to eliminate recirculating eddy currents in said product entry zone, whereby consistent movement of said vegetable product pieces away from said product entry zone towards said product exit zone is produced to reduce clumping of raw product pieces in said product entry zone.