It is sacrilegious to use anything other than a good old fashioned "Chip Pan" to cook the noble Chip!
I have only stumbled on this thread as I have sought the wisdom of Google to give me any new ideas on the cleaning of one such instrument.
Sadly the page is overrun with Yanks who think that they have grasped this British tradition, and offer wisdom pertaining to "Deep Fat Fryers", or "Air Fryers".
They are blind to the existence of the humble "Chip Pan"!
This is an annual task, normally carried out in the summer months, as the first stage requires one to be seated in the centre of the lawn, on one of those horrid folding chairs, dressed in a boiler suit!
The pan itself can be attacked as an opening foray, with a paint scraper to remove the burned on residue both inside and out which comes away in sticky "Flakes".
The wire basket however, requires an altogether more "nuclear" approach, not to be attempted on modern puny, weedy baskets.
Mine is a heavy duty one from possibly the 1930's and has withstood countless such attacks.
The tools required are, a gas torch and a heavy duty engineers wire brush!
Heat the basket with the torch, section by section, until it begins to glow red, at this point, any stubborn burned on oil will gladly vaporise leaving just a black crust which can be burnished off with a vigorous polishing from said wire brush.
One can then retire to the comparative safety of the kitchen sink where a thorough soapy wash and rinse can be administered.
Now comes the difficult part; how to clean the "scraped" pan.
I hate this bit as it demolishes at least one pair of expensive Marigolds and a couple of stainless steel scourers, most of a spray bottle of Cillit Bang degreaser and half a tub of Vanish cream!
Not to mention various skin and nail preparations necessary to repair the ravages wrought through unseen holes worn in the gloves!
These are the tribulations we true Chip aficionados endure in pursuit of the perfect chip.
😧