I think stainless steel could hold up under any type of cleaner—no matter how strong. So use whatever will work —no matter how strong the cleaner. There are cleaners out there that will remove just about any type of goop.
Altho I could be wrong about stainless steel being impervious to damage. So don’t ruin your deep fat fryer on my account.
Acetone===(ordinary fingernail polish remover, but much stronger) will take just about anything off, including paint. So if you are dealing with any type of painted surface and are even thinking about the paint staying there-----don’t use acetone.
If you want an even more serious solvent than acetone--------try lacquer thinner. ------ Altho you can kiss any type of paint goodbye with lacquer thinner.
Easy-Off is awfully strong stuff. I think it is capable of discoloring chrome and possibly even stainless steel though.-------why you are supposed to remove oven shelves before using it.
I have a deep fryer in dire need of cleaning as well, and I can safely say: neither Naptha nor alcohol, nor for that matter toluene do a dang thing. I’m going to have to see about getting a commercial-grade degreaser and see if that helps any.
We used to use simple green on alot of baked on greasy residue type stuff on our ovens at the pizza place i worked at. Used straight it will handle many a nasty grease patch. Its also afaik safe for just about any surface.
What drachillix said, only mix Simple Green with some water. IIRC, the older bottles said it had to be diluted in order for it to work properly, but I can’t find that on quick scan of my current bottle. I use about a 50/50 SG and water mix to clean the filter on my range hood. Soak it overnight and rinse clean the next morning.