We fried 12 turkeys in about 6 hours. Wow!
A couple of suggestions I have for you:
1- Calibrate your thermometers early. Bring a sucean of water to boil. Your thermometer should read 212. If not, then adjus your thermometer or keep doing the math.
2- For my cooker, I found that 3 minutes per pound was perfect. Ny longer and I tended to over cook. If you calibrate your thermometer and drop the turkey in at the same temperature each time, you can regulate doneness by cooking time. You can always throw it back in for more...
3- Don't wear crocs or other open shoes when frying turkeys.
4- Injection, marinating and brining are all unnecessary. Don't be afraid to fry your turkey plain. No nuthin. All 12 of ours were awesome.
I had a blast. And I have a bunch of leftovers. oof.
See you next year.
Joe Barfield
Monday, November 19, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Time & Temperature summary for frying turkeys
Here is a summary of the recommended cooking temperatures and times. I compiled these suggestions from the articles posted earlier. There is quite a bit of variation... I wonder how much is due to faulty thermometers.
| Preheat oil to | Cook temp | Oil never goes below | minutes /lb | total minutes | |||
| Fearless Frying | 390 | 365 | 340 | 3-4 | rest 20 min. b4 carving | ||
| don drane | 325 | 3.5 | |||||
| Brian's belly | 350 | 3-3.5 | |||||
| Derick riches | 350 | 3-3.5 | |||||
| Tako | 375 | 350-360 | 325 | 3-3.5 | |||
| Clay johnson | 375 | 20-30 | |||||
| Fabulous Foods | 325-350 | 3 | |||||
| Gumbo Pages | 350-360 | 3.5 | rest 30 min. |
Manly Ways to Prepare Turkey
Although a roast turkey is most impressive on the Thanksgiving table, its usually the simplest part of preparing the meal. The basic recipe is to put it in a the oven and wait a few hours. Women do it this way because they need time to prepare the dressing, gravy, pies, and other side dishes, plus straighten the house, round up more chairs, and make sure the kids are clean before company arrives. On the other hand, a man will put in the extra effort to try something new and different in order to show off his culinary skills.
Cooking a Turkey the Scientific Way explains (in a throughly geeky manner) the important parts of the cooking process. Once you understand the most important concepts, you can depart from the basic recipe.
You can improve almost any food by wrapping it in bacon. It’s the American way. Bacon-Wrapped Turkey is becoming quite popular. Here’s the recipe, with a video.
Five more manly ways to prepare the bird, after the jump.
Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey has become so popular in the past few years that KFC will cook one for you. But the manly thing to do is fire up the fryer and do it yourself, while trying to not get burned. Here is the recipe, and instructions for deep-frying.
Deep frying is particularly dangerous, because of the size of the cooker and the huge amounts of hot oil needed, not to mention the size of the turkey. Cooking must be done outside. Here is a list of safety precautions, and an impressive video of what could happen.
Beer Can Turkey is a natural extension of the Beer Can Chicken recipe. The bird is propped up on a mostly full can of beer, and cooked so that the liquid from the can moistens and steams the bird from the inside. You will want to measure your cooker vertically before trying this.
A Turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck that is in turn stuffed with a chicken. This is a very involved and time-consuming recipe, as the birds need to be deboned. The cooking time is around nine hours. But the result is so impressive to guests. Bonus: Use sausage stuffing for a fourth meat. Yes, you can add some bacon if you like.
What could be more manly than Bourbon Whiskey Turkey? As to the step that says to discard the marinade, don’t be tempted to treat it as a cocktail, since raw poultry may have introduced unsavory microorganisms, despite the alcohol content. You can also inject the whiskey marinade. No, inject it into the turkey! If you’re wondering what kind of bourbon to use, Wild Turkey would be fitting.
The most manly turkey of all is the one you bagged in the wild. Wild turkeys are usually older and always leaner than farm turkeys, so recipes recommend that you marinate it, parboil it, or bake it in a cooking bag to keep it as moist as possible. Deep-frying is also recommended. Always remember, you lose manly points if you ask someone else to clean your kill.
If you want to be super manly, shoot a wild turkey, marinate it in whiskey, steam it with beer, stuff it with other animals, wrap it in bacon, and deep-fry it. Even if your manly turkey preparation turns into a disaster, there is a bright side. Your story will become a part of the family’s holiday tradition. Every year, you will hear, “remember that time you tried to cook the turkey and…”
Fabulous Foods: How to Deep Fry a Turkey
How To Deep Fry A Turkey
By Cheri Sicard
Deep frying a turkey may sound like a strange concept, but trust me, it doesn't come out like you'd think. Deep fried turkey is moist and delicious and not at all greasy.
Of course, an idea like fried turkey originated in the south, the frying capital of the United States, but it is gaining popularity nationwide. In fact, a recent block party I attended in South Central Los Angeles had three fried tukeys going. Several groups of neighbors had gotten together and split the cost of the oil and special equipment needed to make this dish. Needless to say, their tables were some of the most popular.
You Will Need
In addition to a turkey, you'll need a 40 or 60 quart pot with basket or turkey frying hardware, plus a propane gas tank and burner, a candy/deep fry thermometer, a meat thermometer and lots of oil. Use oils that have a high smoke point, such as corn, peanut or canola oils.
Click here to shop for Turkey Frying supplies at Amazon.com.
You should also keep a fire extinguisher and plenty of heavy duty pot holders nearby. An injector to add marinades and seasonings to the meat is also good to have, although you can make a plain turkey without it.
As far as the turkey itself goes, smaller birds work better for frying. Try not to go over 15 pounds.
For the most flavorful birds, Before cooking you can inject the turkey with your favorite marinade (see below) and/or rub it with a dry spice rub. You will also need about 3 1/2 - 5 gallons of oil in which to fry the turkey (see "How To Fry" Below).
Where to Fry
Because so much oil is flammable, you should never fry a turkey indoors. Place the fryer, outdoors, on a level dirt or grassy area. Avoid frying on wood decks, which could catch fire. You will also want to avoid concrete surfaces, unless you don't mind oil stains. Always keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
Before You Fry
Before beginning, (and before you even season or marinate your turkey) determine the amount of oil you'll need by placing the turkey in the basket (or on the hanger, depending on the type of fryer you are using) and putting this in the pot. Add water until it reaches about two inches above the turkey. Remove the turkey and note the water level by using a ruler to measure the distance from the top of the pot to the surface of the water. Remove the water and thoroughly dry the pot.
How to Fry
Using the candy thermometer to determine temperature, heat the oil to about 325°F and no higher than 350°F. This usually takes between 20 to 30 minutes. Once the oil is hot enough, place the turkey in the basket or on the turkey hanger (follow instructions that came with your turkey frying kit) and slowly lower it into the pot.
With whole turkeys, you can estimate on about three minutes per pound to cook. Remove turkey and check the temperature with meat thermometer. The temperature should reach 170° F. in the breast and 180° F. in the thigh.
Using an Injector to Marinade Your Turkey
An injector, which resembles a large hypodermic needle, allows you to inject a marniade directly into the meat. While you can make a fried turkey without this step and get a moist bird, it won't be as flavorful as if you take the time to inject your bird with marinade about an half hour or so before frying.
While we tried many of the injector needles on the market, we sell some inexpensive plastic models here at FabulousFoods.com that are our favorite. We found that the metal needles break easily and these tend to be more flexible. They are also cheap enough that we can sell you 3 of them for what we used to have charge for one of the metal kind.
Fill your syringe with marinade and inject it into both sides of the breast, the legs and the thighs of the turkey. Don't be afiraid to move the needle around to get the marinade into the whole bird. Sometimes it's easier to get the thighs from the inside of the cavity.
Injector Marinades
There are a plethora of commercial jarred injectable marinades available at the supermarket or gourmet shops, but why buy something that's so easy to make yourself?
We've come up with some terrific injectable marinade recipes (see links below), but it's easy to come up with your own too. Just remember, the injector needles are small so you must use ingredients that dissolve or that are pureed so finely they won't clog the needle. As such, garlic and onion powder work better than their fresh counterparts. Also look for concentrated liquid spices in gourmet shops or like those sold by Watkins (click for more information or to order). Watkins also makes an incredible barbecue sauce concentrate that I use in one of the recipes below. These potent sauce concentrates make great flavor bases for barbecue flavored fried turkeys and they are always a huge hit with crowds.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- Do not stuff turkeys you plan on frying, it just doesn't work.
- Be sure to measure for the amount of oil you'll need BEFORE you marinate or bread the turkey.
- Immediately wash hands, utensils, equipment and surfaces that have come in contact with raw turkey to avoid cross contamination.
- Keep an eye on the time, fried turkeys cook quickly. It only take about 3 minutes per pound. Overcooking is one of the biggest mistakes beginners make. We should know, we cooked our first turkey so much the outside was charred completely black. Surprisingly, the meat inside the burnt shell was still delicious, so know that if you make this mistake, all may not be lost.
- Consume cooked turkey immediately and store leftovers in the refrigerator within two hours of cooking.
- Never leave the hot oil unattended.
- Don't allow children or pets near the cooking area.
- Allow oil to cool completely before disposing or storing it.
Fearless Frying Cookbook: Deep-Fried Turkey Recipe
Deep-Fried Turkey Recipe
The Author says:
Whole fried turkey is the best illustration I know of just how delicious and greaseless fried food can be. I bet that once you've tried it fried, you'll never go back to roast turkey. While the turkey is resting, take advantage of the big pot of oil to fry something else, like French fries. You can serve the turkey as the center of a big meal, such as Thanksgiving dinner; it will only take about an hour from setup to serving. Or you can have your guests make turkey or club sandwiches, and serve them with fries.
You will need an outdoor cooker (suggested size is 140,000 Btu) and a 10-gallon pot, preferably one with a basket insert (available in hardware stores and stores where outdoor equipment is sold). The insert keeps the bird off the bottom of the pot and facilitates removing it from the oil.
Ingredients
4 to 5 gallons vegetable oil
1 whole turkey (12 to 15 pounds), at room temperature
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
Begin heating the oil in a 10-gallon pot over a very hot propane flame outdoors to 390 degrees F. Don't set the burner to its highest setting, as you may need to increase the heat after you've added the turkey. It will take about 20 minutes for the oil to heat.
Meanwhile, rinse the turkey well, pat it dry inside and out, and set it on end in a sink to drain.
When the oil reaches 375 degrees F., pat the turkey dry again, and sprinkle it with cayenne, if desired. If your cooker has a basket insert, place the turkey in the basket and set it over a baking sheet; if not, set an oven rack over a large baking sheet, place the turkey on it, and take them outside to the cooker.
Check the temperature of the oil. When the oil reaches 390 degrees F., carefully and slowly lower the basket with the turkey into the oil; or lower it holding it by its legs or by a long heavy tool such as a clean fireplace poker inserted into its cavity. Be careful! Immediately check the oil temperature and adjust the flame so that the temperature does not dip below 340 degrees F. You want to maintain the temperature at 365 degrees F. As it cooks, occasionally move the bird around in the oil so that it does not scorch (the oil near the heat source will be hotter). Whole turkeys take only 3 to 4 minutes per pound to fry to perfection: small ones, around 12 pounds, will take about 35 minutes; large ones, around 15 pounds, will take about 1 hour. When it is done, the turkey will float to the surface with a perfectly crispy, brown skin. If you are unsure, you can test the meat for doneness at the hip joint or insert a meat thermometer into the breast; it should register 180 degrees F.
Using the basket insert if there is one, or by again inserting a long heavy tool such as a clean fireplace poker into its cavity, carefully remove the turkey from the oil and hold it over the pot for a moment to allow any excess oil to drain back into the pot, then lay the bird on the oven rack.
Allow it to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
Yield: 20 servings
Credits
Recipe from: The Fearless Frying Cookbook John Martin Taylor (Workman Publishing)
Clay Johnson: Fry Time
Fry Time!
Now that prep is done, its time to actually fry the turkey. The first and only material you need for this (besides your fryer) is oil. Peanut Oil in fact. And a lot of it. It is your most expensive ingredient—and I’ve only been able to find it reliably in enough quantity at Costco.
Most fryers have a little line on the inside to tell you how much oil to put in. Put in that much. And start heating the oil. Give it an hour to heat up to 375 degrees and then, pop your turkey in there.
Wait 50 minutes at least. Its always better to err on the long-side with turkeys. I’ve left them in for an hour and a half and it seems the longer I leave them in for, the better they are when I pull them out. Unfortunately with company, they’re usually demanding turkey, so it is a delicate balance between getting them the best turkey, and getting them fed.
I usually wait till the turkey is 180 degrees in the center of one of the breasts. Just stick a meat thermometer right in the middle of a breast, and push it half-way down to the bone. If it hits 180, we’re talking perfect turkey. Once it is done, pull it out, put it somewhere and back away. Let it cool for about 5 minutes to give the skin a fighting chance for what’s about to happen.
Then, you’re done. Dig in!
If you’re frying more then one turkey, make sure to let your oil heat back up before putting the next one in. Chances are you cooled it down quite a bit with that last turkey, and it needs a chance to heat back up.
Finally—in terms of clean-up: Don’t just toss that oil! You can use it again. Go to your local hardware store and get yourself a cheesecloth and a funnel. Pour the oil back into the container that you got it in, and then stick it in a cool, dark place. Heat and sunlight will make that stuff go rancid, but if you can keep it cool (cooler than about 75 degrees F) dark and dry, and get most of the gunk out of the oil, you can use it for at least 6-8 turkeys.
In terms of how you can tell if its rancid? You’ll know. It turns black. And smells gross. Don’t cook with gross smelling black oil.
Clay Johnson: Brining the bird
Brining is the next key step in getting your fried turkey done right. This step, which can be done before the turkey is really done thawing, involves taking the turkey out of its wrapping, taking the “bag-o-guts” out of the inside, and submerging it in salty wanter (brine)
If your turkey is already thawed by the time you put it in there, make sure to add some ice to the mix to keep it cold and sanitary. If it hasn’t thawed, cold water does the trick just fine. Brine the turkey for a maximum of 12-20 hours.
Between 4-8 hours before your turkey fry, you want to inject and rub down your turkeys. Generally I’ve found the marinades that they sell to be useful only for the injectors they sell. The marinades themselves tend to be bland and tasteless compared to other ingredients you can pick up. Generally out of all of them, the Teryaki one tends to be the best. If I’m frying multiple turkeys, I tend to use this sauce for the guests who are too weak and feeble to eat real (read: spicy) foods.
I generally use the following:
1. 1 Bottle (I use the entire bottle) of the green Jalapeno tobasco sauce. —This stuff is easily the best I’ve had. It is renowned and generally out of everybody who tries my fried turkey, this is easily their favorite.
2. 1 Bottle of Firehouse Carribiean Jerk Marinade. I’ve done this once, and people loved it. The trick is with this stuff—it has herbs and stuff in the marinade, so I actually recommend that you use a paper-towel and strain the bottle before injection. Otherwise the junk gets in your syringe needle.
3. The aforementioned “Cajun Flavor Injector” Teryiaki sauce.
But you should also experiment. You can use anything that’s not very dense. Things like tobasco sauce (Next time I may try a turkey with their new Chipotle smoked pepper sauce), soy sauce—the sauces that are very thin are your friends. Thick things—barbecue sauce, ketchup, that stuff is not going to work out well for you. And generally if you think that injecting your turkey with Ketchup is a good idea, maybe you should just stick with the happy-meals.
After you’ve injected your turkey (and the more injection the better. I’ve never over injected my turkeys. Just keep injecting them in as many places as you can find until it is saturated)
Finally, you need to put a good rub on the turkey. My favorite rub of all time comes from ButtRubb.com. It leaves the skin amazingly tasty. It is really my secret ingredient. Put as much of this stuff as you can on the turkey and then stick it back in the refrigerator.
Clay Johnson: Picking the right kind of Fryer
Picking the right kind of Fryer
You are going to burn your house down is the nonsense I hear most of the time when I tell people I'm going to fry a turkey. One lousy commercial from AllState and all the sudden a turkey fry is going to kill us all:WASHINGTON — The makers of deep-fat fryers have a message for ambitious chefs this Thanksgiving: Turkeys don't burn houses down, people do. As the trend toward fried — instead of roasted — turkey has grown, so has the concern over the possible dangers of deep-fat fryers. Allstate Insurance said 15 homes burned to the ground around the country last Thanksgiving as a result of the improper use of turkey fryers. The product-testing company Underwriters Laboratory Inc. refuses to certify as safe any turkey fryer model currently on the market. In 1999, the last year figures were available, the National Fire Protection Association (search) reported that 500 fires involving a deep-fat fryer took place around the nation, resulting in over $6.8 million dollars in damage.I am fairly certain that more people will be killed by spinach this year than deep fat fryers. The hype machine is right about one thing-- one part boiling oil, one part burning flame and one part drunken idiot may equal total unmitigated disaster, but as long as you're safe things can go well. I've used both propane-based and electronic turkey fryers. While the propane-based ones tend to be more fun, I've seen consistently better results using an electric turkey fryer. I believe the heat is more regulated and you have a more solid chance of providing a consistent level of heat to the bird. This fryer seems to be the upgraded version of my model. You can go propane too. There's a bit more to look out for, however. Some of these "turkey frying kits" are really just an alumninum tub without any propane. Sometimes they give you a basket if you're lucky. When shopping for this, I went through two before going electric. The Eastman Whole Enchilada seems to be your best bet here-- you get a high quality burner, a large bowl and all the accessories you need. Propane is obviously more portable than your electric fryer, and let's be honest... there's something about an open flame that just screams "fun."
Clay Johnson: Which birds to get?
Which Birds to Get?
With several dozen people having attended one of my turkey fries in the past, I believe its time for me to start spreading the knowledge of how to fry a turkey the right way.
Step one is to get the right kind of turkey from the right place. I have to say, I have had the best luck with Empire Kosher turkeys. They’re very juicy, and since they’re kosher, they don’t have the “bag-o-stuff-that-my-grandmother-used-to-eat” sack that the Butterball’s do. I order them from PeaPod and usually get hens which from Peapod are usually between 12-16lbs.
Once you get them, just stick them in the fridge for about 4 days.
Tako's Deep Fried Turkey
Tako’s Deep Fried Turkey | |
Ingredients: 3.5-4 gallons peanut oil Kosher salt for brining Tako’s Secret Spice Rub or Tako’s Cajun Marinade | |
Welcome to “Backyard Conflagrations,” otherwise known as deep-frying a turkey, Tako-style. Today we’ll be taking a page out of the Medieval Castle Defense Methods cookbook and boiling a whole turkey in a vat of hot oil. Not much to the big picture (put turkey in oil; fry), but the subtleties of the process do require rapt attention, otherwise you may end up boiling more than just a turkey. Remember, tentacles grow back, but those little digits of yours are single serving, so watch out. To get things started, let’s talk turkey, specifically a 10 to 12 pound turkey since a small bird means less oil and less chance of a visit to the emergency room. If you have more people to feed, make a couple of turkeys. It’s a pain to recycle the oil, so economies of scale say once you start frying, keep frying until you’ve fed your entire family, film crew, or whoever happens to stop by on Thanksgiving. (Tako’s Turkey Tips # 1: if your turkey has one of those little red and white pop-up thermometers, remove it now or forever will it be attached to your turkey. If you like deep-fried plastic, by all means leave it.) When it comes to deep-frying a turkey, peanut oil has long been the choice of those in the know thanks to its bird-friendly flavor. There’s just something about nuts that makes a turkey taste better. If you really, REALLY like the flavor, try Chinese peanut oil, which tends to be a bit stronger than the American stuff. Another good reason to use peanut oil is it’s high smoke point. Smoke what? Perhaps a little deep-fried theory is in order. Smoke on This When fats are heated to a specific temperature, their molecules begin to break down into free fatty acids. This process results in bits of acrid smoke floating on top of a pool of fat, which funks up the fried food flavors, and not in a good way. Free fatty acids are more or less responsible for lowering the smoke point, and once you get a fat smoking, it’s a short trip from there to a bad-tasting turkey and a backyard full of Firemen (not a bad thing if your spending this Thanksgiving alone, but…). Other oil “contaminants” such as emulsifiers, artificial flavorings, and leftover food chunks from past fries also do their part to lower the smoke point. Solution: use an oil with a high smoke point. How high? We’re going to be cooking the bird at 350-360 degrees. (Why? I’ll explain in a moment.) Assuming we’re going to see some deterioration of the oil during the cooking process, we’ll need a little temperature clearance, thus peanut oil, with its heady 410 degrees F smoke point, fits the bill nicely. Other oil options include canola (SP: 435) and safflower (SP: 450), but the peanut oil flavor is superior to both. Avoiding (un)Natural DisastersHow much oil do you use? For a single turkey, I use a 10-gallon fry bucket and 3.5 to 4 gallons of peanut oil. The trick is to completely submerge your bird and still have room for error between the oil and the top of the bucket. To check if your fryer fits the bill, place your turkey and fry basket into the fry bucket and fill it with water until it is a couple inches above the bird, yet still several inches from the top of the fryer. If you don’t have several inches of either side of the water line, you need a bigger bucket. If you do, remove the turkey and measure the water. That’s how much oil you need. Now, you’re probably saying to yourself “4 gallons of peanut oil… I wonder if I can get that on the web?” Yes, you can, but the cost to ship it will effectively double the price so I recommend checking local Asian markets, specialty barbeque stores, or even hardware stores, which tend to stock large quantities of peanut oil during the holidays. Another downside to the peanut oil investment is that it’ll likely cost roughly four times that of the turkey itself. (No one said taste was cheap.) This is why it makes sense to fry multiple turkeys each time you fire up the deep fryer. Thus, when mom asks if she can bring along your long lost Uncle Squiggly and Aunt Inkblot you say, “Sure, mom, the more the merrier,” and order another turkey and a nice bottle of port. I suggest keeping the port to yourself, thus making the extra-extended family experience more enjoyable. Turkey Tools of the Trade We at Deep Fried, Live! strongly encourage, nay, we command you to perform this cooking adventure outdoors, on a fire-resistant surface, and with the proper tools. In addition to the turkey and oil, said tools include: (1) a propane burner with a sturdy enough stand to hold (2) a big honkin’ pot, with (3) a lid, (4) a thermometer that reads up to 450 degrees and can reach the oil from the top of the pot (a candy thermometer works nicely), and (5) a fry basket or some contraption to keep the turkey from sitting on the bottom of the pot during the fry. (6) Extra cardboard or newspapers under the rig helps in the cleanup process. If you’re new to the fry game, there are kits available online and at specialty barbeque stores that come with everything needed to deep-fry your holiday. Flavor and Fry-Sci-Fi Everybody ready? Okay, remove the neck and giblets and wash the inside and outside of the bird with cold water and pat dry. Historically, flavoring deep-fried turkey involves pumping it full of marinade via a Cajun marinade injector and letting it soak overnight (see “Injecting a Cajun Marinade” for details). This works great, but around the holidays I prefer the natural flavor of turkey, so I simply brine my bird for about 4 hours using a salt water mixture (1 cup of kosher salt per gallon of water) and a big bucket. I also like to add a simple dry rub consisting of allspice, paprika, dried lemon zest kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and sugar to jump-start the turkey’s flavor. Make sure to get the rub under the skin so it flavors the meat and the skin, and not the oil. Whichever flavoring method you choose, DO NOT stuff your bird. Getting the oil inside the cavity helps it cook evenly, and deep-fried stuffing looks, smells, and tastes like extremely burnt toast. Regardless of the flavoring steps, make sure your bird is completely dry before dropping it in the oil. And don’t drop it in until the oil temperature reaches 375 degrees. Why 375 when we said we are going to cook at 350? When a cold bird is dropped into a vat of hot oil the temperature equalizes, resulting in a significant drop. It’s very important that the oil not drop below 325. Here’s why: turkey meat has a lot of liquid in it. When a turkey is deep-fried this liquid rapidly turns to steam and forces its way out of the meat in the form of a bunch of bubbles. This rush of steam keeps the oil from getting into the meat and making it greasy. If the temperature drops below 325, the steam won’t be cranking fast enough and the oil will start to seep into the meat. By maintaining a relatively constant 350 degrees, your bird will taste like turkey and not an oil spill. And what happens if all the liquid evaporates? You’ve overcooked your bird; start another one. In and Out of the Fryer The best method I’ve found for getting a turkey safely into a vat of hot oil is as follows: place the bird, neck down, into the fry basket and slide the basket onto a broom handle; then, with one person on either end of the broom handle, SLOWLY lower the basket into the oil. There’s going to be a lot of bubbling immediately, but going slowly reduces the risk of the previously mentioned conflagrations. Once the turkey is frying, replace the lid and adjust the burner until the temperature stabilizes around 350-360 degrees. The temperature may fluctuate during cooking, so it’s best to keep an eye on the thermometer. It’ll take about 3 to 3.5 minutes per pound to cook the bird. When it’s done, a meat thermometer plunged into the breast should read about 170, into the thigh about 180. Checking early is good since the bird can become overdone quickly, but don’t check it often; riddling your bird with thermometer holes only allows the oil to creep in more easily. When the bird is done, use the broom handle method to pull the bird out of the oil, allowing it to drain for a minute or two before setting it down. Once it’s drained and cooled enough not to burn your tentacles on contact, it’s ready for carving. I do suggest carving in the kitchen, since black and shriveled doesn’t really compliment little cousin Amanda’s Thanksgiving centerpiece. The taste, however, more than makes up for any points lost on presentation. Enjoy. Aside from Protecting the Castle… So, what to do with a huge vat of hot oil? If it’ll crank back up to 375 without it smoking, toss in another turkey and do the process all over again. Keep frying turkeys until the oil starts to smoke at the lower temperatures, then it’s time to quit. When finished with the oil, let it cool and return it into the original container(s). Assuming all the frying life has been burned out of it, inquire with the local landfill about upcoming “hazardous waste days.” It’s typically no problem to drop off four gallons of oil at the hazardous waste disposal, but the trash men tend to get grumpy if they find it on the curbside. And don’t go dumping it down the sink. We all know where it flows to from there, and frankly my friends don’t like their backyards reeking of oily Thanksgiving leftovers. They’re kind of funny that way. | |
Gumbopages.com
DEEP-FRIED TURKEY
I know, I know ... you're shaking your head, horrified. "Those guys down there will batter and deep-fry anything that isn't nailed down!" you shriek. Well, don't panic -- there's no batter involved here, just one of the best ways of cooking a turkey I've ever tasted.Deep-frying whole turkeys has become fantastically popular in southern Louisiana over the past several years. The turkey is anything but greasy; the deep-frying process seals the outside and the turkey remains incredibly juicy, while the skin gets wonderfully crispy.
Just be careful you don't do like my friend Rick did and set your pot of oil on fire ... more non-klutzy people manage to do just fine with this. Seriously, be careful and always always do this outdoors only. A few people have burned their houses down trying to do this indoors or under a carport. Jim's Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey Page has some photographs of the process (note that they're in front of the garage, not inside). Done carefully and outdoors, this is a safe and wonderful way to make turkey.
There are a zillion ways you can season this with the injector -- some folks like using the liquid seafood boil seasoning (which I do not recommend ... that stuff is for boiling seafood, not frying turkeys), but there are as many different ways as there are Louisianians. For instance, Bill from Bunkie, La., who fries turkeys frequently, wrote in and said that for injecting he uses one bottle of liquid garlic juice, one bottle of Tiger Sauce, one bottle of Cajun Sunshine sauce, and two tablespoons of red pepper. Try anything you like. Your mileage may vary.
Another Gumbo Pages reader says, "I have been deep frying turkeys now for about 3 years. Basically I use 5 gallons peanut oil heated to 375 degrees. This allows me to cook turkeys up to 20 lbs. My equipment is an outdoor stove outputting about 180,000 BTU's and a 60 quart pot with strainer basket. I have just been seasoning the turkey with a rub comprising of salt, garlic and pepper. Usually I will do from one to three turkeys at a setting, using less seasoning on the second and third turkey. I have found if the oil is strained through cheese cloth it can be used if stored in a cool place for up to 6 months."
Kevin Jolley writes in to say, "I just wanted to write to correct a few things about your fried turkey recipe. 1. keep your oil temperature to between 325-350; 2. turkeys 12 lbs and under 2-1/2 minutes per pound, and 12 lbs and over 3 minutes per pound; 3. if your turkey is floating it is overcooked. We always use a Cajun Injector and an injector sauce."
You can buy the turkey-frying (and seafood-boiling) apparatus called "King Kookers" -- burner, pot, lifting rack, thermometer -- all over the place now. Home Depot has been selling them for the past year or so, varying in price from about $70-80 depending on the time of year. A lot of local barbecue accessory places (like Barbecues Galore) are carrying them, too. If you can't find them anywhere locally, I'm told that they can be ordered from Metal Fusion in Louisiana, telephone (504) 736-0201 or (800) 783-3885. I haven't patronized the business nor used the product, and am unfamiliar with the company, so I'm not recommending or endorsing them, just passin' it on ...
When you're finished and the oil has cooled, you can filter, store and reuse the oil for other frying, or for frying more turkeys. "According to the Texas Peanut Producers Board, peanut oil may be used three or four times to fry turkeys before signs of deterioration begin. Such indications include foaming, darkening or smoking excessively, indicating the oil must be discarded. Other signs of deteriorated oil include a rancid smell and/or failure to bubble when food is added."
NOTE ABOUT PEANUT OIL: I've heard from many people who've told me that either they or their children are severely allergic to peanuts and any peanut product. It's not necessary to use peanut oil to fry the turkey; it's just what's commonly used in Louisiana because of its flavor as well as its very high smoking point; you don't want your oil catching fire. Any cooking oil that's good for deep-frying and has a high smoking point (450°F, preferably) will do -- corn oil, safflower oil, even canola oil. To learn more about cooking oils and their smoking points, see this web page on edible oils.
Special thanks to Althea Stokes for her turkey-frying tips.
First, of course, you need the equipment to cook the turkey on and in. Try a gizmo called a King Cooker for outdoor use; it heats and cooks using a propane tank and stand. Otherwise, use a large, TALL, thick stockpot, preferably 30-quart sized or larger.
- One 12-15 pound turkey
- 1-1/2 to 2 gallons peanut oil, or other oil with a high smoking point
- 4 ounces of your own favorite liquid seasoning or marinade for injection (there is no standard for this ... everybody does his or her own, as it turns out. You can buy some ready made from the Cajun Injector folks.)
- 2 cups water
- Creole seasoning, Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic, or Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning to taste
- Kosher salt
Heat the peanut oil to 350-365 degrees -- use a deep-fat frying thermometer clipped onto the side of the pot. Be VERY careful not to exceed this temperature, as the oil can begin to smoke and actually catch fire. Keep constant watch over the temperature and you'll be okay.
Using a flavor injector (available from cooking and restaurant supply stores and gourmet shops) inject your favorite marinade throughout the turkey.
Make sure the outside of the turkey is completely dry (you know what happens when water hits hot oil). Sprinkle the entire turkey generously with your favorite dry rub, Creole seasoning, Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic or Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning. Sprinkle with kosher salt (omit if using Magic or Tony's, which is salty already). Rub the skin to make sure the dry rub sticks.
When the oil hits 350 degrees slide that baby in -- gently, or you'll fry your feet if they happen to be near the oil that will splash out if you throw it in. (This was my friend Althea's mistake during her first turkey frying). The best way to get the turkey into the oil is to rig a cradle out of a couple of coat hangers.
Cook for about 3-1/2 minutes per pound for a whole turkey, approximately 52 minutes for a 15 pound turkey, only 42 mintues for a 12 pounder!. (Individual turkey parts such as breast, wings or thighs require slightly longer cooking time, 4-5 minutes per pound.) Remove the turkey from the oil carefully, and immediately wrap it with aluminum foil. LET THE TURKEY REST FOR 30 MINUTES before carving. Carry-over cooking will finish cooking the turkey outside the oil, bringing it up to the proper temperature and allowing the juices to circulate back through the meat.
Carve and serve as usual, and serve with Shrimp-Andouille Dressing, Spiced Baked Sweet Potatoes and Pears with Bourbon-Cane Syrup Glaze and some crispy haricots verts (steamed in a little stock) for a grand Creole holiday feast. And how about some pecan pie for dessert?
I've gotten many requests about how to find the Cajun Injector®, which is like a big hypodermic needle you use to inject a flavorful marinade right into your turkey before frying. Lisa Dufrene, who works with the Cajun Injector folks, was kind enough to offer this recipe from her client's website to share with Gumbo Pages readers. Chef Williams' Deep Fried Turkey,
Cajun Injector® Style
1. Remove giblets and rinse turkey with warm water. Drain cavity completely.
- 16 ounces of Cajun Injector® Marinade
- 12-14 pound turkey
- Cajun Injector® Cajun Shake seasoning
- 3-4 Gallons of cooking oil
2. Attach needle to injector by turning clockwise until snug. Do not over-tighten needle.
3. Shake marinade well. Pour needed marinade into separate container and draw into injector.
4. Inject turkey with approximately 4 ounces of marinade into breast. Inject breast at three different points on each side of breast. Insert injector at an angle completely into each breast. Push plunger down slowly while pulling injector slowly out of breast. Apply same injection technique into thigh and drumstick. Inject 2 ounces of marinade into each thigh and drumstick. Use about 16 ounces of marinade per turkey. Use about 12 ounces of marinade for a bone-in turkey breast.
5. Sprinkle outside of turkey and cavity generously with Cajun Shake® (seasoned salt) -- rub in well. Caution: Make sure all water is drained from breast cavity before deep-frying. Heat 3-4 gallons of peanut oil to 350°F.
6. Place whole turkey or turkey breast, breast side down into fry basket. When oil has reached 350°F slowly (very slowly) lower basket into oil. Use of cooking mitts is highly recommended for lowering and raising fry basket out of oil.
7. Deep-fry whole turkey at 3-1/2 minutes per pound and deep fry a bone-in turkey breast at 7-8 minutes per pound at 350°F. A breast takes longer to cook because the whole turkey has a large cavity which when filled with the oil helps the bird cook from the inside as well as the outside. (In a similar manner, if you're going to deep-fry a chicken or a Cornish game hen, the cooking time is 9 minutes per pound.)
8. When desired cooking time has been achieved raise basket out of oil. Allow excess oil to drain from basket. Remove turkey or turkey breast from basket and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes. ENJOY YOUR DELICIOUS FRIED TURKEY.
Don Drane: Southern Fried Turkey
SOUTHERN FRIED TURKEY
by Don Drane
[Note from Ye Editor: "Yum! Don Drane shares this blow-by-blow method of cooking the best dadgum turkey you'll ever put in your mouth. Print this article off. Follow the instructions. Hooo, boy!"]
________________________
If you have never participated in or watched a whole turkey being deep-fried, you are probably one of the doubters. Most people who haven't actually done it say it can't be done and that only a fool would suggest that it could be done. At least they say that until they get their first slice of the finished product between their fingers.
Whole deep-fried turkey is some of the tastiest, moistest meat you will ever eat, if the job is done correctly.There are no short cuts.The process can be relatively costly, preparation is demanding and time consuming and the timing and temperature absolutely cannot be guesswork. You can spend between $75 and $100 frying a turkey, not including your equipment.You'll be buying propane, turkey, injector liquid, minimum 5 gallons of oil, plus side dishes and cheap beer.
Even if you consider yourself accomplished in the art, you might find something of benefit here, perhaps just one useful hint that might improve your own next one. Incidentally, there is absolutely no reason to wait all year until Thanksgiving or Christmas to heat up your turkey grease. Those long, open coolers back toward the meat market, the ones you hardly ever notice, are filled with turkeys all year long.
Turkey frying should never, ever be attempted indoors. Never consider doing this in any indoor structure, nor an outdoor shed with any dollar value.
EQUIPMENT
You will need a fish-fry rig consisting at least of a sturdy iron burner assembly and a propane bottle. The ideal pot is a large stainless or aluminum pot--the type that comes with a basket insert and lid. However, the insert and lid need not be used in cooking a turkey. Never cook with the lid fully on. This can cause an explosion. The pots can be purchased at hardware stores, home & garden centers, military surplus type stores and larger sporting goods stores. Buy one that will hold at least 7 gallons of oil, capacity 26-34 quarts. Some turkey fry pots are slim and tall. These can limit the size bird you can fry. The all-in-one rigs available now will seriously limit you to a particular weight bird. And half the fun is in being able to move the turkey around while the hot oil is rolling.
You will be using between 4-6 gallons of oil and you need a minimum of 4-6 inches of pot wall above the grease to control boil over. A lifting hook is required. You can purchase one or you can make one using a strong pegboard hook. Bend the end of the 8-10 inch metal hook into a J-shape. This is the end of the hook you will use to lift the bird.
I recommend buying the 26-34 quartpot with basket-insert and lid because of its versatility. You can also use it to boil crawfish and shrimp or to simmer a huge stew for 30.
You also need at least half a roll of paper towels, your favorite 20-year-old Holiday Inn towel with the green stripe and some kind of tabletop surface to lay your stuff out on. This will be impressive. You'll look just like a surgeon with stainless steel instruments and sponges laid out on a tray.
SITE PREPARATION
Locate a level, shaded spot outside. The process will take a while, so be sure the weather will cooperate. If rain is expected, a wind is blowing or it's the dead of winter, you can cook in your garage with the door UP.
Be sure the burner is level. Avoid burners set on tall, spindly or unstable legs. The pot full of oil and turkey will be very heavy, so it's essential that you not use unstable or unleveled equipment. If the burner is unstable or can be bumped over during cooking, you can absolutely ruin your shoes, as 6 gallons of hot grease will not wash out. If you cook in a carport or garage, place newspaper or a large busted-down cardboard box under the cooker because there will be some minor bubbling over, drips and spills that will stain the concrete. If your carport has years of accumulated oil and transmission fluid stains already, you may skip this step.
DRY RUN
There is no substitute for the dry run. Some people will recommend that you fill the pot with water and put your bird inside to gauge the right amount of oil needed. If you do that, you'll have to thoroughly dry the pot and the turkey or it will result in hot, popping grease later.
Here's a better method. This is failsafe: Put your prepared bird in the empty pot and then add oil until the bird is totally submersed. Put in only enough oil to totally cover your bird plus 1/2 inch. Now lift your bird with your hook, drain the oil back into the pot from the bird's body cavity and place your bird in a large pan lined with paper towels. This is the perfect "no-guess" way to know exactly how much oil to heat. If you base your oil need on guesswork or some estimate you got from a friend and you have too much hot oil rolling at 350 degrees, and you lower a 20 pound turkey into it, what will you do to solve that problem? It's too late then to recover safely. You don't want a half-gallon of oil running over the side of the pot and into the flame. If you insist on guesswork, you should either have a nurse for a neighbor or have 911 on speed-dial.
BIRD PREPARATION
You can use a turkey weighing between 12 and 22 pounds. Store bought or road-kill birds are equally appropriate. Always remove gravel from road-kill. Thaw frozen turkeys as you normally would, about 3 days in the refrigerator. Injection of spices is not essential, but is recommended. Inject him the night before and let him sit in a plastic garbage bag in the refrigerator overnight.
You can mix your own spice injection or buy a jar with needle at the grocery. The most popular one is Cajun Injector. Experiment with all the flavor varieties. Each glass bottle of liquid spices comes with instructions and a loading syringe if you need one.You can also buy your own needle from a veterinary supply house, or where you bought your pot, and create your own liquid. Inject a needle full into each breast, same hole, at three different angles, and in each leg. Some people use a dry spice rub on the outside. That will look pretty and impressive, but I think it just dissipates into the grease as soon as the turkey is lowered.
Be sure to trim most of the fat from the neck end, which must remain open and unobstructed for the grease to boil through the entire bird. Don't cut off all the excess fat though. It will fry great and everyone will want to snap off a fried crunchy piece and try it. Be sure to remove giblet sack and neck from inside the store-bought turkey and remove head and feet from road-kill (optional in Arkansas).
If the turkey has its legs bound together with plastic, remove the plastic. Melted plastic doesn't blend well with the spices. If your turkey's legs are bound with wire, don't count on the wire binding to lift or lower the turkey. This wire will invariably slip off while you're lifting the turkey out of the hot grease. I recommend running a strong piece of wire (15-18 inches) through the entire body cavity from one end to the other and twist-looping it three times tightly against the breast. Use a strong wire much thinner than a coat hanger. Then make a 2-inch loop, at the point where you twisted the wire, for your lifting hook to grasp. Commercially sold kits include an upright rod on a round base to position the turkey on during frying. If you use one of these kits, you won't need to run the wire.
Do not even think of using tongs or forks to lower or lift the bird. If you let a 15-pound turkey slip and fall into 5 gallons of hot oil, the party is over precisely at that point! Some people say they clip off the wings before frying a turkey. This is insane. Although the wing tips do turn dark and fry quicker than any other part of the bird, there is only one thing better than a crisp fried wing, and that is a crisp fried wing with a cold beer.
FRYING
Turkeys should be fried at 325 degrees for exactly 3 1/2 minutes per pound. Recipes vary and I have gone with 350 many times and messed around with the minutes per pound part too.I find the best combination to be 325 @ 3.5 minutes per pound. If you threw away the plastic wrap the bird came in, go to the garbage and retrieve the weight/price sticker. Don't guess at the weight unless it's road-kill. Multiply the exact weight, including ounces, by 3.5 to determine the exact number of minutes to fry. Don't round numbers up or down. Get it right. Write it down and lay it on the table beside your cooker. Otherwise, 30 minutes into the frying, you'll forget your exact time.
Write down the time you plan to lower the turkey into the grease, add the exact cooking time and that's your lifting-out time. If the formula says 52.5 minutes, cook the turkey 52.5minutes, not an hour. Some recipes say cook until golden brown. That ain't right! It'll be golden brown long before the meat is done at the bone. Always use a deep fry grease thermometer. Try to purchase one with shaft about 10 inches long with a clip to snap onto the side of your pot. Don't use one with any plastic cap or clip on it. You want to bring your grease up to 340-350, not a degree higher. Your turkey is much cooler than the grease and it'll reduce the temperature to the desired 325. Regulate the temperature very closely to stay right on 325 the entire time. Letting your temperature rise and fall uncontrolled for more than one minute throws your entire cooking time off.
Lowering the turkey into the grease requires patience and safety. Never do it with bare arms. Wear an old long sleeve shirt plus a cooking mitt. The mitt is absolutely never optional. The grease will always pop when you lower the turkey. This is why you're out in the back yard. Lowering the turkey will take somewhere between 15 to 20 seconds. Take it as slow as the popping requires. Rushing to lower the bird will increase boil over and popping grease.
Feel free, if you can't resist, to shift the turkey around using your J-hook and the wire circle you formed when you ran the wire through the bird and looped it. Part of the art is being able to twist and roll and reposition the bird while cooking. The turkey will come to rest at a stable floating spot and won't require any attention until time to lift it out. This will impress all the guys standing around in loafers sipping Southern Comfort. All the while you're cooking, they'll be thinking, "Man, I can do this. And I've got some shortcuts figured out."
Give them a copy of this before they leave your house. And remind them that there are no shortcuts.
Ding! When the bell goes off, it's time to get your sleeve and mitt back on. Turn off the propane bottle. Lift the turkey with your J-hook hooked into the wire ring. Raise the turkey above the grease and stop right there. With the turkey just above the grease, use a long fork in the other hand to tilt him so the hot oil will run out of the body cavity back into the pot.
Now, lower the turkey into your large pan or cookie sheet that you have lined with paper towels. Use wire pliers to clip the wire, slide it out of the bird and discard it. Move to the kitchen or picnic table. You may think the turkey is burned or overcooked; however, it absolutely is not if you followed the instructions. It will be unbelievably crisp and moist, with all the juices sealed inside. No grease isinside the turkey. You're about to become a very popular man.
Carve the turkey as usual. He's still very hot. Break off a crisp piece of skin or wing and fight over it, savor it and see if you can keep from breaking off another piece. Right about this point is when you say, "I will never eat another baked turkey!" And the naysayer will say, "I don't know if I want any of that or not." Yeah, right.
Notes: Try frying a whole chicken first and pulling it off the bone for snacks while your turkey is cooking. The chicken will fry the same way and is out of this world if you inject it. Chicken requires an adjustment to the cooking time. It must be fried for 9 minutes per pound instead of 3.5 minutes. Also, you can flour, salt and pepper livers and fry them at the same time the chicken or turkey is frying, using a wire-ladle or fry-basket to remove them.
It is absolutely essential that you not try to find shortcuts. If you want an overcooked or undercooked turkey or a fire or sloshing grease or a burned forearm, use all the shortcuts you want. If that's your plan, go ahead and invite the nurse over early. Otherwise, go with the instructions.
Some people insist on peanut oil or canola oil. Neither is mandatory or better for that matter. Any good quality vegetable oil will do. If your friends are impressed with peanut oil, you might want to buy peanut oil initially in a 5 pound jug, use it the first time, and then, after you've fried 2 or 3 times in the peanut oil, use cheap oil and pour it up in the peanut oil bottle so your friends will think you cook with peanut oil. I just use cheap oil.
It is not necessary to remove the cooled-down oil from the cook pot. You can store it right in the covered pot and use it for 6 months, not to exceed 4 turkeys. The grease will not have food particles or other impurities in it and it'll be fine left right in the securely covered pot. Optionally, you can pour up the grease strained through a cheesecloth or filter, but then you'll have to thoroughly clean out the pot each time.
LEFTOVERS (IF ANY)
You remember that leftover baked (dry) turkey that sits in the refrigerator for days unless you absolutely force the kids to eat a turkey sandwich? Those days are gone! If you have any fried turkey slices left over, you'll be returning to the refrigerator off and on all afternoon long, relishing the moist, flavorful meat and crispness.
Soup: If you're really into it, you can now boil down the turkey carcass, wings and chipped leftovers in a large soup pot. Add everything to a large soup pot, add about 2 quarts of water, cook this all down for about 20 minutes on a slow boil, then turn off heat and set aside to cool for 30 minutes. When cool, discard all bones and skin. Freeze in a large container with water/brine.
Then, a couple of months later, when you're ready for turkey-vegetable soup: thaw, add one 16-oz package frozen vegetables, two cans of small potatoes, half a cup of chopped onions, two cloves fresh knife-flattened garlic, one cup diced celery and simmer for 30-45 minutes, covered. Everything is already cooked. Great soup.
Like with anything else worth doing right, the preparation and cleanup take more time than consuming the delicacy you've produced.
The best way to lose points with your wife is to leave your 10-inch thermometer, the J-hook, the fried liver dipper-basket, your pan or cookie sheet, your long meat-fork and the injection syringe lying beside the sink for her to wash. Wash them yourself, dry 'em off and store in a large cloth sack hanging on a nail in the garage. Next time you don't have to hunt for them.
If you have comments, positive or negative, after you try my suggestions, let me know at 106 Aspen Drive, Madison, MS 39110, or email me at msudrd@aol.com
Good luck. Enjoy!
________________________________
Dear Don,
I tried your recipe for deep frying turkey. I am in San Jose, Costa Rica, and everybody here--locals and gringos--were telling me that it could not be done. After a week of trying to find all the stuff I needed "kind of quick for Costa Rica time," I went to work. I had a 12 pound turkey and I had the oil at 345' when I put the turkey in; brought the heat down to 275 and it stayed there and would not go up. I was not going to take it out, so I gave it 20 more minutes at that temperature. I was not able to follow your recommended 3.5 per lbs at 325, but it was out of this world. Thank you so much for having that recipe over the internet.--M. Hernandez
_________________
QUESTION: from Bob in Dallas
Great site. I just fried my first turkey, it was great. A question about oil storage -- my family insists it cannot be safe to store the oil unrefrigerated after it has been used to fry a turkey. How did you reach the conclusion that storing the oil in the pot, unrefrigerated, is safe? Thanks.
CHEF DON'S ANSWER:
Re: Shelving used oil. You might want to check with your county extension service if your state has one. In MS, the Extension Service is connected with Miss State University. Their advice is that it is perfectly safe to store used oil or grease once used and to reuse it. The cautions they issue are:
* It should not be stored in open containers (duhh).
* It should not be stored at temperatures above 80 degrees.
* It should be discarded after 3 months storage.
* It is recommended that it be reused no more than 5 times.
Do you think fish houses, McDonalds and other restaurants throw out oil after each use? Did your grandmomma not pour up grease after she fried chicken and reuse it at least twice more? Commercial restaurant supply houses sell special filters to remove meal from used grease so the meal won't burn the next time the grease is used? In the South, nobody would marry a girl who insisted on throwing out the grease each time she fried minute steaks or chicken-fried steak.
Now, if the oil had stuff like flour and meal and such in it, I would not think of retaining it. My grease, once used and poured through a filter screen, appears unused and I always (for at least 17 years now), have used it at least 3 more times before discarding it. Of course, most of my turkey frying activity is November through January so the temp is obviously in a great range for storage. If it would make one feel safer, I would recommend pouring it up through a strainer, back into the gallon jugs and placing it in the refrigerator in the garage purchased especially for beer.
I wash out ziplock bags in hot water and reuse them too.
by Don Drane
[Note from Ye Editor: "Yum! Don Drane shares this blow-by-blow method of cooking the best dadgum turkey you'll ever put in your mouth. Print this article off. Follow the instructions. Hooo, boy!"]If you have never participated in or watched a whole turkey being deep-fried, you are probably one of the doubters. Most people who haven't actually done it say it can't be done and that only a fool would suggest that it could be done. At least they say that until they get their first slice of the finished product between their fingers.
Whole deep-fried turkey is some of the tastiest, moistest meat you will ever eat, if the job is done correctly.There are no short cuts.The process can be relatively costly, preparation is demanding and time consuming and the timing and temperature absolutely cannot be guesswork. You can spend between $75 and $100 frying a turkey, not including your equipment.You'll be buying propane, turkey, injector liquid, minimum 5 gallons of oil, plus side dishes and cheap beer.
Even if you consider yourself accomplished in the art, you might find something of benefit here, perhaps just one useful hint that might improve your own next one. Incidentally, there is absolutely no reason to wait all year until Thanksgiving or Christmas to heat up your turkey grease. Those long, open coolers back toward the meat market, the ones you hardly ever notice, are filled with turkeys all year long.
Turkey frying should never, ever be attempted indoors. Never consider doing this in any indoor structure, nor an outdoor shed with any dollar value.
You will need a fish-fry rig consisting at least of a sturdy iron burner assembly and a propane bottle. The ideal pot is a large stainless or aluminum pot--the type that comes with a basket insert and lid. However, the insert and lid need not be used in cooking a turkey. Never cook with the lid fully on. This can cause an explosion. The pots can be purchased at hardware stores, home & garden centers, military surplus type stores and larger sporting goods stores. Buy one that will hold at least 7 gallons of oil, capacity 26-34 quarts. Some turkey fry pots are slim and tall. These can limit the size bird you can fry. The all-in-one rigs available now will seriously limit you to a particular weight bird. And half the fun is in being able to move the turkey around while the hot oil is rolling.
You will be using between 4-6 gallons of oil and you need a minimum of 4-6 inches of pot wall above the grease to control boil over. A lifting hook is required. You can purchase one or you can make one using a strong pegboard hook. Bend the end of the 8-10 inch metal hook into a J-shape. This is the end of the hook you will use to lift the bird.I recommend buying the 26-34 quartpot with basket-insert and lid because of its versatility. You can also use it to boil crawfish and shrimp or to simmer a huge stew for 30.
You also need at least half a roll of paper towels, your favorite 20-year-old Holiday Inn towel with the green stripe and some kind of tabletop surface to lay your stuff out on. This will be impressive. You'll look just like a surgeon with stainless steel instruments and sponges laid out on a tray.
Locate a level, shaded spot outside. The process will take a while, so be sure the weather will cooperate. If rain is expected, a wind is blowing or it's the dead of winter, you can cook in your garage with the door UP.
Be sure the burner is level. Avoid burners set on tall, spindly or unstable legs. The pot full of oil and turkey will be very heavy, so it's essential that you not use unstable or unleveled equipment. If the burner is unstable or can be bumped over during cooking, you can absolutely ruin your shoes, as 6 gallons of hot grease will not wash out. If you cook in a carport or garage, place newspaper or a large busted-down cardboard box under the cooker because there will be some minor bubbling over, drips and spills that will stain the concrete. If your carport has years of accumulated oil and transmission fluid stains already, you may skip this step.
There is no substitute for the dry run. Some people will recommend that you fill the pot with water and put your bird inside to gauge the right amount of oil needed. If you do that, you'll have to thoroughly dry the pot and the turkey or it will result in hot, popping grease later.Here's a better method. This is failsafe: Put your prepared bird in the empty pot and then add oil until the bird is totally submersed. Put in only enough oil to totally cover your bird plus 1/2 inch. Now lift your bird with your hook, drain the oil back into the pot from the bird's body cavity and place your bird in a large pan lined with paper towels. This is the perfect "no-guess" way to know exactly how much oil to heat. If you base your oil need on guesswork or some estimate you got from a friend and you have too much hot oil rolling at 350 degrees, and you lower a 20 pound turkey into it, what will you do to solve that problem? It's too late then to recover safely. You don't want a half-gallon of oil running over the side of the pot and into the flame. If you insist on guesswork, you should either have a nurse for a neighbor or have 911 on speed-dial.
You can use a turkey weighing between 12 and 22 pounds. Store bought or road-kill birds are equally appropriate. Always remove gravel from road-kill. Thaw frozen turkeys as you normally would, about 3 days in the refrigerator. Injection of spices is not essential, but is recommended. Inject him the night before and let him sit in a plastic garbage bag in the refrigerator overnight.
You can mix your own spice injection or buy a jar with needle at the grocery. The most popular one is Cajun Injector. Experiment with all the flavor varieties. Each glass bottle of liquid spices comes with instructions and a loading syringe if you need one.You can also buy your own needle from a veterinary supply house, or where you bought your pot, and create your own liquid. Inject a needle full into each breast, same hole, at three different angles, and in each leg. Some people use a dry spice rub on the outside. That will look pretty and impressive, but I think it just dissipates into the grease as soon as the turkey is lowered.
Be sure to trim most of the fat from the neck end, which must remain open and unobstructed for the grease to boil through the entire bird. Don't cut off all the excess fat though. It will fry great and everyone will want to snap off a fried crunchy piece and try it. Be sure to remove giblet sack and neck from inside the store-bought turkey and remove head and feet from road-kill (optional in Arkansas).
If the turkey has its legs bound together with plastic, remove the plastic. Melted plastic doesn't blend well with the spices. If your turkey's legs are bound with wire, don't count on the wire binding to lift or lower the turkey. This wire will invariably slip off while you're lifting the turkey out of the hot grease. I recommend running a strong piece of wire (15-18 inches) through the entire body cavity from one end to the other and twist-looping it three times tightly against the breast. Use a strong wire much thinner than a coat hanger. Then make a 2-inch loop, at the point where you twisted the wire, for your lifting hook to grasp. Commercially sold kits include an upright rod on a round base to position the turkey on during frying. If you use one of these kits, you won't need to run the wire.
Do not even think of using tongs or forks to lower or lift the bird. If you let a 15-pound turkey slip and fall into 5 gallons of hot oil, the party is over precisely at that point! Some people say they clip off the wings before frying a turkey. This is insane. Although the wing tips do turn dark and fry quicker than any other part of the bird, there is only one thing better than a crisp fried wing, and that is a crisp fried wing with a cold beer.
Turkeys should be fried at 325 degrees for exactly 3 1/2 minutes per pound. Recipes vary and I have gone with 350 many times and messed around with the minutes per pound part too.I find the best combination to be 325 @ 3.5 minutes per pound. If you threw away the plastic wrap the bird came in, go to the garbage and retrieve the weight/price sticker. Don't guess at the weight unless it's road-kill. Multiply the exact weight, including ounces, by 3.5 to determine the exact number of minutes to fry. Don't round numbers up or down. Get it right. Write it down and lay it on the table beside your cooker. Otherwise, 30 minutes into the frying, you'll forget your exact time.
Write down the time you plan to lower the turkey into the grease, add the exact cooking time and that's your lifting-out time. If the formula says 52.5 minutes, cook the turkey 52.5minutes, not an hour. Some recipes say cook until golden brown. That ain't right! It'll be golden brown long before the meat is done at the bone. Always use a deep fry grease thermometer. Try to purchase one with shaft about 10 inches long with a clip to snap onto the side of your pot. Don't use one with any plastic cap or clip on it. You want to bring your grease up to 340-350, not a degree higher. Your turkey is much cooler than the grease and it'll reduce the temperature to the desired 325. Regulate the temperature very closely to stay right on 325 the entire time. Letting your temperature rise and fall uncontrolled for more than one minute throws your entire cooking time off.Lowering the turkey into the grease requires patience and safety. Never do it with bare arms. Wear an old long sleeve shirt plus a cooking mitt. The mitt is absolutely never optional. The grease will always pop when you lower the turkey. This is why you're out in the back yard. Lowering the turkey will take somewhere between 15 to 20 seconds. Take it as slow as the popping requires. Rushing to lower the bird will increase boil over and popping grease.
Feel free, if you can't resist, to shift the turkey around using your J-hook and the wire circle you formed when you ran the wire through the bird and looped it. Part of the art is being able to twist and roll and reposition the bird while cooking. The turkey will come to rest at a stable floating spot and won't require any attention until time to lift it out. This will impress all the guys standing around in loafers sipping Southern Comfort. All the while you're cooking, they'll be thinking, "Man, I can do this. And I've got some shortcuts figured out."
Give them a copy of this before they leave your house. And remind them that there are no shortcuts.
Ding! When the bell goes off, it's time to get your sleeve and mitt back on. Turn off the propane bottle. Lift the turkey with your J-hook hooked into the wire ring. Raise the turkey above the grease and stop right there. With the turkey just above the grease, use a long fork in the other hand to tilt him so the hot oil will run out of the body cavity back into the pot.
Now, lower the turkey into your large pan or cookie sheet that you have lined with paper towels. Use wire pliers to clip the wire, slide it out of the bird and discard it. Move to the kitchen or picnic table. You may think the turkey is burned or overcooked; however, it absolutely is not if you followed the instructions. It will be unbelievably crisp and moist, with all the juices sealed inside. No grease isinside the turkey. You're about to become a very popular man.
Carve the turkey as usual. He's still very hot. Break off a crisp piece of skin or wing and fight over it, savor it and see if you can keep from breaking off another piece. Right about this point is when you say, "I will never eat another baked turkey!" And the naysayer will say, "I don't know if I want any of that or not." Yeah, right.
Notes: Try frying a whole chicken first and pulling it off the bone for snacks while your turkey is cooking. The chicken will fry the same way and is out of this world if you inject it. Chicken requires an adjustment to the cooking time. It must be fried for 9 minutes per pound instead of 3.5 minutes. Also, you can flour, salt and pepper livers and fry them at the same time the chicken or turkey is frying, using a wire-ladle or fry-basket to remove them.
It is absolutely essential that you not try to find shortcuts. If you want an overcooked or undercooked turkey or a fire or sloshing grease or a burned forearm, use all the shortcuts you want. If that's your plan, go ahead and invite the nurse over early. Otherwise, go with the instructions.
Some people insist on peanut oil or canola oil. Neither is mandatory or better for that matter. Any good quality vegetable oil will do. If your friends are impressed with peanut oil, you might want to buy peanut oil initially in a 5 pound jug, use it the first time, and then, after you've fried 2 or 3 times in the peanut oil, use cheap oil and pour it up in the peanut oil bottle so your friends will think you cook with peanut oil. I just use cheap oil.
It is not necessary to remove the cooled-down oil from the cook pot. You can store it right in the covered pot and use it for 6 months, not to exceed 4 turkeys. The grease will not have food particles or other impurities in it and it'll be fine left right in the securely covered pot. Optionally, you can pour up the grease strained through a cheesecloth or filter, but then you'll have to thoroughly clean out the pot each time.
You remember that leftover baked (dry) turkey that sits in the refrigerator for days unless you absolutely force the kids to eat a turkey sandwich? Those days are gone! If you have any fried turkey slices left over, you'll be returning to the refrigerator off and on all afternoon long, relishing the moist, flavorful meat and crispness.
Soup: If you're really into it, you can now boil down the turkey carcass, wings and chipped leftovers in a large soup pot. Add everything to a large soup pot, add about 2 quarts of water, cook this all down for about 20 minutes on a slow boil, then turn off heat and set aside to cool for 30 minutes. When cool, discard all bones and skin. Freeze in a large container with water/brine.Then, a couple of months later, when you're ready for turkey-vegetable soup: thaw, add one 16-oz package frozen vegetables, two cans of small potatoes, half a cup of chopped onions, two cloves fresh knife-flattened garlic, one cup diced celery and simmer for 30-45 minutes, covered. Everything is already cooked. Great soup.
Like with anything else worth doing right, the preparation and cleanup take more time than consuming the delicacy you've produced.
The best way to lose points with your wife is to leave your 10-inch thermometer, the J-hook, the fried liver dipper-basket, your pan or cookie sheet, your long meat-fork and the injection syringe lying beside the sink for her to wash. Wash them yourself, dry 'em off and store in a large cloth sack hanging on a nail in the garage. Next time you don't have to hunt for them.
If you have comments, positive or negative, after you try my suggestions, let me know at 106 Aspen Drive, Madison, MS 39110, or email me at msudrd@aol.com
Good luck. Enjoy!
Dear Don,
I tried your recipe for deep frying turkey. I am in San Jose, Costa Rica, and everybody here--locals and gringos--were telling me that it could not be done. After a week of trying to find all the stuff I needed "kind of quick for Costa Rica time," I went to work. I had a 12 pound turkey and I had the oil at 345' when I put the turkey in; brought the heat down to 275 and it stayed there and would not go up. I was not going to take it out, so I gave it 20 more minutes at that temperature. I was not able to follow your recommended 3.5 per lbs at 325, but it was out of this world. Thank you so much for having that recipe over the internet.--M. Hernandez
_________________
QUESTION: from Bob in Dallas
Great site. I just fried my first turkey, it was great. A question about oil storage -- my family insists it cannot be safe to store the oil unrefrigerated after it has been used to fry a turkey. How did you reach the conclusion that storing the oil in the pot, unrefrigerated, is safe? Thanks.
CHEF DON'S ANSWER:
Re: Shelving used oil. You might want to check with your county extension service if your state has one. In MS, the Extension Service is connected with Miss State University. Their advice is that it is perfectly safe to store used oil or grease once used and to reuse it. The cautions they issue are:
* It should not be stored in open containers (duhh).
* It should not be stored at temperatures above 80 degrees.
* It should be discarded after 3 months storage.
* It is recommended that it be reused no more than 5 times.
Do you think fish houses, McDonalds and other restaurants throw out oil after each use? Did your grandmomma not pour up grease after she fried chicken and reuse it at least twice more? Commercial restaurant supply houses sell special filters to remove meal from used grease so the meal won't burn the next time the grease is used? In the South, nobody would marry a girl who insisted on throwing out the grease each time she fried minute steaks or chicken-fried steak.
Now, if the oil had stuff like flour and meal and such in it, I would not think of retaining it. My grease, once used and poured through a filter screen, appears unused and I always (for at least 17 years now), have used it at least 3 more times before discarding it. Of course, most of my turkey frying activity is November through January so the temp is obviously in a great range for storage. If it would make one feel safer, I would recommend pouring it up through a strainer, back into the gallon jugs and placing it in the refrigerator in the garage purchased especially for beer.
I wash out ziplock bags in hot water and reuse them too.
Derek's Riches
Deep Fried Turkey
Probably the best turkey you’ll ever eat.
In recent years the popularity of Cajun Deep Fried Turkey has grown considerably. However, most people face a big problem trying to do this on their stove. Namely it makes a terrible mess and it's rather dangerous to do in an enclosed space. The answer is to take it outdoors. Now be warned, this can be a expensive operation, but well worth it. For those of you who don't know what a deep fried turkey is like, let me give you the basics of the process.
How to Deep Fry a Turkey:
Step One: Get a turkey, a very large cooking pot and some cooking oil. You can use vegetable oil, but it's better if you use peanut oil. However peanut oil is very expensive and you are going to need several gallons of it.
Step Two: Prepare the turkey. It needs to be defrosted and washed and make sure there are no pop up tender timer devices or anything left inside.
You will also need to truss the turkey, meaning you need to secure the legs, neck flap, wings and Pope's nose to the body of the turkey.
Step Three: To determine the perfect amount of oil you are going to be using, place the turkey in the pot and add water until the turkey is completely covered plus an inch or two. With the turkey and the water there should still be several inches of room between the oil and the top of the pot. If it's a close call, then you need either a bigger pot or a smaller turkey. Remove the turkey and measure the water. This is the amount of oil you will need.
Step Four: Dry and season the turkey. Various recipes will call for seasoning rubs or injection mixtures. You'll find out more on this in the recipes listed on the right.
Step Five Make sure that your frying pot is completely dry. Water left behind can cause some serious problems once you add the oil and start heating it up.
Step Six: Add the oil to the pot and bring it to a temperature of about 400 degrees. You should really get a good thermometer so you can get the temperatures right.
Step Seven: This is where it gets tricky. The turkey needs to be room temperature and dry. Turn off the burner when you put the turkey in. You are going to lower the turkey into the pot of very hot oil. The oil is going to splatter. You need some very good cooking gloves and a way to put the turkey in the oil while you are a safe distance. This is the reason why it's really not that good of an idea to do it on your stovetop. There are now devices to help you like Doc Miller's Turkey Hook for $39.95 that give you a good hold on the turkey. Now I have heard of people using a wire basket on the turkey and a wooden board to do this. A bit of inventing and I'm sure you'll find a way. Anyway, slowly lower the turkey into the oil.
A good method here is dunking. When you lower the turkey into the oil it will boil up. This is why you want the burner off when you do it. People have been burned by hot oil hitting the burner. You might not need to do more than a single dunk but you should be prepared to raise the bird out of the oil it it starts boiling up. You can greatly reduce the mess and risk of personal injury by lifting the bird up as the oil boils around it. A couple of dunks and the turkey should be nicely settled in.
Step Eight: Once the bird is safely resting in the oil, turn the burner back on to get to a temperature of 350 degrees. At this point you can go take a breather. But don't wander too far because that turkey will be done soon. A deep fried turkey cooks at a rate of about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes per pound. A ten pound turkey should take 30-35 minutes. An instant read thermometer can help you test for doneness, but of course you will need to lift the turkey out to test it.
Step Nine: Remove the turkey from the oil when it's done. Do this slowly and after you have turned off the burner. Let the turkey drain a little bit and you're set to go.
Step Ten: Carve and enjoy. If you have never had a turkey cooked this way then you have not finished your life requirements. Do this and you may never put a turkey in the oven again. Despite what you might think this turkey is not oily or greasy. It's crisp, juicy and delicious.
Of course I know that if you put your mind to it you can come up with a good cooker arrangement. But there are a couple of things this cooker needs: a good stock pot, a controllable heat source and a way to safely get the turkey in the oil and out again.
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Brian's Belly: Deep-fried Turkey
Still the best guide on the net!
Deep Fried Turkey
by Belly Buddy David Lauterbach
How many times have you sliced into a tasteless, bone-dry turkey on Thanksgiving wishing your fowl had not run afoul in the oven? This year, try frying your bird instead.
Why fry? There is no other way I can think of to cook that will give you a moist, delicious turkey in such a short period of time. The skin will be crispy and the meat will be juicy and--depending on how you marinade it--spicy.Deep frying a turkey is not a horribly difficult thing to do, but it requires some preparation and effort to do it right, especially the first time.
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| The author with the bird of choice for today. |
There are plenty of variations from this recipe that can be done, and if you know what you're doing then by all means go ahead and variate. But if you've never done this before then pay attention, I'd hate to hear that you had deep fried arm for dinner.
A word of caution right from the start- this whole process must be done outside. Keep in mind that you will be working with bubbling, spitting oil heated to
Don't just take our word for it:
Consumer Reports has issued a caution on turkey fryers stating that Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has refused to certify any turkey fryer as safe! UL said all of six cookers examined could overheat oil to the point of combustion and goes on to use words like "scalding," "flames." "engulfed" and "fire." Don't say we didn't warn you to do this outside. For more info, check out Consumer Reports.
Aside from the regular ingredient list, first time fryer's are going to need the right utensils. Only a few years ago, I would have told you to start with a big pot and a wire hangar and scrounge up the rest of what you'll be needing. But today there are quite a few companies that make all-in-one kits. A basic kit includes a large pot, turkey stand, lift hook & fry thermometer. Spend a little more and get one that includes an injector and a burner if you don't already own one. The addition of a smaller fry pot and a basket will turn that one-hit kit into a frying multitasker. Make sure the pot is at least a 26qt- you can get a 30qt. or more, but consider this...you'll have more room to breathe, but if you're going to only be cooking 10 pound birds, that larger pot will just waste oil.
Eastman Outdoors is one of the companies that we highly recommend and they are readily available through the Brian's Belly Eastman/Amazon store (extensively).Eastman makes many kits with aluminum and stainless steel pots. If you are one of those people that likes shiny new toys, go for the stainless steel 30-quart professional kit. If stainless is a little too costly, try one of Eastman's aluminum combos.
Then there is Bayou Classic who makes a several size kits- a 28qt., a 30qt. and a 34qt. aluminum pot kit- the burner can be cranked up to 185,000 BTU’s. It has a 14" wide welded steel frame (that is quite rugged) and a turkey stand & hook. The only thing we don't like about this kit is the plastic injector. The Bayou Classic brand is sold nationally at Home Depot and can be found for as low as $69- conveniently, Home Depot also sells peanut oil for around $19 for 2.3 gallons.
Chef William's (of QVC fame) may or may not still sell kits, but it's just as well. The original fryer we had for review was poorly made and used a basket to fry the turkey instead of a stand. But his Cajun Injector is still available, and is still the best injector you can buy.
Other brands we don't know too much about are King Kooker which we've seen at Dick's Sporting Goods & Sam's Club and Morrone which we've seen at Lowe's.
Overall, our recommendation would be the Eastman or Bayou Classic brands for a kit and then stop by Chef Williams site to pick up a gift marinade pack (that comes with an injector).
As we mentioned in eye-catching italics above, at this time NO turkey fry kits are UL listed, however Eastman now has a burner that is CSA-approved... Canadians rejoice!
Before creating an actual ingredient list, let me tell you a bit about why you're going to need the things on the list.
A 15 pound turkey is about the maximum size bird you want to cook like this. Aside from being unwieldy, larger birds need to cook much longer. Your Birdzilla would take over an hour and most likely the skin would be overcooked.
An injector is used to infuse the bird with liquid seasoning. When the oil sears the skin of the turkey on contact, the natural juices and the marinade are sealed in- meanwhile, the oil is sealed out. I'll explain how to do this later on when we inject the bird. The dry seasoning is used as a dry rub on the skin of the turkey (and inside if you'd like). I love Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning (the one in the green shaker) so that's what we're going to use. If you don't have this, or want to substitute your own favorite brand, go right ahead. Belly Buddy Scott Stout uses nothing but Zatarain's and insists on adding bourbon to the marinade.
The oil you use is up to you but most prefer peanut oil for this type of cooking. It is healthier, tastes great and has a very high flash point- meaning that it is the least likely to smoke or flame up and start a fire. It's also the "cajun" way to do this.
You should also have meat and fry thermometers on hand.
(continued below)
So to recap, here's what you're going to need:
- One 10-15 pound turkey
- 4-5 gallons of peanut oil
- 8-16 ounces of liquid seasoning (marinade)
- Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
- 26 quart (at least) pot
- Burner & propane tank
- Oil thermometer
- Meat thermometer
- Turkey stand
- Lengthy hook
- Oven mitts, or the considerably more manly asbestos gloves
The marinade is up to you- you can season to taste. If you have a favorite that you have used with fowl, or you like to create your own, then give it a try. I've frequently used Tabasco® brand Garlic Marinade (it's been my personal experience that if it says Tabasco® on the bottle that I will like it). If you have a favorite, let us know about it and we'll post it here. Dick's Sporting Goods is a good place to find Eastman as well as Tony Chachere's injectable marinades (their garlic and butter marinade is very popular, and very traditional).
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| This wild turkey was shot and prepared by Uncle Belly Buddy Ken Lauterbach. |
Prep the turkey. Make sure that the bird is completely defrosted. Remove the junk from the cavity of the bird and any plastic pop-up device- it won't work here. Load the injector with your marinade. Carefully lift the skin from the meat and insert the needle into the meat rather than puncturing the skin. This keeps the marinade and natural juices from leaking from the turkey when you fry it. Do this in several locations, including the breast, thigh and drumstick. Inject the breast in several different directions in several different locations. The more you use, the more flavorful the meat will be.
Try to do this the night before you plan on cooking the bird. This way it has several hours to marinate. The injection process definitely shortens the amount of time needed, so if you can't do it the night before then a few hours before will have to do.
Using the dry seasoning, rub the bird all over. I hope this doesn't turn you on. Rubbing and massaging the bird will help the marinade to mingle with the meat.
When you are ready to get cooking, put the oil into the pot and fire up the burner. It will take you somewhere around 20 minutes to get the oil to
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| If you don't monitor this simple to understand gauge, the temperature can easily reach over |
Make sure that the bird is dry. Water and oil do not mix very well- this would be pretty obvious if you threw an ice cube in the pot, but don't do that. Instead, towel off the bird if you have to. Hold it up and make sure no water is in the chest cavity.
Place the bird on the turkey stand drumsticks up and head down (well, if he still had a head) and pull his arms back behind his shoulders if possible. When the oil has reached 
The oil temperature will drop because you are putting a cold--or preferably room temperature--bird into the pot. There are all kinds of scientific thermal transfer issues going on here that only Alton Brown could understand, but all we need to know is that something hot plus something cold equals something warm. Raise the burner a bit to get the temperature back up but don't put the lid on in an attempt to speed this up- the oil will get way too hot. As mentioned earlier, a dangerous situation can occur when the oil gets too hot... The cooking time varies and depends on the size of the bird. Since this is Brian's Belly, we'll put it in a table for you. This is assuming
| Temperature | ||
| Weight | Minutes Per Pound | Total Time |
| 10 pounds | 3 | 30 minutes |
| 11 pounds | 3 | 33 minutes |
| 12 pounds | 3 | 36 minutes |
| 13 pounds | 3 1/2 | 45:30 minutes |
| 14 pounds | 3 1/2 | 49 minutes |
| 15 pounds | 3 1/2 | 52:30 minutes |
As we then say in all of our Brian's Belly recipes... now would be a good time to grab a beer.
When time is up, don your mitts and using the hook, carefully lift the bird from the pot. Holding it over the oil, let it drip a while. Insert the meat thermometer into the breast. The temperature should be around 165° fahrenheit. If it's not, you may have to put it back it for a few more minutes- do not remove it too early or eat it undercooked.Place it on a cutting board and cover it with aluminum foil for 20 minutes or so. The bird will continue to cook, even while sitting on your kitchen counter and will reach the optimal 170° that is recommended by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
Since you are done frying, turn the burner off and remove the pot from the fry stand to a firm, level, heat-resilient surface out of harms way--five gallons of 350° oil can be deadly to dogs, small children and even careless (read: drunk) adults.
When you're ready, carve it up (watch for squirting juices) and serve it up (watch for smiling faces).
When all is done, there is no reason to dump those five gallons (and about $40) worth of oil right back into the environment. Peanut oil is a high quality oil that can withstand several fry cycles. After the oil has cooled and the junk has settled (perhaps overnight) you can filter the oil and pump it back into the plastic container it came in. Stored in a cool, dry place, peanut oil should not spoil and will remain useable for six months. If you "smoked" the oil by accident, you'll have to toss it. We feel obliged to tell you to check with your local regulations on proper disposal, but most of the time oil must be accepted at your neighborhood auto-mechanic shop.
I hope after you try your turkey this way, you will never go back to the oven. Bird appétit.
Get ready to practice shooting gobblers and jakes for turkey hunting season. Check out Turkey Shoot. Remember... aim for the head!
Belly Buddy Scott Stout came through for us with a recipe for Hush Puppies that will go great with your Deep Fried Turkey.
And Belly Buddy Fatty Matty has sent us the mix for a proper Turkey Rub for your bird.
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