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.