Who Here Has attempted to Deep-Fry a Turkey ?

[Joshua_me]

And how did it turn out ?

Details, please.....

 

[OKW Lover]

I've done this a couple of times. Its very, very good!

My wife is from Cajun country and I was first exposed to fried turkey when we were dating. I learned how to do it from her Dad and brother. When we got married and she moved up here to MA, we bought the equipment so we can cook one ourselves.

As look as you are careful not to over-cook it (true for just about anything) it really is tasty! You do need to keep an eye on the temperature of the oil. When you first put the bird in, it cools off some so you have to apply more heat. But if you aren't careful you'll overshoot and it will be too hot.

Some of the flavor comes from the marinade that you inject into the bird and some from the peanut oil. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

 

[linnell]

Truth be told, I was not the one to cook it, I was just one of the lucky ones to enjoy it. Best turkey I ever had - no question. I think "the men" in the backyard had a great time cooking it too. It was one of the more festive Thanksgivings that I can remember.

 

[Cherinva]

I've never done it, but I have heard from a number of people that it's very good. I'm just afraid of fire, so it's not an option for me. Should you decide to do it, please post here and let us know how it turned out.

 

[jcb]

And there there is too much festivity: http://youtu.be/hXESqkUf2IU

The music to this (1812 Overture) makes this video.

 

[kaligal]

Thanksgiving is too cold to be screwing around outside trying to deep fry a bird.

But I wish you all the luck in the world.

I've heard they're good!

 

[medicjch]

I just want to put a safety message out there. Please account for the bird being in the oil, an easy way to do this is to put the bird in the pot and add water to your cooking level. Then take the bird out and note the water level. That is how much oil you should put in. Too many times people fill the pot with oil and then add the bird, when the bird is added the oil can overflow the pot and then come into contact with the burner. Oil--->Direct Flame = BAD! Some folks have injured themselves and/or burned down their houses.

Now with my safety message over........this is an AWESOME way to cook a Turkey!!!

 

[WebmasterMike]

I believe Popeye's will fry your Turkey for you with their Cajun seasoning at a cost that is similar to what you spend in Peanut Oil. Check with your local Popeye's Fried Chicken.

I do not fry my Turkey, but I normally use a Turkey Dutch Oven and It yields the same delicious bird using the same Propane burner without the Danger.

 

[BriarRosie]

I just want to put a safety message out there. Please account for the bird being in the oil, an easy way to do this is to put the bird in the pot and add water to your cooking level. Then take the bird out and note the water level. That is how much oil you should put in. Too many times people fill the pot with oil and then add the bird, when the bird is added the oil can overflow the pot and then come into contact with the burner. Oil--->Direct Flame = BAD! Some folks have injured themselves and/or burned down their houses.

Now with my safety message over........this is an AWESOME way to cook a Turkey!!!

Of course, you should add to the safety message:

Don't deep fry a frozen turkey. And make sure it's completely dry before frying. Moisture + hot oil = Bad Things Happen.

I'm pretty sure I got that message from Alton Brown's deep fried turkey episode. He rigged an A-frame ladder with a rope and pulley system for safety. It was wild to watch and something I wouldn't have the time nor patience to do. I'm perfectly happy roasting it in the oven.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

One of my sisters does it. She does it outside away from her house. In the MN cold. I think she's insane.

I've never gotten to taste it but she says it's really good.

 

[brownielq]

They key is to pat it down dry as much as you possibly can and lower it in to the oil SLOWLY. We did ours last year for the first time and Kevin literally took a good 5 minutes lowering it down. Like a millimeter at a time. But, man o man, when that sucker was done and ready to be eaten... WORTH EVERY SECOND!

Just LOWER SLOWLY!!!

 

[Cap.Steamboat Willie]

Filling the Pot:
Fill the pot with water first.
Submerge the entire Turkey.
Remove water until top inch of the Turkey is visible.
Remove the Turkey.
Place a piece of masking tape to mark the water line.
Dry the Turkey (inside and out) and the pot well.
Fill the pot to the masking tape with oil.
Remove tape.

Preparing the Stand:
Flat Lawn works best (five feet from any structure).
Fire Extinguisher ten feet from stand.
Drive foot-long metal stakes to each of the metal legs.
Test to make sure that it does not tip over or shakes loose.

Lowering the Turkey:
Usually the kit provides a thick metal coat hanger that hooks onto metal hook in Turkey.
Take a hollow aluminum bar (seven feet) and wrap duct tape like a hockey stick handle (center of the stick, about foot long).
It is a two person job lowering the bird into the pot. SLOWLY.

PRACTICE WITH THE TURKEY WHEN MEASURING THE OIL LEVEL WITH WATER.

KNOW WHERE EVERY THING WILL BE TAKEN FROM AND PLACED BACK.

PRACTICE WITH THE STAKED STAND, POT WITH WATER AND ACTUAL TURKEY.

PRACTICE PUTTING IT IN AND TAKING IT OUT.

NOTE THAT THINGS WILL BE QUITE HOT WHEN TAKIN THINGS OUT.

BOTH PEOPLE WALKING IN A STRAIGHT LINE AWAY FROM THE BOLING POT.

And yes, yes, yes it is worth it.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

Also, don't fry the turkey on your deck or in your garage. Keep it away from the house.

 

[WebmasterMike]

Also, don't fry the turkey on your deck or in your garage. Keep it away from the house.

....and never use two sticks of Dynamite to lite your propane burner. One will work just fine!

 

[christine*]

We've done this for the past two Thanks Givings and loved it both times! It's so much quicker than baking it in the oven all day. After the turkey is done frying we also fry other random stuff since it's already set up anyway. Mozzarella sticks, corn dogs, shrimp tempera, egg rolls, twinkies, etc. If you're nervous about trying it for the first time, Alton Brown from Good Eats has a really great episode on the process. The episode is uploaded on youtube.com in three parts:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=alton+brown+deep+fried+turkey&aq=0&oq=alton+brown+deep+


Walmart also has a deep frying kit (the pot, stand for the turkey, and pot stand) for $50 or so.

 

[SWB]

Here are my instructions written up previously for others:

COOK IN AN OPEN AREA!!!

Prepare the Fryer and Cooking
1 Place frozen turkey into cooking pot, add enough water to cover, measure as you add
2 Make mark on outside of pot with a felt tip pen even with water level
3 Remove turkey, and measure water if you didn't when putting in
4 When you get ready to fry, add the amount of oil you measured using the water (double checking up to the line)
5 Bring oil to 350*, ease turkey into oil
6 Maintain oil temp around 325* for entire cooking
7 Cook turkey 3 to 3 1/2 minutes per pound (6 to 6 1/2 minutes for breast only)
8 When the turkey has cooked close to the calculated time, ease it up enough to check the temp in the thickest part of the breast. Internal temp should be 165* in the breast. Pull turkey out of oil and let rest a few minutes before moving. Use paper towels to move turkey from holder to a pan and continue to let rest until cool enough to cut.




Prepare the Turkey - I use wax paper spread and taped to my counter for this
1 Thaw the turkey completely, wash and thoroughly dry
2 Dash inside and outside with Worcheshire Sauce
3 Dash heavily inside and outside with Hot Sauce
4 Liberally apply Creole or Cajun Seasoning inside and outside
5 Place in one of the largest ziploc or similar bags. I use the Ziploc Big Bags - X Large
6 Let sit in the refrigerator over night



Items Needed
1 Oil - I use the clear frying oil from Sams-peanut oil is great, but for one cooking, the clear frying oil if fine and cheaper-you SHOULD NOT BE FRYING AT HIGH TEMPURATURES, see above
2 Long Stem Thermometer for oil temperature
3 Meat Thermometer
4 Worcheshire Sauce
5 Hot Sauce
6 Creole or Cajun Seasoning
7 Ziploc Bags - X Large

Lastly:
The most important step of all is getting the oil level right!

The second most important is EASING the turkey in, very slowly!

Spread news paper to set the turkey down in the holder/basket while it cools a bit after taking it out before transferring into a pan.

I'll be glad to help you if you need additional help.

Steve

 

[Splat25]

I've done one in Fairbanks, Alaska at thanksgiving. It was really cold, like -35 to -40 when I did it. At those temps it's really hard to maintain the temperature....lol. I think I overcooked it some but the bird was still tasty. There was no way I was ever going to attempt it in a cover or indoor area. I would leave the back door to where it was about 15 feet away and then scamper back to the house to thaw some more.

Don't be afraid to try it once. Alton Brown did a funny piece on deep frying a turkey once where he make a turkey raising and lowering derrick strucure out of a ladder. Seems like a cool idea, but I didn't have the right outside conditions to warrant that kind of setup.

 

[BayouMickey]

Frying a turkey is definately not good for the inexperienced. What people fail to realize is that we are brought up cooking on a propane burner. Our culture consists of outdoor cooking from boiled seafood to jambalaya. It's what cajun families do almost EVERY weekend. It's surely not something to consider on a whim. Though the results are DELICIOUS, it can be very dangerous if you lack the knowledge and experience of cooking on propane burners.

 

[Joshua_me]

I believe Popeye's will fry your Turkey for you with their Cajun seasoning at a cost that is similar to what you spend in Peanut Oil. Check with your local Popeye's Fried Chicken.

Now, THAT'S an idea.... Maybe I should let them take care of it. I'll have to call and see if our local one does that....

Meanwhile, if we DO decide to take the plunge (well, actually it's the turkey that "takes the plunge", but you follow my meaning... ) I'll attempt to record it and post it here on YouTube.

(Who knows...it could provide valuable evidence for my commitment hearing in the future... )

At any rate, thank you all for your info and suggestions, it's much appreciated.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Bob did this one year.

Diana made him do it outside on the pool deck.

The rest of us stood in the house with the 9 and the 1 already dialed. We just had to push that last 1.

It was good.

Incredibly messy.......but good.

It's hard to make any turkey gravy with this method.