Anyone here ever fry a turkey?

Turkey day is fast approaching and I'm thinking about preparing the bird in boiling oil this year. I've eaten fried turkey before and it was excellent, very moist and not at all greasy. The problem is that I didn't pay much attention to the particulars of how it was prepared.

Sears has this frying kit on sale @ 50% off through tonight, and I'm thinking about picking one up and giving it a shot. Does anyone out there have any tips to help me create the "perfect" fried turkey? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

Thanks,


Peter

Check out this web page..explains it well /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif 3min per pound http://chefmom.com/articles/fryturkey.htm

"In addition to a turkey, you'll need a 40- or 60-quart pot with a basket, plus a propane gas tank and burner, a candy thermometer, a meat thermometer and lots of oil. You should also keep a /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hahaha.gif fire extinguisher and plenty of pot holders nearby...."

It's very hard to mess up. Just don't short the time. When I cook the whole turkey breast I do it 3 and a half to 4 min. per pound. Never burned one but have taken one or two out before its time. If this happens just put her back in a few extra minutes. A meat thermometer helps. Love that turkey!! Will never go back to baked.

Thanks for the replies guys, the actual "cooking" seems easy enough, but what about these huge "marinade" injector needles? I guess the marinade is to give the bird a little more flavor. Anyone have any good marinade recipes?

I had my first fried turkey about 6-7 years ago at a meeting of our state pyrotechnics club. It was the best I've ever had. I think that 6-7 years ago turkey frying was something of an oddity, I know that I had never heard of it before. It seems like that it has gone mainsteam in the past couple of years though. Any turkey frying gurus out there that want to help a newbie with the learning curve?


Peter

We'll be soaking ours in a brine again as usual. but I hear that frying them is actually quite good. And about the only reason that you would want to purchase fryer oil at Sams club /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Make sure you have a video camera so when the oil overflows into the burner you catch it on tape /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

There are always HUGE sales on those Turkey frying rigs at the hardware stores sometime after the holidays. So anyone wanting to try it next year should keep an eye out in a month or so.

id never fry one inside ive seen some scary stuff when popple over fill the grease and add bird and it overflows and the results are very scary i saw it on tv.kroger sells a cheap out door unit.im thinking a coolking mine in my showtimes rostirie .im not in the mood to be at familys this year so it wil be me so i need small bird.

I've never fried or baked a turkey yet since it's always the ladies that's been baking them every year. Last year I tried fried turkey for the first time and I gotta say, I have been converted. Like LitFuse said, it's very moist and is not dry like baked turkey. Now I just gotta persuade the family to fry it this year. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Lazy me. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif *gobble* *gobble*

I just saw this on a cooking show on TV. I have the fryer, but never tried it. According to the dude on TV--he just salted the outside of the bird before frying--no marinade. They said that if you marinade before cooking then the skin will turn black. He also put in the turkey little by little so as not to drop the temperature of the oil too quickly. This was all from TV, though, so I have no idea whether it's right or not. I've never tasted deep fried turkey, but everyone I know who has says it tastes good.

Here's a link to the FoodNetwork Turkey frying instructions.

I have fried a turkey for the past three years, it's pretty tasty. Get your oil up to 350 degrees Farenheit and fry your bird 3 to 3 1/2 minutes (I go 3 1/2 minutes per pound myself) per pound while maintaining that 350 degrees temperature (the best you can). I have used peanut oil but found it expensive and slightly overwhelming. Also, many people have peanut allergies so be careful. I use plain old Wesson oil now. Let the bird thaw completely before frying it. I also wipe the bird down to get as much moisture off as possible, it helps to cut down the splattering when you first place it in the hot oil.

I don't do any special preparation on the bird, thaw it, fry it and eat it.

The following is very important ..... only put in enough oil to cover the bird when you put it in. Many people do a practice run with water and leaving the bird covered in it's plastic. To practice, first place your bird in the pot, then pour in a gallon of water at a time until the bird is covered. Count how many gallons of water you used, this will be the amount of oil you need.

Do NOT fill the pot to the top with oil or your oil will overflow when you put your bird in and you will have a grease fire, that's why you may want to do the practice thing first.. Do not wear sandles or nylon clothing, do not do it on your porch, do not let children play around it while it's on. Basically, be really careful or you will have a major disaster on your hands.

I also use the fryer for 4th of July get togethers and can fry a ton of chicken very quickly that way.

Mike

We cook 10-20 at work every year the day before Thanksgiving.

There is no way to keep your oil at 350 when you add the turkey. Get your oil to 350-360 before adding the bird then turn your burner to max blast right before adding the bird. Temp will probably drop to around 310-330. Keep heat on max until temp gets to around 340 then turn it to a safer setting as it heats back the last 10 degrees. If you have a hard time getting the temp. back to 350 then add a few more minutes to your cooking time. It should be a darker golden brown and should be floating a few minutes before it's done.

Peanut oil is a common choice because it withstands higher heats than most oils. I am out on the injectors. It creates pockets of spices; it does not spread inside the bird.

Most importantly, keep in mind at all times that if the grease turns over it could literally kill you or someone else. A large and long cooking mitt comes in very handy and as stated before, don't wear shorts or sandals.

DieselDave,

Yeah, the temperature thing always gets folks. It's going to drop when you put your bird in, and your right ...... going to have to get it up past 350 before dunking the bird. If the oil gets too cool, you wont "sear" the bird and it could effect taste. Wind up with a turkey oil sponge.

Peaut oil was just too "heavy" for our taste buds, and man is it pricey. But it was taste that made our decision to use vegetable.

For the rest of you ......

Safety is the biggest concern. Man, I see those bloops and blunder type video's of people catching things on fire ..... scary stuff. Not to mention it's no fun being a burn victim. Seems like most of those folks had drank just a little too much before frying their bird.

If you are going to have a fire extinguisher make sure it is a class "B" one, that class rating is for flammable liquids ..... gas, grease, oil, etc. Pay attention to the numerical rating on the class "B" as well, it will determine the approximate square footage of flammable liquid you will be able to put out with it. It's a dangerous thing, your dealing with fire and oil ....... be careful.

But don't let it keep you from trying it.

Mike

Also, over frying it will cause it to pick up a lot more oil too. the way it was explained to me was like this. As long as there is moisture in the bird the escaping steam keeps the oil out, but as soon as all the internal moisture is used up it just absorbs all the oil and becomes terrifically greasy in a hurry. So don't think that over cooking it is a good thing either.

And don't overlook Daves comments about safty! This is not something you can do outside with the kids running around! I don't even want to think about the potential for horrific death involved with that much boiling oil ending up in your kids lap and splashing on everyone else. But if you're going to do this you better keep track of the possibility!

i love turkey.i saw a show on how to cook it but it was the over method but he said you should only let ity get to 150 f inside i always thought poultry was like 180 to be safe but he says most people over cook it.im still to afraid to cook a thing that big with grease

Thanks for the replies and tips guys. I bought a frying kit and I'm gonna give it a try! I think I will forget about the marinading too. I don't see how it would have much effect other than the local area where it is injected. I have had good success in marinading with a vacuum sealer and cannister, but I don't have one nearly large enough for a 12 lb. turkey. We usually get one large bird, but this year we'll get two smallish ones to make it a bit easier to deal with the fryer. Safety first... I have personally seen one of these catch on fire, and it was a bitc* to put out.


Peter

Thank you Litfuse for starting this thread, and thanks to all of you who posted.

On Tuesday night I printed this thread and gave it to my sons who were in charge of deep frying the turkey.

This was a first for us, and your suggestions were a big help.

The turkey turned out to be perfectly cooked and tasted great!

Thanks again to all of you.

I had fried turkey for the first time today! My uncle did it. I had no idea he was going to. Huge family gathering, we cooked 2 turkeys and took 1 with us, another aunt brought 1, and then the fried one--so my extended family managed to eat nearly 3 turkeys (There's a 24 Lb turkey in our fridge...looks like I'm going to be having a lot of turkey sandwiches!)

Anyway it was DELICIOUS! He stood out in the cold and supervised it the whole time. I think those turkey friers come with a cheap burner kit? Well he cooked it on his nicer cast-iron propane outdoor stove.

He was telling my immediate family that we should come down (45 minute drive) some time and fry up a turkey, maybe one of them onions, and some other stuff. He said it's easier to do 2 small turkeys than 1 big one, keep it under 15 Lbs.