A primer on frying a turkey - A little long.......

[Animal Chris]

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, I'm sure there are some of you out there thinking about frying a turkey for the first time. Far from being an expert, I do have a couple of pointers for the other neophytes thinking about taking the plunge. So, here goes, and by all means to the turkey fryers out there, chip in with your tip.

Pre Tip #1: Before seasoning the bird, find your oil level for your pot. To do this, place the bird in your pot like it will be when you fry it. Now cover the bird with fresh water. You want the oil to to completely cover the bird by about ½" inch or a little more. Scratch the side of the pot and write the weight of the bird next to the mark for future reference.
Pre Tip #2: I like a 14# bird. It seems to work the best for my pot (King Kooker) and only takes 49 minutes. Since the average cooker will only fry turkeys one or 2 times a year, take notes on what work and what doesn't. If you're like me, you have a hard time remembering what you did last time. Also, peanut oil works best.

Safety Tip: Very Important Besure to pat your turkey dry before lowering it into the hot oil. These things will splatter like you wouldn't believe. Also, when handling the bird, have heavy gloves, an apron and shoes or boots, no sandals or flip flip flops That hot oil will smart. Also, some kind of face or eye protection. Be sure to set up the cooker and cooking area outside away from the house. Also, cover the pot with a piece of screen to control the flying grease. You can buy this at the local lumber yard, but be sure it's not coated screen.

1) First and most important, be sure your turkey is completely thawed out. Sticking a frozen bird in 325° hot oil is creating a bomb. To properly thaw out a frozen bird it takes about 2 days in the fridge. This is why I like to use a fresh bird. They cost a little more, but I like the end result.

2) Seasoning. Be sure to to use plenty. I will average a jar of Reese Williams Cajun Butter per bird. I will season mine the night before. I will wait until I am ready to fry the bird to season the cavity and outside, though. The extra salt in the seasoning will tend to dry the bird out a little. As you do more turkeys, you may want to experiment with spiking the marinade. There is nothing wrong with it and, after all, you want it to taste the way you want. Some add heat, some add more garlic, etc.

3) Take the bird out of the fridge about 30 minutes before frying. As above, you don't want to put an ice cold bird in the hot grease.

4) Cook the bird at 325° - 350° for 3½ minutes per pound, exactly. My procedure is to bring the peanut oil up to temperature. SLOWLY lower the bird into the oil and stand back because it will spit a little (See Tip above). This will cool the oil off to about 275°, so you will have to bring it back up to temperature. I time my turkeys from the time they go into the grease. Regardless of the way the bird looks, cook it exactly 3½ minutes per pound, no longer, no less.

5) When finished, I like to place the bird in an aluminum roasting pan and cover it with heavy duty foil. If we are ready to eat, I'll leave it out. If it is going to be an hour or longer, I will place the bird in pan in a styrofoam cooler or an igloo. This will keep the bird hot for several hours.

That's about the basics without writing War and Peace. One last tip, though, Since I have the grease hot, I will always cook atleast 2 birds. These birds will freeze well, if you wrap them well in freezer paper, and you can thaw them out and warm them in the oven for future use. After all, turkeys are cheap and peanut oil isn't.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Tight Lines, AC

[Texan]

AC, you are right on the money!

I have fried Turkeys for the past five or six years after always smoking for T-day. For a few years we actually did both with a ham . Imperative to inject the night before, but what I like to do also is right before frying is to put a good rub on the turkey (makes for some good tasty skin!). I fry as close to 350 as possible and go 3 min. per pound, what happens is that when the bird comes out I let it rest, during this time of course the meat is still being cooked. Also a good tip is to use a meat thermometer to double check the internal temp. Can't wait till Thursday

[ranchonodinero]

I like to use cajun seasoning as a rub on the bird the night before. Also, don't forget to put some of the cajun seasoning on some thinly cut taters and fry them after you fry your bird or before you fry your Christmas bird. They taste great and gives the guys standing around the fry pot something to do. Also, I like to use one of the kids hockey sticks to assist in lowering the bird into the cauldron of oil. Dawn detergent and a pressure washer can get the oil off of the driveway.

[Texan]

We talked about trying to rig something where on the outside ring inside the pot we could lower something where we could fry up some appetizers. Basically a ring with a bunch of hooks for shrimp, stuffed jalapeños you freakin name it BTW - 19.89 lb turkey cooked in 1 hour at 350 degrees with bout 20-30 rest time in foil. The coolers had cold beer in them, dang it for not being at home

Y'all that haven't fried or tasted a fried turkey are seriuosly missing out We used to smoke the turkey with a ham for Thanksgiving. Then it was smoked turkey, ham, and fried turkey. Too many leftovers after a couple years and we went to the fried turkey and smoked ham and have not looked back Polly do the same for Christmas if we don't go for a goose!