Deep Fried Turkey

This recipe sounds dangerous.

It is GGGGGGRRRREEEAAATTTT. (great)

Best method to cook a turkey, I've been doing it for years. A suggestion would be to inject the turkey with an olive oil, butter, onion, garlic, poultry seasoning mixture. Try to enter in a minimal amount of holes, but inject at different angles through a hole. One quart will take care of one 12-14 lb bird. Good luck

There is some degree of danger But, if you follow all (all) your instructions you are in for a real treat.

I would definitely recommend purchasing one of those turkey frying kits. They come with a specially designed apparatus to get the turkey in and out of the pot. Most also come with an syringe injector to help season the bird.

Other alternatives would include a coat hanger that is attached to the bird and left in the bird while cooking. The hanger makes a nice handle. Then all you have to do is pull the hanger to get the bird out. You and a buddy may want to insert a broom stick through the hanger to get it out of the oil.

We tried this recipe once and it was GREAT. I've never tasted turkey that was so moist and the skin so crispy, though don't eat too much of the skin because that's where all the grease is. Now everytime we eat turkey we fry it. Try fying veggies to go with it!

Recommend using peanut oil instead of vegetable oil. Peanut oil can be used several times (if you strain it after each bird with cheese cloth) and maintains temperature better than vegetable oil. This is the best way to cook turkey, once you have had it, you'll never go back to long, hot oven method!

This will be our 7th yr of having fried turkey for Thanksgiving. Absolutley, positively the best! Do it once and you will be hooked !! Use peanut oil and Cajun style injectable marinade :)

Fried turkey really brings out the best in a turkey, the white is not dry and the dark meat is still the juiciest taste piece of meat on the planet!!!!

Great way to make a turkey!! Does anyone know, or has anyone tried to stuff the turkey, like you would in a conventional oven? e-mail us at wasbass@home.com, or post! Thanks
Tanya Zach

If you are injecting a marinade in the turkey, do you inject right away before frying or do you want it to sit for a while? How long?

We tried a deep fried turkey for the first time this year, and the reviews were unanimous....."best turkey ever!" We brined the bird for about 16 hours and then after taking it out, covered it with cajun rubbing spice and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for 6-8 hours. This last bit actually allows the skin to to dry a bit (after the bringing) which made it extra crispy after frying. It also helped reduce the spattering when the bird first went in the oil (peanut oil). Does anyone have any idea how long you can store used peanut oil for a future fry? Leave a note on this comment board. Thanks!

How many times can you cook a turkey with the same oil and how do you store it after cooking. (room temp, refrigerator?)

Once we were exposed to deep fried turkey, we were hooked. I for one have always loved the aroma of a roasted turkey but this last Thanksgiving, one guest brought a smoked turkey, the other deep fired his. Both were great, but the deep fried was the winner hands down. The carcus can also be used as a base for soup-Whewweee! Am interested in a variety of marinades without cajon spice. I like it but my kids say its too hot, and the last was done with regular italian dressing. What next?

My husband has tried the Deep Frying Turkey (3) and we've invited different friends over to try it and it is so moist and tastes so good. Good enough that we will be deep frying our Xmas turkey for the family. Way to go, Manny. As my husbands said this is the greatest thing since sliced cheese. Will be checking out the web for new recipes. Thanks.

The best method is to marinate the bird with a cajun marinade for 48 hours then cure it with a kosher salt and cajun spice (esscence) and let it cure for 12 hours before cooking.

Store excess oil in a clean (perferablly a new) 5 gallon bucket with a lid. Drape the cheese cloth over the bucket and after straining put the lid on. When you are ready to ccok again bring into a warm room in the house and pourscoop out the desired amount. The key is to keep it covered. Also please do not add hot grease to the bucket.

My wife and I fried our first turkey for Thanksgiving INCREDIBLE! We also deep fried a pork roast. I am doing it again for Christmas as it also was so good!

Got one frying on the back patio right now! Peanut Oil is the only way to go!!Sixth time doing it and I will never roasting again! Why, because roasting is way more dangerous in that you go stir crazy in the kitchen for 8 hours waiting for the damn bird to cook, where as frying tastes better and takes about 2 hours from prepping to pulling it out of the oil!

We bought our cooker for Thanksgiving and so far we have done four turkeys and two prime ribs. Won't ever do it again another way. In fact my family has decided its a new tradition. Anybody else done a prime rib? We had to leave ours in there for twice as long as our cooker instructions in order to get it cooked in the middle. Anybody have any suggestions or answers?

I've been frying turkeys for over 15 years now, and my sister & her husband invented the first "cajun injector", which was dreamed up just to further improve the unmatchable flavor of a fried turkey. Since then, things have gone out of orbit, first in Louisiana and now the country, as evidenced by the tremendous sales of "turkey pots" and the other equipment to produce this unique culinary delight.

I would caution only one thing in the recipe on this site - I wouldn't heat the oil over 360 degrees - 390 is pushing things almost to the point of a flash fire in your pot. Also, I like to fry between 340-350; and 4 minutes per lb. is a good rule of thumb for a timed insta-read thermometer test in the breast (170) & thigh (180) for doneness. At this cooking temperature the bird will come out a deep golden color and be a beautiful centerpiece to your table, rather than a charcoal-colored bird that might taste just as good.

Another caution is not to trust the thermometers that are supplied in the kits. Most are of the "spring" variety and are not trustworthy. If you need a good dependable thermometer, email me and I'll give you several sources to get one that you can depend on.

Marinades and rubbings are fun to play with and share. But the best test for a great marinade is that if it tastes great before you inject it, it's gonna be just as great when your bird is done. Have a Happy Bird-Day & Enjoy this "new" food sensation sweeping the country!

Captain Jody

Did my first three years ago. It's now a family tradition. We haven't had leftovers yet! They strip it to the bone every time.

This recipes rocks. It really is one of the best ways to cook not only turkeys, but birds of other feathers. Another way for those who are stuck to using the pit, is to make a drunk bird. While preping the bird take a can of your favorite beer(Foster Lager, for a turkey), drink 1/2 of the beer. Next take your spices and place into the can. Stuff the can into the cavity of the bird. Stand bird upright in your smoker and cook your normal way. The juices from the can self baist the bird guaranteeing you a moist and tasty bird. Happy outdoor cooking from the caveman.

My daughter is deathly allergic to anything "peanut". I've heard that an important factor in the turkey oil choice is the "smoke point". If peanut oil is not an option, what are my best options?

I've heard corn oil is the second best for not smoking if peanut oil is a problem for you.

Ok folks it sounds like we could us a little oil education so here goes.
Cooking oils have five major enemys they are Temperature, Moisture, Particulates, Air, and Light.
All of these cause your oil to break down, some just do it faster.The worst one is temperature each oil has an approximate smoke point (Peanut 450, Safflower 450, Soybean 450, Grapeseed 445, Canola 435,
Corn 410, Olive 410, Sesame 410, Sunflower 390) the closer you get to these temps the faster your oil breaks down. (I try to not go over 350) Moisture is kind of hard to avoid but try to have your foods as dry as possible. particulates are the floaty things left over in your oil after cooking.Straining your oil before storing is a must (I don't put any rubs on the outside of my turkeys anymore because most of it comes off in the oil and it is very fine like flour can be and just burns, then when you try to strain it it passes right through your strainer and causes your oil to look black or very dark and contributes to the breakdown of your oil. The more you expose your oil to oxygen the faster it breaks down so try to get it put back in its storage container as soon as it has cooled down.light can also hurt your oil so always store it in a cool dark place. Some folks will probley disagree with my observations but it works for me.I can often get 8 to 10 different cookings out of one batch of peanut oil. Happy frying sure makes the best darn turkey i've ever had.

Thank you for the info.....very helpfull.

The information here is all great...everyone contributin so many hints. We were with friends the other night who just bought a deep fryer/cooker for a turkey. They had a fit over the thought that we reused the peanut oil numerous times even though we strained it carefully and stored it in a dark cool place for future use. Im so glad to see that it is the acceptable method...I was worried that we were not gonna get the food safety award yet again this year. This turkey is the BIGGEST hit on Thanksgiving. Thanks to foodgeeks.

If I am not going to keep the oil, how should I dispose of it?

I've read everything above about oils and many favor peanut oil. I hear it's expensive compared to other oils. I saw Canola oil at Sam's Club for $4.29 for 5 quarts. Seems like a good price. I am wondering what the trade-offs would be, using canola instead of peanut oil (besides maybe a reduction in the amount of reuse times and a lower smoke point). Thanks. Jim

Deep frying a turkey is the only way to go.
I did my first one 2 years ago and will never go back to conventional cooking methods. There are a couple of draw backs, however.
1) you can't quite get that real good taisting dressing like you do when you cook it inside the cavity. (I'm working on that one)
2)The oil can be a pain in the ARS, when it's time to dispose of it.
All in all it's still worth the adventure of deep frying the turkey.
Be cool and be safe!

We've been deepfrying turkeys for the last 4 years. Try deep frying your sweet potatos.

Captain Jody: I would like to know where to get the "good" oil thermometers you mentioned.

I first tried deep-fried turkey last year, and I'm now a fan. The wife and I bought a deep-fry setup and some peanut oil and are ready to trip the light fantastic. By the way, where did you people learn to spell?!?

The first time you deep fry a turkey can be a bit intimidating, but the results are incredible. Remember, make sure the bird is dry inside and out prior to placing in oil. This will reduce the amount of splatter. Try injecting with apple juice and sage with a bit of onion powder. It gives the taste of stuffing that we miss. Enjoy, and have a great Thanksgiving! :)

just the best i've ever had, in fact cooked one for the platoon last thanksgiving, everybody liked it........

Just deep fried my first turkey. It was incredible. Any hints on how to get the skin crustier?

ROCK AND ROLL HERE GOES TURKEY TURKEY

I would like to do this over my fire pit and not a propane stove. Has anyone done this over a fire?

Planning on getting up early, building a great bug fire andhaveing a heap of hot coals to cook over come about 1:00

thoughts?

Just did my first fried turkey as a test run for Thanksgiving. It was good but not as good as a smoked turkey cooked on my Weber. Frying is very expensive, $28.00 worth of peanut oil. Very labor intensive as well, and talk about messy, major cleanup.
Overall about twice as much prep time on the fried bird and 4 times more cleanup.
I will stick with the Weber for outdoor cooking.
Regards,
BC

I'll be frying my first bird for Thanksgiving dinner next week. Some of my family members can't handle spicy food, so does anyone have suggestions for a non-Cajun style marinade? Also, any good suggestions for dressing since the bird can't be stuffed?

This will be my 1st time doing a deep fried Turkey for Thanksgiving Day for the whole family.

I have a 30-qt fryer which says it can handle a 20lb Turkey, the thing is I've only seen recipes for 10-15 lb Turkeys.

Has anyone done a 20+ lb bird?

Any suggestions for a rookie???

I am searching for a recipe for the rub spice.
Any tips can be sent to my email address sherrylee@socket.net

Did the fried turkey for the 5th time for the holidays. This time tried a fried ham also. It was great. Treated it just like the turkey, but cooked it half the time.

I did a number of VERY TASTY birds last year and but always had the same problem.
Each time i did my bird I first put the bird in the pan then filled it with water to judge how much Oil I would need. I would then remove the bird and mark where the water line was. I then poured out the water dryied the pot and the bird refilled the pot with oil and heated to the right temperature. THE PROBLEM IS: when I then go to put the dried bird back in the oil , the oil seriously bubbles up and overflows the pot!!! I have tried the slow entry method and the dip and remove and then replace method...but no matter how carefully I measure It ALWAYS BUBBLES UP AND OVERFLOWS. PLEASE HELP!!!!!! I love cooking my turkey this way but my wife will kill me if i make another oil mess????

In response to the oil overflow problem,,,the idea of testing the level first with water is excellent and the problem seems to be a simple one. When bringing up oil to cooking temperature, I would believe it expands in volume. So....subtract 20% of your volume when initially filling the oil and fill to the proper level after inserting the turkey.

So if you have a 14-15 lb. turkey, how much oil would be needed?? Should 3 gallons be enough??

The best way to give your turkey more flavor when frying is to brine it. I use 1 gallon of apple juice, 1 gallon of water, 2 cups of kosher salt(one cup of non-iodized table salt will do), 1 cup of bourbon, and 1 cup of fresh chopped spices (such as sage, rosemary, basil, and/or thyme). Mix it all in a clean, large bucket or stockpot and soak your turkey, in your fridge, for atleast 16 hours, up to 36 hours, if the turkey is really huge.Make sure the solution covers the turkey. Brining allows the turkey to soak up the seasoning all the way to the bone and make it super juicy, and don't worry, it doesn't make your turkey salty at all. You can use any seasonings. It make a wonderful tasting turkey. Just make sure you rinse the utrkey well after brining, and pat it dry before frying. The only downfall- who has room for a 5 gallon bucket in their fridge? I place my bucket in a cooler filled with icewater in the garage. Stays as cold, and leaves me room for my pies!

In response to Rick's overflow problem. First, make sure the bird is absolutely dry, inside and out (except for the marinade under the skin of course). Also, try taking the bird out of the refridgerator and letting it come up to room temperature before placing it into the hot oil. That should reduce the boiling and bubbling somewhat. If all else fails, reduce the amount of oil you pour into the pot by 3 of 4 cups and bring the initial temperature of the oil up to 375, then after inserting the bird, pour additional oil in to the correct level (just over the top of the bird)and maintain temp. at 350. Good luck.

Ok...Ok...I am preparing to do my 4th turkey in a week. test drove one last Friday and it turned out PERFECTLY.. First time a home run. Did another on Saturday, had friends over for beer and football on Sunday....and STILL no leftovers. Been using butter and herb seasonings. Looking for a hot and spicy "cajon" recipe. anyone know a good cajun mix I can make myself. There are not alot of places here to buy the pre-made mixes. So, if you have a good "spicy" recipe please e-mail me or post here. Looking to corrspnd with other folks and exchange ideas and recipes for frying turkeys. Oh, and I will NEVER go back to the oven.. And to the person doing the "open pit" frying method, it may be very hard to control the temperature of the oil when not using a propane tank. Just a thoght...Cheers and happy frying.

For a spicy recipe you can go to foodtv.com and do a search on fried turkey, Emeril's recipe is good. If you want to "kick it up a notch" add more cayenne or add a habanero pepper to the marinade if you want serious heat.

Turkey size--I learned from experience DO NOT fry a turkey larger than 15 pounds. It will dry out before the inside of the breast is completely cooked.

Now my question for you briners: Do you inject also? My last turkey did not turn out as well. I brined and injected a garlic/butter/olive oil/cayenne mix(just blend a rate that tastes good to you).

I fried several turkeys last year using Tony Chachere's recipe for the rub and marinade. I am in the process of moving and can't locate my recipes, so I have been searching the web for them--but haven't found both of them. The rub is as follows:
26 oz. salt 1 oz chili powder
1.5 oz grnd. black pepper 1 oz MSG
2 oz grnd red pepper 1 oz. accent
1 oz pure Garlic powder
Mix well and use like salt. I made a marinade with this rub, = parts of red wine and italian dressing--injected the turkey the night before, chilled in a cooler, and then rubbed the turkey with the rub about 2 hours before frying. It was awesome. I can't find the exact recipe for the marinade--but I think it was 1/2 cup of rub, 16 oz. of italian dresing, and 16 oz. red wine. If anyone knows the exact recipe, I would appreciate it.

I fried a a couple of turkeys two years ago and stored the penut oil in it's origional containers. The oil looks clean. Is it still good, or has time affected it? How do you dispose of the oil after your done with it?

Tastes like KFC!!! Needs ketchup....dry! Thank you but we'll stick to tradition w/ a pound of butter. Very Moist!!

I have been cooking fried turkeys for years. If your turkey is dry. You over cooked it. You have to check the temp of the meat (4 min per pound). You can inject turkey with whatever you like. I like the Cajun-Injector Butter type that is good for people who do not like HOT STUFF. I do Ducks also that are THE hit of the meal every year. Remember 170 to 180 max on meat temperature!!! I also rub turkey with seasoning. Have fun with it... thats the idea!

I've deep fried 4-5 turkeys. Each time I've used about 375 degrees as the temperature. I keep hearing about 'flashing' the peanut oil. What does that mean? The skin is supposed to be golden brown when done, why does mine always come out black? The meat is absolutely delicious under the skins! I'm trying to perfect this process, have any suggestions?

I've deep fried 4-5 turkeys. Each time I've used about 375 degrees as the temperature. I keep hearing about 'flashing' the peanut oil. What does that mean? The skin is supposed to be golden brown when done, why does mine always come out black? The meat is absolutely delicious under the skins! I'm trying to perfect this process, have any suggestions?

We are trying our first this Thanksgiving. Found good ideas from Emeril on ABCNEWS.com and on BobandTom.com. Our neighbor did a goose last year and it was fantastic. He also strains and saves his peanut oil and re-uses it several times. Can't wait to try - thanks for all the good information here.

I need advise- am considering cutting up my turkey and frying it in deep skillet on my range-indoors. I bought a 9lb. fresh turkey and plan to use a spicy dry rub on it til Thursday. Anyone tried this?

We're doing our first bird right now as a test. A little 10 pounder just to see how this works so for thanksgiving I'll be ready for the big one. It is smelling just great right now and we're looking forward to eating it! Thank you for all the information and feedback, a wealth of information on deep frying a turkey I've ever seen!

We are hooked on this method-only problem everyone who tries it requests a bird the next time! Last year we fried about 10 total - they make great Christmas gifts, we cooled them and wrapped in foil with a pretty bow. For those who don't want spicy try injecting the bird with a mixture of Dale's steak seasoning and kikkoman's Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce, honey, applejuice or orange juice or beer. We have also used Lawry's herb & garlic marinade mixed with beer or applejuice (only problem the spices will clog the injector is not stained before injecting.

Did one turkey for a trial run a week before thanksgiving last year. Too much work--was so good, had to cook three for friends! Will never roast again. Try this injection marinade. Not too hot, but very tasty. Be sure to heat to simmer first, then run through coffee filter to remove things that will clog the injector:

1/2 can of beer
1/2 lb of butter
2tbs salt
2tbs worcestershire sauce
2tbs Luzianne Cajun Seasoning
2tsp garlic powder
2tsp onion powder
1tsp rosemary
1tsp thyme
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Inject the night before. Refrigerate over night, then allow bird to warm at room temp for about an hour before cooking.

Has anyone ever tried frying a pork loin in the turkey frier? Any hints (time per pound, etc.) would be appreciated.

Fried Turkey is the only way to go!!! To answer the guy who has his turkey come out to dark, you need to lower your oil temperature to about 350 instead of 375, because the skin will get to dark. Also make sure your turkey is completely patted dry before frying. Last but not least, if you use rub on the outside of the bird, it could also burn and cause the turkey to get too brown. Just stick to salt and pepper on the outside and inject the inside with your favorite marinade.

-Chad

Also on the flash point of the oil, if the oil reaches the flash point it will combust and you will have a serious grease fire on your hands. Make sure you keep your oil temperature under control.

-Chad

Has anyone tried to fry a turkey in a double boiler inside? Im only doing a turkey breast (6 lbs). Is this suggested? I would like to try it this Thanksgiving. Thanks

Thanks for all the great info. I fried 2 turkeys last year and still experimenting to get it right. Used Soybean on #1 and Canola on #2. Liked the flavor of #2 better. I haven't seen any mention of anyone who has used Olive Oil on this thread. So far, the only thing I hear about different oils as far as flavor is, "_______ oil is the BEST". Has anyone tried olive oil? Also, so far, my experience with the store bought injectable marinades is that they just don't taste very natural. I like the brine idea and will definitely give that a shot before the holidays are up. I bit the bullet and already bought 5 gallons of olive oil (regular, not extra virgin) so if I don't see any negative feedback on it before Thanksgiving, I'll try to give you a review.

to the person concerned about storage of the used cooking oil......I usually just put the entire cooking pot (after it has cooled a while)into our large chest type freezer. This seemes to "immoblize" the oil from turning rancid from aging, temerature, light, etc. When I`m ready to cook again, I just take the cooking pot with the frozen oil out of the freezer and slowly warm it to temp. After three or four cookings and while the oil is still warm, I strain it thru some cheesecloth back into its original container and place the plastic container with the used oil into the freezer. This gives me an opportunity to give the cooking pot a thorough cleaning. I never use exterior rubs cuz it makes the oil get dirtier and taste burnt much faster. Also, I try to never get over 350 degrees.

I like the bourbon, apple, brine idea alot, but I have the same question as someone else. Do you still inject marinate into a brined bird?
Thanks

About Rick's overflow prolem -- maybe he needs a larger pot. Looking forward to trying my first fried bird. Does this work for chickens also?

deep frying a turkey is the only way to go.i use a marinate injector 24 hours prior to cooking, inject in diffrent directions in the breast for best results also i agree with temp of oil at 330-350!

Gotta be a believer.....Fried turkey is the best! Will be my 4th T-Giving doin' the fry thing and have done different injections every year. I think the house favorite was using a grapefruit juice base with a few other seasonings. Many at the table not quite as enthused with the other spicer injections. I use Canola oil, I'm cheap I guess, and have reused it 3 times. I just strain it back into the containers and freeze it. I tried a rub one year and it really just mess's up the oil with out any improved flavoring over just injections. I too am a fan of cooking at 350 and I lower the bird in at 375. I think 350 just gives a better color to the bird than the hotter temps. I also cook for 3 mins a pound, (but remember it depends on how well your cooker maintains an even temp, recovery time, etc.) and add tag on 5 mins for a 15 lb bird. I think I read some guy wants to use a wood fire? Forget it, to hard to maintain consistent temps. Standing time, wrapped in foil, of 20-30 minutes is critical. Another hit is doing game hens. For a dinner party I can do eight hens in five minutes and the crowd goes wild. I just string 'em on a chain and lower em in. Oh, and canned white potatoes are fantastic deep-fryed.

I LOVE DEEP FRIED TURKEY!!! I've completely given up wasting my time with baking turkeys. Frying is a bit more expensive but SO worth it. One things I would and do add to my rub and injection fluid is ground cumin. Cumin adds an awesome flavor! Enjoy.

I am going to try injecting my turkey with mojito (a great spanish citrus based marinade),a little white wine, and of course a touch of soy sauce. Wish me luck.

My husband and all of his alpha-male buddies are going to deep-fry a whole bunch of turkeys on the day before T-Day. So my question is - what's the best way to reheat the (uncarved) bird on Thanksgiving without completely drying it out?

Wondering about doing turkey breast in the fryer? I actually have 2 and want to do them at once if possible. One is 7 lbs and the other is 3 lbs. Can I do them together? Any suggestions?
First time fryer! :)

In regards to NQ's comment using olive oil!!

DO NOT USE IT AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is why:

Smoke point: 220°C min. +/- 10°C
Flash point: 320°C min. +/- 10°C


Sorry you bought it already but I hope you get this message in time.

Worried about oil overflow? First, make sure you measure the oil level by filling the pot with water first, insert the bird, pour off enough to cover the bird, remove the bird and mark the resulting level. Dry out the pot then fill pot with oil to this level. Second, it is inevitable that you will spill some oil - use cat litter to absorb it and clean it up. NEVER try to spray water on a spill around the hot oil - oh yea, one of my neighbors did this - hot oil and water DO NOT mix!

Like spicy food? Try rubbing jalapeno salt on the skin of the bird. Sam's club sells it. Also, I prefer the lower temperature for peanut oil (350 degrees). Much better pesentation from the golden brown color. Use 4 minutes per pound at this temperature.

Tom, how do you do the canned white potatoes? Just toss em in and fish 'em out?

Whats the largest a bird can be if using a 30 qrt pot?

Please Pray for me, I am going to try it on Thanksgiving. I have heard so many good things about Fried Turkey, I must try it. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I have been frying turkeys for about a year now, with this Thanksgiving being the official year mark. We have had fried turkeys for Mother's Day, birthdays and any occasion that we can come up with. For those of you that wish to fry a turkey but are not crazy about using a Cajun or spice type of marinade or rub, try sprinkling or rubbing the turkey with Old Bay seasoning inside and out for a wonderfully season turkey. And what they say is true, once you had it fried, you will never go back to cooking it or eating it from the oven.

There is a great Fried Turkey recipe on the Bob and Tom Website go to www.bobandtom.com

Still looking for some help from the briners.....Do you inject or not when brining? Time is dwindling.....Your recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

First-timer, I think I have everything, I'm glad I found this site because I thought it was going to no sweat. Now I realize there are some major concerns for safety, but more importantly flavor. I have start marinating. Gotta go, good luck to me. Michelle

yes, you can inject and brine ,but dont make it too salty

New Yahoo! Group dedicated to frying Turkeys!!! Please join and add to recipes, tips, and Q&A message board!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FriedTurkey

I love fried turkey, but there are only two drumsticks and everybody wants a drumsticks so if I add say 6 more drumsticks do I put them in from the start or should I add them about half way through?

I already had a 17 pound bird b4 reading about 15 pound max. Any suggestions? Could I remove part of the turkey or cut in half? First time frier trier! :)

Thanks for all the interesting suggestions. I’ve have been hosting a Thanksgiving feast for eight years now and find deep-frying a work in progress. The kits that are now available certainly cover all the bases when compared to my “homemade” contraption.

Some observations from my previous attempts:

Don’t tell your guests that you’re deep-frying. The look on their face when they walk in and see a raw bird an hour before dinnertime is priceless.

Fresh birds seem far better then previously frozen birds. (It may be the higher moisture content in a frozen bird.)

Seventeen pounds is the maximum weight.

The water displacement method works great for determining the right amount of PEANUT oil.

The PEANUT oil should register no more than 365 degrees and no less than 350 degrees when the bird is lowered in the pot.

A thin layer of kitty litter spread around the cooking area will absorb any oil spillage.

Let the bird sit out at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours before cooking at 3 ½ minutes per pound.

As for rubs and injections, they’re purely a personal preference. I do agree that some rubs can burn and leave the skin burnt looking and the oil a bit cloudy. I’m going to try brining the bird this year and will post the results.

Several have been asking about "brining". The Spendid Table has great information at http://table.mpr.org/boilingwater/boiling_briningturkey.shtml.

What is brining—and do I really need to do it?
Brining is immersing meat or poultry in a salt water solution. It provides a moisture cushion for the breast meat. This means that even if it overcooks by 10 degrees or so, it remains moist. In addition, the meat of a brined bird is pleasantly seasoned, which eliminates the need to season before and after roasting. If you're cooking a previously frozen turkey, brining ensures that all parts are at the same temperature. Yet another benefit is that the turkey meat absorbs water during the brining process. Water conducts heat and therefore expedites cooking; a brined bird cooks faster than an unbrined one by about 30 minutes. Two other important notes about brining: Do not brine for longer than recommended, and be sure to rinse the bird thoroughly after brining. Both of these measures will prevent the bird from becoming too salty.

For brining details see: http://www.turkeyhelp.com/universal_brining_formula.htm

We have not tried this recipe yet and we are trying a deep fried turkey for the first time. This Hovever does not sound like a recipie for anyone other than a pro. Holding a turkey by its leggs COME ON MAN! I have found other web sites that have a better safer recipie.

I will never go back to oven roasting anymore although I'm still experiementing on my sixth fried turkey.
The 400 degrees on the initial plunge seems like the correct temperature so the oil will not drop below 345 degrees after the bird is submerged(I've had good success with cooking at 345 on a heavier bird 16-20 lbs)but on a lighter bird,(15 lbs or less)you probably need 350 degrees.
From my experience you should stick to less than a 15 lb. turkey. It is easier to handle and has less chance of scorching. Can't wait till tomorrow.
Happy eating and have a great Thanksgiving.
"Go Kentucky Wildcats"

Tomorrow will be my first time frying a turkey. I had my first taste of a fried turkey last year at my brother-in-laws house and it was DELICIOUS!! (This means a great deal, especially because he and his wife's dinner table is avoided by all..even their kids) :-)

So, I'm giving it a try this year. I'll post the results after T-Day is over. This site was great for the ton of tips I received. Hope everyone has a safe, happy and a well fried Thanksgiving!

Eager 1st-Timer

am getting ready to fry 22lbder and have two racing thermometers that we use on exhaust sys to monitor heat am planning to keep temp of canola oil at 330-340 max because of the size of the fresh bird time for cooking est. at 90 min. is this to long i diidnt think so the temp thermometers are for all those people that dry out there turkeys.

BE CAREFUL HEATING CANOLA OIL TO THAT TEMP!! I HAVE HEARD BAD STORIES!!!

Tried this for thanksgiving for the first time today. In my opinion, it is no better or worse than roasting as far as taste/texture (however, it was a bit moister). As far as speed, I cooked a 12lb bird in 40 mins! I liked the idea that I could cook the turkey outside, and my wife could use the oven to cook all the sides without worrying about fitting them or cooking them while the turkey got cold.

Now that I have the stuff to do a fried turkey, Im sure I will continue to do it. No complaints, but no raves either. I was a little let down by the hype of frying turkey, but I would rate it equal with roasting in all aspects except the postive ones of time of cooking and availablilty of the oven for sides. Im going to try it with some flavored marinade injections next time, maybe that will be the ticket for an improvement over roasting.

One downfall - Cleanup is a tiny bit rougher than oven roasting, but not much.

a 21 pound turkey needs how much time to cook, deep fry that is?
I left it in for exactly 1 hour 3 minutes and the skin came out burnt.. Anyways I think I know what the problem was.. TURKEY was to large to be fried.. Would this be correct?

My father-in-law has recently started Deep frying Turkey. He wants some good recipes for coatings, marinades, brines, and injectable seasonings. He also wants to know about deep frying chicken and can you batter and fry a turkey or chicken. If some one can help me i would appreciate it.

Deep-Fried Turkey, Our New Favorite.

Tried deep-frying the turkey today. It came out great. Crispy skin, not burnt. The recipe and all the comments really helped.

However, it was salty. Brined for 11 hours. Was this too long?

And, it lost a lot of weight from the 14.5 lbs. The oil temp dropped from 350 to 275 when the bird was first put in the oil and took half the hour to bring back to 350. Was the lower cooking temp the reason for lost weight, and why?

This burner is supposed to be 160,000 btu. How is the burner adjusted to get the highest temperature?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

To Mandog-
21 lb. turkey wouldn't be too large if you make the necessary adjustments.
Was the meat cooked all the way through?
If it was- then you probably had too much temperature- back off on the temp.
If it wasn't- then back off on the temp. and lengthen the cooking time.
I cooked my 12 lb. bird in 53 minutes by
putting it in 400 deg. peanut oil. The oil immediately cooled down to 350 deg. and I kept that temp. constant (350). It turned out great.
1.I think an important feature is getting the turkey at room temp. for app. 2 hrs. before the plunge
2. making sure it is dry before lowering it in.
"GO Cats"

I started my second full season of turkey frying yesterday, and once again, nothing but home runs! A few things that have worked especially well for me are 1) keep the bird in the 10-12 lb range, as it cooks quicker at a lower temperature and is simply easier to work with; 2) I fry for 3 1/2 minutes/lb at 325 degrees, and the results are a crisp, dark brown skin, but never burned; 3) the proper oil level should just barely cover the turkey, DO NOT add an extra inch or two of oil, and by all means, NEVER fill the pot more than half full of oil; 4) although I inject marinade, I now avoid the dry rubs, as it adds little to the taste and dirties the oil much quicker. Happy cooking!

I tried frying my first turkey yesterday and it turned out good, but not great. I injected it with marinade, but found most of it dripped out prior to frying. I cooked my ten-pound bird for 35 minutes at 350 and found that the breast was done, but the inner thighs were far from done. I also had to wait about 10 - 15 minutes for the oil temperature to get back up to 350 after I put the bird in the fryer. Any ideas where I goofed?

We have done 2 fried turkeys so far, came out great!! Used Emirils recipe for marinade and found it a little strong. If anyone has any good ideas for the non-cajun marinades, please email them to me! Thanks!!!

Re: my email address is Hughes1065@msn.com

This was the first year we opted to fry a turkey. I was skeptical because I usually don't like fried foods. We had a baked ham and two baked turkeys plus the fried turkey - guess what? The fried turkey was a huge success and disappeared before the other turkeys and ham. This was THE moistest bird we have ever had and the flavor was delicious!!! We liked it so much we fried two more the day after Thanksgiving to give to our son and daughter to take back to Texas Tech University to share with their friends! GUNS UP!!!!

I finished a 19lb bird( got it b4 reading about the 17lb max), with the bird at room temp, put it in at 360 degrees, oil dropped to 300 and got it back up to 325 to 340 for 65 minutes thinking at a lower temp, a bigger bird it would take much longer than 3 minutes a pound, boy was I wrong. The bird was DONE and then some, the breast was 180+ and skin was very black.

Let it rest for 25 minutes and cut into it and it was pretty darn good but could have been
better if I’d gotten it out earlier or at least checked it 15-20 minutes earlier.

Any tips on checking the birds temp? How often do you test? Are there any new things
out on the market that would help like one that stays in the bird? Also I used the oil thermometer that came with the kit, is that a mistake? I thought maybe the oil was a lot
hotter than my thermometer was reading as it was probably a cheaper thermometer.

Any ways, the bird passed the father-in-law test and I got calls this AM saying it was good from a coupe guests. I still think it can be made better!

This was my second year. First year, we were short on oil and then this year had too much. Even though I measured with water, the oil still overflowed, so I agree with reducing oil volume by 10 - 20%. Turkey was GREAT and a hit, but oil mess was a pain. I used cat litter, but then it rained before I cleaned up. Double mess! Will be hard to convince wife it was worth it.

Tried my first one this year as well. Came out really well, but the legs didn't seem to be as done as the breast. I checked the best temp after 39 minutes for a 12 1/2 pound bird, and it read fine.

Should I have checked the temp of the legs as well??

But it was moist!

Now that Thanksgiving is past, can someone please offer any suggestions for deep frying a pork loin. I can not find any recipes or cooking time info on the Web. Thanks.

After hearing some rave reviews from others about their deep fried turkeys, my husband and would like to try it ourselves. However, we were trying to scale it down by doing a couple of cornish game hens. But we have some questions: 1. How long should I leave them in the brine? 2. Do I still go by the 3 min / pd rule and 3. Could I put them in the fry daddy instead of a turkey contraption.
First time I've been on this site, and I'm appreciative of all of the great comments!

Love deep fried turkey. We have not had good luck with bigger birds. 12# birds work best for us. We use the 26Qt pot with a basket that has a hook. Also use the heavy duty 30,000 BTU cooker. We bought ours at Costco. Anything with less heat would probably take a long time to heat to the 375 degrees.

We use canola oil....important to keep at 350 degrees while cooking the turkey.

We have done turkeys different ways at parties....the deep fried turkey also is the one gone first....very quickly!!

I personally love the crunchy part of the meat. It reminds me a little of jerky. Try it!

We fried our first turkey this year. It was l9+lbs. We got the oil up to 350, but when we lowered the bird, we could not get the oil up past 275. It was in for 3 l/2 min. per lb. and the meat fell off the bone when we took it out. We made a second attempt with a l7 lb. bird and I injected more marinade. The temperature problem still occurred although we managed to get it up to 300. This time we cooked it a 3 min. per lb. and it was very not done and the extra marinade was terrible. What are we doing wrong? The first overcooked bird tasted better but there was no marinade flavor. Do you have to marinade? Also, I baked my stuffing inside a pumpkin squash that turned out really good plus it has a great presentation for your table.

Someone wanted to know about frying chickens. Well, the chickens we tried actually turn out jucier and tasted just a good if not better than the turkeys. Try injecting them with butter and garlic and rubbing cajun seasoning on them too. A three lb chickin did take longer then 3.5 min per lb so let it cook for at least 20 minutes. Also, I would't let the oil get any hotter than 350.
For the person trying to do 17 lb birds. Forget it. I think 15 lbs is too much and its just to hard to get the turkey all the way done.

does anyone know about deep fried prime rib?

As for the question about cooking prime rib...i jus found this recipre on the box holding my jug of peanut oil...heat oil to about 350 degrees. pierce a hole thru the centre of th prime rib and put the fr accessory (if you have one) thru the prime rib. Season however you want...rare 2 3/4 min./lbs. ; med. rare - 3 1/2 min./lbs.; medium 4 1/4 min./lbs; remove and let drain for 5 minutes...theres also a recipe for 1 inch ribeyes...cooking time varies slightly...goodluck, fred

I will be frying a 12 pounder, and a breast only. Do I have to change the peanut oil after the first one? Or can I just use the same oil for the turkey breast? What is the minutes per pound ratio for the breast only? Thanks for any help.

You can use the same peanut oil for a number of times...6-10 times or until it turns dark. As for the turkey breast..I just did a whole turkey and then a small breast. I found I had to do the breast longer per pound than the recommended 3.5-4 minutes per pound for a whole turkey. I checked it several times by cutting it open...which was probably a no no because it lost some moisture. Either experiment or wait for a more seasoned turkey fryer veteran to respond with a proper time for just the breast...good luck, fred

My brother and I did our first bird this way on Thanksgiving this year. Now I'm doing two more for Christmas eve and Christmas day. Great developing marinades and rubs. By surfing the net we are coming up with a mixture of our own by mixing the recipes of eveyone who's posted one. We cook ours at 350 degrees and skin comes out blackened style but not burnt. Also after doing the turkey fry a couple of chickens. You can store the meat in the freezer and use in soups,at a later date or slice and store for sandwiches. You can also freeze the whole bird ( chicken) and re-heat at a later date. Good Luck and keep frying.

I had my first fried turkey a few years ago, it was great! We finally did one at Thacksgiving this year, however some people didn't like the spicy marinade. Anybody have any good suggestions? I would never go back to a roasted turkey!

We are deep fat frying our first turkey tomorrow 12/24/01...Everything is in the ready, peanut oil, 30 qt pot with all the bells and whistles, 13 lb turkey. Safety and following instructions our main concern. QUESTION...Once we lower the turkey down in the hot oil,do we cover with lid? Also, what is the best way to discard peanut oil once we've used it? We won't be in a situation to save and store it to use again. Thank you to anyone who may read and respond. Happy Holidays!

We just purchased our first turkey deep fryer, so I read the instructions thoroughly and they state "DO NOT use the lid while frying." Thanks for all the great suggestions on brining and marinating. We're excited about our first deep fried turkey.

everyone that has done this before know that you use peanut oil for this

We deepfried a turkey at thanksgiving and the oil has been outside, covered at about 40-50 degrees, unstrained. Can we still strain it and use it again tomorrow?

this is a great way to do a turkey and i actually get a kick out of it..
i prefer peanut oil and i saw a ?
about reusing it..Strain the oil
(i use a paint strainer becuse there plentiful for me)and store indoors..
i have some from last year that is still good it can be used in any of you're indoor fryers i.e. fry daddys

Peanut oil is the oil of choice for frying turkeys, but Liquidfied shortning is by far the best frying medium I've used to date. If happened by accident, Smart and Final was out of the 5 gallon peanut oil, so by chance I tried something I felt could handle the 350o temperature that was needed, and Voila!

The skin was perfect, and the true flavor of the meat was not marred by the flavor or the peanut oil. You must try it.
Happy frying!

Here is a suggestion for using those cheap plastic injectors. Make sure everything will pass through the long needle or else you'll end up malking a mess. I know because it happened to me last night. As I was pulling the melted butter and all other ingrediants up through the injector it became clogged. Well, I foung out that you DO NOT pull very hard with these things because the damn part you pull popped out of the rubber round gasket. Needles to say it wasn't pretty.
Here is another hint. Pull out the top part of the injector completly,stick other part into bird, pour the melted butter in injector, and last put the top part back in. This works well and is faster anyway.
But what i really recomend is spending a little extra on a better injector.

Hi ive had a couple fried turkeys so i bought a kit to do some myself. My QUESTION is do i start the timer when i add the bird or when i get the oil temp at the proper temp?

I have seen a couple posts on this page for deep fried prime rib. Would love to try. I can only find one recipe online. Anyone have a tried-and-true they would like to share??

Hubby tried deep frying a turkey on Thanksgiving, but had the thermometer in the bird, rather than the oil. He kept turning up the heat in order to get the 'oil' to 350. By the time the hour was up...the inner bird WAS 350!! It was 'turkey-jerky'!
Now he has cooked another bird for Xmas, being very careful where the thermometer was placed. The bird still turned absolutely BLACK on the outside and I think the meat was dry.
Should not seasoning the turkey skin help? Everyone seems to happy with their fried turkeys, I feel very left out :(

We just did our first deep-fried Turkey on Christmas Eve and it was wonderfule. It only took about 40 minutes for a 12 pound turkey and everybody loved it. I would love some more recipes to cook other meats.

Where do you all cook the turkey? Seems like if it's on driveway or in the garage....you'll have a grease mess? Give me the tips on how to keep from having an ugly mess where you do the frying?

Terry Foss
Did you deep fry your prime rib? I haven't tried that yet.
I did find this web site though,

http://www.alliedkenco.com/turkey.htm

Hi,
I am going to make a cajun turkey. Should I also brine it? Inject then brine?

I've done 6 birds, all great. I'm oding another tonight. Here's a few things I've found that help a bit:

1) If you're worried about oil overflow & making a mess of the sidewalk/patio/driveway, go to your local auto parts store and get a srip tray. These resemble a large cookie sheet (about 24"X36"), and are for putting under cars that drip oil on that nice garage floor. You can then put Sppedy-Dry or cat litter on that, if you're REALLY worried, and cleanup is a simple dump in the trash.

2) This one will help those of you in the colder climates - It'll be about 20 degrees here in Jersey tonight. I've made two rings out of 12" wide unpainted aluminum flashing. The first is about two inches larger in diameter that my fry pot. this sits on the burner with the pot inside of it, and helps reflect heat back to the sides of the pot. I've also made a ring that completely surrounds the base of the burner, as a wind deflector. I've found that this reduces oil heating time in cold weather by almost half. NOTE: THE PORPANE TANK STAYS OUTSIDE THE OUTER RING> Notch the outer ring for the hose to pass through - I also wrapped the hose that is inside the ring with High temperature insulating wrap (Ask your local hot-rodder or speed shop).

3) I prefer to remove the legs and wings from the bird, and stitch up the skin with butchers string and a big needle. I've found that the legs & wings can become cinders waiting for the rest of the bird to cook, so after immersing the bird, I put in the parts. They get done at there own rate, and I can send them in tokeep the ravenous wolves quiet while the rest of the bird is finishing up. Sewing the skin closed also keeps the bird jucier.

4) I push the edge here a bit, in that I get the oil up to 400-405 before I put the bird in. However, this cazuses the temperature drop to not go below 340 in the worst conditions, so the bird doisn't get greasy.

5) I do a temperature check every two to three minutes. After the first ten, the oil temp starts climbing. I've found that from starting with the burner on full when immersing the bird, I will gradually be adjusting down until, when the bird comes out, I'm down to almost no flame. The color of my birds is usually about that of teak or mahogany, but not black( Think of the color of the old wooden Chris-Craft boats).

6) I keep my bird in the fridge upended on a wire rack for 24 to 36 hours after injecting marinade. This allows the marinade to work, and also allows the bird to dry considerably, minimizing any splatter and spitting when immersing the bird. Don't forget to put a big plate or tray under the rack, for drippage.

7) If you are doing this the frist time, the plastic injector is fine. If you intend to keep doing this, invest in a good, all-metal syringe like they sell in Cabela's catalog - it's well worth the money. Just be prepared to go through more marinade!

I hope that this helps out.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!!!!

Anyone ever deep fried a goose? I'm doing one right now and have know idea how it's going to turn out. Injected it with creole garlic marinade made for beef and pork. Goose is dark meat so what the heck. Also doing chickens tonight and i know they will turn out great.

Ive been deep frying turkeys now for 5 yrs and have used peanut oil every time except for this year.I messed up big time and waited till christmas day too try and buy my oil.Well i drove around to every store i knew of with no luck.I started to panic cause the family came over to eat FRIED TURKEY.Well just as i lost hope i saw a chinese resturant open.I went in explained my problem and all they had was soybean oil.Ill tell ya what this was the best turkey ive done in years and will defently try it again.I think soybean oil is better for you too.

I just received a turkey cooker for christmas.I am ready to test drive a turkey this weekend.
Can anyone please get me started off in the right direction
I would like to know,
1- how much oil to buy
2- should I marinate the first time,(I got some rub and spice with it)
3-Does it taste as good if I don't marinate the first time?
4-I really want a golden turkey, how can I garentee this?
5-Do u have any prepping tips
6- What about gravy?
7-How long after cooking can I carve the bird?
8- Any other pointers for a rookie would be greatly appreciated

Excitedly waiting,
Brad

1-brad, go to sams and buy 5 gallons of peanut oil.(it comes in 1 or 5 gallons)
2-inject the marinate in all of the turkey parts and put back in fridge to mainate over night.
3-it tastes better ith marinade but it taste good w/out it as well.
4-too get a golden turkey the key is heat between 325 and 350,anymore and it will be darker than brown.put the turkey on paper towels for a few minutes after cooking before slicing. -fry 3.5 min per pound.take pot off burner at 250 degrees then put turkey in and turn heat up too 350 to avoid oil spills.completely dry the turkey before cooking this will also avoi oil disruptions.good luck!!!!

I am a big fan of the deep frying process. I love my deep fryer. Every chance I get I will deep fry turkey and share with my friends. We are going on our annual ice fishing trip in Febuary and I want to deep fry a turkey on the ice. My friends don't think this is a good idea. This makes me very sad. They started poking fun of me, and I started crying (just a little)and they hurt my feelings. Does anyone know how I can convince my friends to deep fry on the ice and to stop picking on me because of my feminity and passion towards cooking ?

We have been deep frying since last Christmas,the first one we did was good, the second was good but we had a problem with the oil, it got too hot and we had to set the pot in the snow to bring it down to a temperature that we could cook with; we've improved greatly since then. This year for Thanksgiving we cooked a bird for my parents, my father who doesn't like turkey because it is dry, loved it, all that we did was season it with salt and pepper, (no cajun for my dad).

We just ate our first deep fried turkey - It was good but not fantastic. I'm not sure I injected the marinate properly. Are there supposed to be pockets of marinade in the meat when carving? I only injected half as much marinade as recommended, 6 0z for a 13 lb bird and injected under the skin with 2 entry points but it seems to have stayed just where injected so was not throughout the meat. Help please.

My husband does not care for roasted turkey. I gave him the deep frying kit for Christmas and we have eaten several turkeys. I am very sure that we will not be eating roasted turkey again. I recently gave him a smaller pan and basket and we are looking for some new recipes to try.

i would like to find more things to deep fry like prime rib maybe? please feel free to e-mail me with any suggestions thank you

HOW DO I MAKE GRAVY WHEN DEEP FRYING A TURKEY

Hey all!
frying turkeys is not rocket science. It is like anything else. You more than likely won't get it perfect the first time, but practice it worth the results. I like to use Jack Danials, fried butter,garlic and crushed black pepper corns. Everyone likes the taste and comes back for more!

We've fried 2 turkeys so far...THEY WERE GREAT!!! Fabulous reviews!...but, how do you get rid of all that used oil???

Concerning the questions re: gravy with a deep fried turkey - You will not be able to make any. Sorry. If you really want that gravy, try roasting some turkey parts ahead of time and make the gravy from that. Good luck.

I recently tried to do turkey breasts only and I found that to get it done all the way through it took quite a while longer than your standard 31/2-4 minutes per pound. Any thoughts?

Follow the directions for a whole bird. The only difference is in the cooking time. The breast should cook for 7 minutes per pound of meat and add 5 minutes to get a total cook time. You will get consistently better results if you fry each breast seperately.

I cooked my first deep fried turkey 3 weeks ago for a group of 8 hungry guys (14 pound bird) and it got rave reviews. Cooking another this Labour Day weekend for family and friends. Looking forward to the meal. The recipe was excellent - good tips.

Thank goodness I found this site...LOL
I got my Hubby a deep fryer and now He wants all the recipes I can find...any ideas would really help....doing a ham but just incase I have a few TV dinner still waiting in the freezer..
Even joined an egroup of ideas on using this...I guess I did not know what I was getting into when I got this for him...LOL but the wonderful Turkeys and chicken has been worth it so far LOL

Just bought a turkey fryer today and a turkey, going to be trying this out for the first time tomorrow.

I have never fried a turtkey and would like to know if anyone has ever stuffed the skin with fresh herbs, garlic, s&p, etc?

Or if it is possible to stuff a turkey with bread based stuffing and then fry it?

Or if anyone just has a good recipe they would like to shear!!

i AM LOOKING FOR A REAL GOOD RECIPE TO USE TO INJECT MY TURKEY, SOMETHING THAT IS NOT TOO HOT AS MOST OF THE GUESTS I AM HAVING ARE NOT A FAN OF TOO HOT OF FOODS

THANKS

Okay, we deep fried our first turkey yesterday and the skin came out blacker than night. The inside was delicious but the appearance on the outside was not very appetizing. Any comments or suggestions?

I am trying my hand at cooking tomorrow for Football finger foods. My 12 lb. bird is in the Fridge overnight to flavor up with this recipe that I got from the Halvorson Clan in Michigan.
It may be hard to find, but the items are out there. Kroger was my third stop, and had all ingerdients.
** Injector Marinade Recipe **
1 bottle of Garlic Juice (small 2 oz bottle)
1 bottle of Onion Juice (small 2 oz bottle)
6 oz Cider Vinegar
2 oz Worchester Sauce (must have Anchovie)
1 oz Tabasco (Tx Pete OK)
1 tspn Salt
Heat just hot enough to disolve salt and begin to steam. Remove from heat to cool slightly. Rinse turkey and remove extra skin/fat as well as all innards. Pat dry with paper towels. Place on a platter or on a rack in a 9X12 pan. Inject mix in every vital area. Try to use the same entry hole at different angles, otherwise, you get the fluid exiting out of the other holes as you pu it in another one!! Now rub the turkey (do not coat it!) with equal parts Cayenne and Black pepper. Wrap in saran or wax paper on the platter or pan and refridgerate overnight.
As for cooking....I'll let you know how it comes out later.....

"D"

Turkey was a GREAT Success! Things I know to watch out for next time...
Originally, my temp went up to 400 F. As I lowered the bird in it spewed a bit, but not too bad. The temp almost immediately dropped to 320 F. I turned up the flame and basically played teeter-totter for 30 minutes trying to maintain 375 F. I finally figured out to leave the gas pressure alone for the most part, and use the air intake baffle to regulate the temperature. Open up to give more air and it gives the jet engine sound, raising the temp. As it grew near 375, I closed down the vent a bit to a quite purr. This method kept me between 350 and 375 for the rest of the cooking. It took 55 minutes for a 13 lb bird to reach 180 F. in the breast. There were a few tough edges, but for the most part it was very juicy. Next time I will remove the bird when internal temp is about 165 to 170 F. I guess it keeps cooking longer than I expected after it is out of the oil.
Until the next time....Have Fun!

David

RE; Gravy,try using 14.5oz can chicken broth, poultry seasoning, corn starch, 1c. cold water, and gibblets from frying turkey. bring broth and poultry seasoning to a boil, then add turkey gibblets boil untill gibblets are done. remove gibblets and allow broth to simmer, finely chop gibblets and return to broth(optional but adds to flavor). in a seperate bowl mix corn starch and cold water until free of lumps,add corn starch mixture to broth and bring to med heat. stir until desired thickness and remove from heat. also add salt and pepper if desired

We have done several turkeys. All were great. We're looking for recipes to deep fry other things. (Possibly a ham, roast, or anything else someone might have tried.) Please e-mail (lora@wireweb.net) me with any recipes and cooking times. Thank you.

DEEP FRIED TURKEYS ARE THE BEST!!!!! I was wondering if anyone has tried frying just a TURKEY BREAST. Does it cook completely without drying out??

This will be our second deep fried turkey. We did the first last Summer and it was wonderful. Our temps this time of year are in the upper 30's to mid 40's. How long should we figure for the oil to heat to 350-375 degrees in the cold weather? Thanks.

when injecting the bird do I just inject under the skin or into the meat?

In reference to injecting, ALWAYS inject slowly into the meat. Have Fun!

Forget lowering the turkey in by the legs. I recommend using a crane hoist attached to the turkey with a small, clean chain and clevis. This allows better control of lowering and keeps you farther from the hot oil. Fry the turkey not the cook. Keep fire extinguishers handy and be prepared for delicious turkey.

I had purchased my turkeys and my fry rig before doing my research...shame on me. But there were a lot of comments about 15 lbs being the largest bird you could fry. I would like to state here and now that it is not true. I cooked two birds, 19.39 lbs and 21.95lbs respectively and they turned out great. I agree with Steven about creating a rig to raise, lower and suspend the bird. I just got a cheap 48" steel tube and put a clevis rocker in the middle. The clevis rocker had a hole in it so I could take the turkey hanger and suspend it. We used the bar to raise and lower the bird, and we rested the bar across the top of the fryer with the bird suspended in the oil so it could cook. I'll be more than happy to take picture of it and send it to anyone interested. Also, the oil temperature mentioned in some of the previous comments may be a little high. I found that 300-325 worked just righteoulsy. Both birds were golden brown. Y'all have a good Turkey day.

NEED HELP - Does someone know a good marinade recipe which isn't as spicy as the Cajun style recipes (Italian style maybe??). I have a lot of family coming over who can't handle the heavy spices found in Cajun recipes. Would appreciate any help. Turkey size will be around 15 lbs.
Thanks!!

Turkey Frying is Fantastic!!! Was introduced to deep fried turkey from a friend. After trying it for the firs time my wife and I were hooked! Wish I knew about this web site before my first attempt at it. Everything went wrong! From the bird spraying the wallpaper in the kitchen and all over the floor to the defformed lump of black coal the next day.
(never ask drunk friends to help inject a bird) Have learned from my mistakes.I am know producing better birds.My family doesn't care for the injected birds. Have learned new way of seasoning that adds wonderful flavor and doesn't turn your oil too dark. Prep your bird and towel dry.Wash your hands. Roll your hands under the skin and separate the skin from the meat.Be careful not to tear the skin.After the skin is loose from the meat. Pin it behind the legs to hold it in place.Sprinkle the meat sparringly with Garlic salt,garlic powder,onion powder,Lawry's seasoned saltand McCormick's Original Chicken seasoning.Pull skin back and let weight of skin press seasoning into the meat.Place in refrigerator over night and fry next day.

I found soaking the bird in a kosher salt brine for 4 hours before cooking is the best for hydrating....This method worked well with birds 23 pounds in size. Peanut oil is the best for turkeys...375 temp. is all you need but don't drop below 325. 350 is were you need to stay......3.5 mins a pound is the formula...

To Chris Price :
Try using Italian salad dressing, of course you may have to strain it before putting into the injector.

I'm just wondering, has anyone had a problem with the drumsticks not getting done? We've fried a few over the last three years and have always cut the legs off and fried them separate. They just didn't get done with the first ones we tried. Any suggestions?

Don: I would be most grateful for a photo of your rig. I love this web site. Oldredcrow@aol.com

i would like to know if you should leave the cover on the pot or not, while frying the turkey?

Thanks to all forty pages of you and your comments, I took the plunge and fried one 12# turkey and one 8# turkey breast. I took a consensus and/or average of your cooking temps, time, oils, injections, rubs etc. I cooked both at 335 degrees, 46 minutes for the whole turkey and 60 minutes for the breast. I injected and brine soaked both. I did a dry rub on the whole but not the breast. When I took the whole out I was flabbergasted at the sight. It looked cremated. However, my guest raved and I did enjoy the taste even of the skin. I believe the soaking in brine contributed significantly to the taste. The breast was also quite dark but delicious. Please, where did I go wrong and how do I get that golden brown color? Redcrow

hello folks just adding a hint on cleaning the outside of your turkey pot. i know you guys have that gunk on the outside of your pots. its very hard to get it off. i found a way, i use my orbit sander on it and it done great. looks new again. hope it helps you out.

We used Lisa's brine recipe posted on 11/15/01 before frying our first turkey. We did not put any other seasoning on it after the brine and the turkey was amazing. I am absolutely hooked. It was so fast and easy. One suggestion if you cannot fit the bird in the fridge while you brine it is to add ice to the brine mixture itself in the bucket and leave it covered in the garage overnight. It kept the bird plenty cold. I only brined it for about 13 and will increase that time by a few hours next time for a 14# bird. We also recommend setting the oil level for the fryer using the water technique, with two additional hints. When you put the turkey in the fryer and cover it with water, be sure you have the turkey in the fry basket if you are using one. After you remove the turkey and measure the water level, we recommend lowering the measurement 1/2" to 1" when you add the oil. The oil will bubble up alot and you will still have plenty to cover the bird while it is frying without risking overflow. Also go really slowly when adding the turkey and the bubbling will settle down a bit and not overflow.

I noticed several people ask about their birds being black when they come out of the oil. Ours looked the same way and I just assumed that was normal. We had a hard time keeping out temp below 375 while frying. Is the black skin a result of the higher temp or is it the normal color for a fried turkey? Any help is appreciated.

my husband is looking for a receipt with a smoke flavor to inject into the turkey. our fryer came with a packet and it was delicious. any ideas? thanks b

I'm looking for a deep fried ham recipe. Does anyone have one? If so, pleae email to nc-mtns@att.net

Thanks!

Does anyone have a marinade that is not too spicy? My wife has a sensitive tongue. Any help is appreciated. Please send the recipe to tim_foley@merck.com

The Tony Chachere rub and creole seasoning recipe
26 ounce box Morton's salt
1 1/2 ounce ground black pepper
2 ounce ground red pepper
1 ounce bottle pure garlic powder
1 ounce bottle pure chili powder
1 ounce accent
Mix well and use like salt. When it is salty enough it is seasoned just right. Store in airtight container.

HELP! My husband is a "know-it-all" when it comes to frying turkey but has yet to do it right (he has tried and failed three years in a row). Last week he reached the flash point of the peanut oil. Needless to say, he lit up the whole neighborhood! Wanted to try again for Christmas Day. When I went out to check on him, he had the oil heated but was using some of the oil that had caught fire the week before along with some new peanut oil. He and I are disagreeing...I say you can't use ANY of that oil again, he says he can use it. Who's right?

JUst got a fryer for Christmas going to try it out New Years. I have already cooked several birds with my friends cooker so it should not be to hard. The guy using the burnt oil should stick to making toast.

The turkey was absolutely delicious, does anyone know if I can deep fry half a turkey??

i am looking into getting a turkey fryer
would like to know what i should look for never tryed it yet but want to
thanks

Hi all. This is a great site. I just cooked my first Deep Fried Turkey last weekend after much prep. and worrie! Since I was going to all the trouble, I also cooked a chicken and a duck which turned out even better I think for taste. As I did this in Singapore many folks just turned up to watch as they never heard of this method before and we had great fun. I constructed two metal frames either side of the pot on which rested a metal rod. A chain was attached so I could lower the birds at my ease, at a distance and great control just by turning the metal rod. Now that I have all the gear folks want me to do it again soon as they loved it. This time the beach I think. Its so well worth all the trouble. That said I dont think the dry rub is worth it as it darkens and spoils the oil and not much taste. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! AND THANKS FOR ALL THE TIPS!

The expense of the peanut oil made it necessary for us to fry several turkeys using the same batch of oil. When anyone I knows wants to fry a turkey, he puts out the word and before you can cluck, there are usually 7-10 friends that show up with turkeys-a-ready-to-fry. My brothers have made in an annual social occasion.

I'm looking for info on how to deep fry a pork roast w/ bone in, and a beef roast. I've looked every where on the net, but can't find anything. I could use some help. You can e-mail me @ BASUR1@AOL.COM.
Thank's ahead of time!!
Scott.

First, let me say "thanks" to everyone who posted either comments and instruction and even to those who had questions as it made me think about the best way to accomplish our foray into the fanstically tasty world of deep fried turkey!

As you might guess, it was great. An easy 9&7/8 stars out of 10.

The only problem I had was that the inside of the leg and the meeting of the thigh were not done completely, even though I had a temp guage jammed in the breast and went for 170, as reccomended. I think a previous poster's suggestion about removing and frying separately is an option worth trying. So, knock off a mere 1/8 of a star for that.

Otherwise, even non-turkey eaters were impressed. I hated oven roasted turkey, especially the white meat because it was so dry. Not so with the deep fried. Absolutely superior to anything, even a kettle Weber, which is how we have done turkeys for about 7-8 years now. And those were pretty darn good, let me tell ya!

There is a lot of discussion about safety and oil level, pot size, etc. IMHO, listen to every word written and take all the precautions noted. A very good suggestion made was to simply turn off the flame right before the BIG DROP. Simple, yet brilliant, my chef's hat is off to you.

Get that bird out into room temp. I had an internal of about 50 when I finally cooked him.

Get one of those fancy remote probe thermometers. All info says 3.5 minutes per pound putting a 12 pounder at about 45 minutes. Well, I got to "doneness" (170)in about 35 @ 11.83 pounds.

Another tip, get the largest pot possible. Even though I used made sure that bird was as dry as I could get it, that oil still shoots out of the neck cavity like a geyser... I'm getting ahead of myself here.

I read everything posted here carefully and decided to go a step further. I did the recommended water measure. However, when I "oiled" the pot, I only filled it to about 2/3rds of the way. THEN, putting a 20 quart stock pot on the stove, I heated another gallon of the oil to about 350. I shut off the gas to the cooker, then dropped the turkey in. Clearing a path through the kitchen and locking the the kids up in the closet, I took that oil out to "top off" the main cooker, after the turkey was in and the initial bubbling settled down a bit (about 2 - 3 minutes). No spill over and a minimum amount of splatter. I would recommend doing this, only with the largest pot you can find, fill it less that half, maybe 1/3, and use a candy thermometer to monitor the temp.

We let that sucker rest for about 20 minutes after pulling it out of the oil.

As far as filtering the oil, I noticed that most of the residue sank to the bottom of the pot and you can just decant off the good oil in to suitable storage containers. You can run it through a cheesecloth, but I found it unecessary.

We can hardly wait to do it again!

We used this, a variation of something posted prior as injection sauce. The variations were due to just didn't have enough or the stuff.

Turkey Injection Sauce
1 can chicken broth
3 fluid ounces garlic oil (used 3 tablespoons garlic powder instead)
1 tablespoon salt (kosher)
4 tablespoons Louisiana Hot Sauce (didn't use. Hey, I'm an old guy who eats too much already and the hot sauce would give me nightmares.)
1 teaspoon cayenne
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce ( Ran out at 1 and 1/2 so subbed 2 tablespoons Soy sauce for the rest.)

Best of luck and happy eating!

I fried my 1st turkey on Thanksgiving and it was a great success! Then on Xmas I fried another great turkey. This is the only way a turkey should be cooked.

Hi,

Got a turkey fryer for Christmas, and that night made my first ever fried turkey. As expected, came out pretty good - much better than roasted. Made my second turkey last week, after I had a chance to purchase an injector, and some marinade. Still came out great, but I have a feeling I can do better. I have a couple of questions that have been bothering me.

1. Both times, I got the oil up to about 365 degrees, but when I dumped the turkey in, the temp. plunged, and didn't recover back to 350 until it was almost ready to come out - about 30 minutes later. That got me real confused, because I thought you were supposed to actually cook the turkey for about 45 min. at 350. I still took the turkey out after 45 min because of the internal temp (see next question), but that still bothered me.

2. Even with the slowly climbing temp, when I checked the turkey after about 42 min., I think it was too hot. The breast was about 190 - 200 degrees (both times). Still don't understand what's going on. I followed the basic rule of 3 minutes per pound + 5 minutes. I guess both times the turkey was a little dry - but not too dry.

3. I used marinade the second time (garlic and herb. wife doesn't like hot stuff :( ), and I didn't notice that much of a difference. I may have been doing something wrong. I injected about 12 oz (for a 12 lb. turkey), and let it marinade in the fridge on rack for a couple of hours. There was a lot of juice in the pan when I pulled it out of the fridge. Maybe all the marinade leaked out? Couldn't really taste the marinade when the turkey was done.

4. The second time, I used peanut oil instead of vegetable oil. Great choice. However, I got lazy and after the turkey was done, I just let the oil sit in the fryer for about a week. Right now, I'm straining it through a cheesecloth back into the original container. Is the oil any good at this point? Should I start over and get another 5 gallon at Costco?

5. It's a minor question, but I always have a hard time with my thermometer. I have a fryer that has a basket, and a lid with a hole in it to put the thermometer. When I dump the turkey in, the basket and turkey get in the way of the thermometer's stem, making it hard to get the lid on. After messing with it for a while, I can usually get the lid on, but it always freaks me out to fool around with this lid over boiling oil. Also, sometimes I'm afraid that when I get the lid on, the thermometer is either in or hitting the turkey, so I'm getting the turkey's temperature instead of the oil. I'm thinking there must be a better way.

Thanks so much for all your help. You guys are great!

What is the secret to a golden brown turkey? Every single time we have deep-fried a turkey, it comes out of the pot black, NEVER golden brown. We tried lowering the temperature to 350, thinking this would help. Suggestions please!

Has anyone ever heard of "Deep Fried Hot Dogs"?

My son has told me we can do this, but I need cooking times,temp,etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank You
Kenny

Getting ready to use turkey fryer for the first time. We live in Michigan and current temps are about 22 degrees. Can you fry turkey in cold weather? I suspect the only difference would be longer initial heating of the oil to get it up to cooking temperature.

Ken, remember hot dogs only take 30seconds each in the microwave...it won't take very long in a basket, just a dip in and out should give you an idea... don't know if I'd be brave enough to try a long metal hot dog fork or if they would break off and be gone. Remember too, to dry the hot dogs first...water and oil make big splatters that could burn a person... I have never tried this...these are only my humble opinion...

I read thru all the past reviews and found alot of info on how many times you can use the peanut oil and how to store it but my question is how long is the oil good for. We only used it once...last year and have had it stored in the refrigerator in its original container since. Would it still be ok to use?? Thanks!

"Great web site" I just built a pot for my deep frying turkey experience, out of a piece of 12" stainless pipe 18" high I think it will be high enought.There are quite a wide range of burners out there I just bought a 80,000 BTU hope it is big enought.This will be my first attempt deep frying turkeys.I am kind of mixed up weather to use dry rub or marnate?Wish me luck.

If you ever had deep fried turkey with the creole butter injector seasoning, you will never want another oven turkey. It is absolutely delicious. We deep fry approx. 6 turkey per year. We have been deep frying turkey for 7.5 years. People that don't care anything about eating turkey will eat deep fried turkey.

I deep fried my first turkey in liquid shortning it had been used once a week before,I cooked it at 350 at three & one half mins. a pound + 5 mins.I was not real excited about the black colour or the taste,I rubed it with spice & injected one side just to try & see if Iwould like it,I also marinated it in apple juice over night,was disapointed.

I'm from the UK and this is a great recipe.
Where can I get hold of an injector or syringe?

My family has been frying turkeys for more than five years. I personally started more than three years ago. We started out with a Worcestishire Sauce marinade which gave a deep black skin coloring when fried, but was not crisp.

The BEST fried turkey is one done in lard. But only the day it is fried, next day any leftovers taste funny, maybe a temperature problem. We have moved on to peanut oil, though, because the lard is not reusable, and the peanut-oil-fried turkey tastes just as good the next day.

For those not wanting "hot" or "cajun" seasonings, go with italian salad dressing. If you don't have an injector (I didn't for my first one back in college) put your turkey in a clean trashbag with your marinade, squeeze the air out, and leave it in your refridgerator.

The recipe looks great, but a warning about the oil is in order. I learned in an undergrad health class from a very concerned professor that allowing oil to cool and then bringing it to a boil again has been shown to significantly increase the free radicals in the oil, thus increasing the risk of cancer over using fresh oils. The moral of the story is, use fresh oil every time. I can't wait to try the recipe, sounds good with just the Cayenne pepper!

I learned this while in the Marines from one of the Cajuns I was stationed with.
1987 was a great for my family and we have never went back. I now do 8-10 for Thanksgiving and a good number throughout
the year.
The bird needs to be completely thawed and dried out. Wipe it out with a paper towel if necessary. I use a cookie sheet withe a T-Towel or two laid out on it to set the bird on.
Injection is the only way to go. We like Land-O Lakes Butter so....
1- 18Lb Bird
1lb Land-O-Lakes butter melted
Now the rest is to taste
cajun powder, cayane pepper,(careful)
now look in your spice cabinet and be creative, you know what you like and how much is too much.
Stir until all is cooked/disolved and get your injector ready. It works best to have a second person to hold the pan tipped up so you can get the seasoning in the injector each time you reload. Give a generous ammount in each spot and use different angles while your at each site. You'll know your done when the bird is swelled to most twice it's size.
Don't worry about what runs out it is going to happen. Sometimes I'll rub the injection site with my thumb like a doctor after giving a shot as it will help close the hole some but it still will seep no harm. Cover the bird with another T-Towel and place in the refrigerator 24 hrs. This will allow the butter and seasoning to thicken and set.
Bring inside your oil and deep fry pan so they get to room temp, this will help in the cooking stage.
24hrs later....
Now your ready to get cooking, Pull out the bird and set on your counter so it can come close to room temperture. Set up your cooker and pour in the oil (Peanut)and start the fire cooking. I sue a long stemed thermometer so I'll know when the temp hits 350 deg. This is why you brought in the pan and oil. The warm up time is less because the oil and pan are not so cold. Once the temp is ready put the bird in BREST DOWN. Set the timer 3 1/2 min per pound.
When the bird is done and you are removing it from the oid be sure to drain the oil from the cavity carefully.
Set the bird back on the cookie sheet and cover back up with the T-Towel as this will absorb the oil left on the outside as well as hold in the warmth until you are ready to set your masterpiece on the table.
*Note= When you cut the bird and notice a glop of something on/in the meat be the first to grab this. It is the seasoning and it is well worth fighting for.
Chicken is the same but cook for 9min per pound due to density.
Please enjoy and feel free to E-Mail me with your notes,comments or suggestions.

I have become quite the fried turkey aficionado. I have developed a very good injection sauce that makes the turkey very, very tasty, and juicy. I inject it at the tops and bottoms of the breasts and back, in both legs from the middle point between the leg and thigh, in the wings on the meaty parts and always pivoting the needle as to keep the puncture holes to a minimum. You would also pivot the needle at the top of the legs to inject into the thighs.
All total, I have about 14 injection sites.
I then massage each site to close the puncture holes and also give a good massage to the entire bird.
You ALWAYS want to be sure to do any injection and marinating at least 1 or 2 days before you are ready to fry.
I personally don't care for the cajun seasonsing. I just go with the seasonings I have in my cabinet. (I have lots)
Once my turkey is injected, I season inside and out and place it in a plastic bag and refrigerate until I'm ready to fry.
Remove the bird from the bag, place in a pan and let it come to room temp continually draining off any liquid from the pan. This usually takes about 2 or 3 hours. (The flavor is in the bird where you want it. Don't worry about rubbing off flavor.)
At this point take paper towels and rub off any seasoning from the body inside and out.
MAKE SURE YOUR BIRD IS COMPLETELTY COMPLETELY DRY BEFORE YOU FRY.
The rest is deep fry history. Just be very careful when frying.

Here is my injection recipe. Enjoy.

1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
2 cups of water
3 tbs seasoned salt
3 tbs salt free herb seasoning
2 sticks butter
1 tbs lemon pepper
4 or 5 cloves of garlic
Place all ingredients into a pot and simmer for about an hour or until the garlic is tender. Taste and adjust the flavor to suit your tastes. Allow to cool and place in blender. Puree and then strain in cheesecloth. Inject away.
HAPPY FRYING!

If you have any questions, just e mail me.

We LOVE our deep fried turkeys. Looking for some information/recipes for doing wings and pork roast in our deep fryer, especially temps and cooking times. Trying the wings tomorrow based on talking to friends who fry. Would appreciate any other expert tips. Thanks!

Going to "test drive" our new turkey fryer with a chicken tomorrow before we go for the Thanksgiving turkey........is the timing different for a chicken...3-4 min per pound on a turkey.....any idea on a 4 lb chicken?

i just bought one of the turkey deep fryers and gonna give it a shot for thanksgiveing. but what i was wondering what else can you use that big old pot for? any ideas , hints , recipies or web sites would be awsome i wanna get my 60 bucks worth out of this turkey fryer...just email me or post on this board..thanks alot robert

The only thing that you all missed is to put the turkey in a paper shopping bag before you lower it into the peanut oil. I know it sounds funny but it works great and keeps the oil alot cleaner and the spices on the turkey not the oil. You can also stuff the bird with this method.. Happy cooking and have a great turkey day.........

Rob.... I use my turkey fryer for steaming lobsters; you can use it for clambakes, steaming shrimp, crabs... It's actually pretty handy....

I have nevered tryed a deep fryed turkey before but this thanksgiving is the first. After reading all the tips from everyone I think this might be the best turkey yet. So thanks will let you know how it turns out.

Keep oil at 350 F. No higher!! Use 3 1/2 minutes for all turkeys, no matter how small or large. Always use penut oil for best results. Only use oil twice and fry some thin-sliced potatos between each use. This will take some of the rub out of the oil and neutralize some of the acicity that comes from cooking. Save the Vidalia onion for after the oil has been used twice. It will ruin the oil completly. Don't forget, always cook outdoors amd well away from buildings!!!!

Several have asked how to dispose of the used oil. I take it to the used motor oil recycling center.

last year found a recipe for Root Beer Marinade. Now I can't find it. Does anyone out there have it? It was great!

Once you've tried fried turkey, you'll never go back to baked or bbq'd. Not at all dangerous if you purchase the appropriate fryer.

We did two deep-fried turkeys for Christmas last year. Just like pancakes, the first one came out a little less browned than we wanted, and the second one came out perfect.
This year I got a 20-lb turkey. Then I read the directions later. Is 20-lbs too big? What can I do with this monster, cos there's no way it's going in my oven?! Anyone else 'been there, done that' and have recommendations for us?
Thanks,
Betty (not Crocker)

I just fried another turkey and this time it was a wopper. A 26lbder. Everyone here at the house loved it. I marinaded it with 5 sticks of butter put salt
pepper
brown sugar
nutmeg
worcestershire sauce
cayenne pepper
I didn't measure any of them. I just mixed it in there. Shot up the bird and had it ready for the pot.
I let the oil get up to 420 degrees F. Then i dropped the turkey. Temperature dropped to 350 degrees and i let the turkey cook for about an hour and a half.
It was a little burnt at the base but golden brown everywhere else and very moist and juicey on the inside.

I just want to thank everyone and this website for thier info. and inputs.. Happy holidays. 11-26-2003

Countdown to is on for our first deep fried bird. Thanks for all the feedback from everybody on this site.

This one is for MOMMO and LBT, wished they were hear to enjoy this with everybody.

Happy Thanksgiving

Had a fried turkey this year. first time. didn't realize the timing of heating the oil. never really saw that anywhere. it took about an hour to get the oil to 400. i thought about 20 minutes. we didn;t eat until 8pm. still turned out good. even with no seasoning/marinade at all.

I have to fry 3 turkeys tomorrow, my friends and I work shiftwork so Saturday will be our Thanksgiving Day. Anyway, I plan to fry the first one at about 1130am, the other 2 that I have to do the people want for 6:00 and 7:30 pm, is it alright for me to fry all the turkeys in the same oil without straining it? I don't want the 3rd one of the day to turn out black because of the dirty oil. Will this be ok? Please help... Thank you!

Eric,
You'll be fine cooking the other two turkeys; you only have to strain the oil before storing it.

Ok my (short) story.

2002 was our first time deep frying a turkey,(19lbs), in peanut oil and it turned out ~perfect~, we did the same for Christmas, (wanted ham but deep frying another turkey was a no brainer --it tasted SOOO good!)

I was inexperienced as to how long to store the used oil so I stored the oil (unfiltered) in the garage....for a year!, After I read this entire thread (the night before Thanksgiving 2003) on how long to store/keep used oil (6 months was the longest I saw posted) and it was recommended it be kept in the freezer of refrigerator I was concerned. Thanksgiving day I drove to COSTO, which was closed --dummy me ;-0 So I took a change and used the same oil from 2002. It smelled OK, not stale and our 15lb turkey came out golden brown and tasted awesome. So....I stored my oil unfiltered, non-refrigerated in our garage for 12 months in San Diego, CA and it seemed fine --go figure.

The most difficult task about frying a turkey is maintaining the oil temperature AFTER the turkey is deployed. Here is what I learned:

1. Heat the oil to 370 degrees F
2. Slowly lower bird into the bubbly brew
3. Oil temp will drop about 25 degrees
4. Cook the turkey between 340-350 degrees F
5. So... increase the gas a little and watch the oil gauge rise until it reaches 350 degrees F.
6. Cooking time is about 3 to 3.5 minutes per pound.

Good luck and happy frying

Questions email me at dac@ewzone.com

Darin

One other note. The oil takes about 40-50 minutes to heat up (370 degrees F) so plan accordingly.

We carve our turkey with an electric knife (the one that came with our bread cutter), carves the meat perfectly ;-)

Darin

I read all 200 or 300 or 2500 posts last week (finding only about 3 negatives) and next decided to research prices on cookers. Everything on the net seemed to range from $75.00 to $140.00. The next day as I was returning my DVD player to Sears (for upgraded model) I saw a display for 30-gal cookers for $40.00 and snatched one up. It has the basket, hanger and an injector.

Then Raley's, of all places, had some loss leader turkeys at .39 cents a lb and I bought a 13.5 lb. turkey. I didn't realize till I got home that it was already injected with a solution. I figured this was okay since this was going to be a trial run (I was doing it down at the lodge for all the homeless Mooses and Meeses...8 showed up). I also figured that they (turkey processors) had been injecting them all along, but with the advent of deep frying and injection decided to advertise the fact.

It was about 50-55 degrees outside so it took longer to heat the oil than to cook the turkey. I used Peanut Oil (which cost me as much as the cooker!!). Also, I forgot the instruction booklet, but I had READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS FIRST! and retained alot of what I read here...somehow.

What I did forget was the part about turning off the flame when lowering the turkey. But I did remember what one poster said about lowering and raising the bird and with a friend on the other end of a pool cue (no longer used) we finally got the turkey in the oil. It still roiled continuously which I didn't count on but I relaxed when the oil stopped splashing above the top of the cooker. I could visualize the problems if the oil had been at or above the flash point.
Well, I couldn't get the temp. back up no matter how high I turned the flame, so I used one of my options and phoned a friend. He said that when the outside temp. was below 70 degrees he used the lid. So, that's what I did and the temp. came back up to 350 where I maintained it.
Now I was concerned about cooking it for approximately 20 minutes at 300 degrees, so I let it fry for an extra 5 minutes.
The bottom line? A rousing success!!! The leg pulled away easily from the body, the juices flowed when slicing the breast, the skin was a nice appetizing looking dark brown color. The taste??? My mouth waters now, just thinking about it. The one dark blemish about the experience was the part of the turkey resting on the bottom of the basket which rested at the bottom of the cooker. Next time I'll have to try and rig something to keep the basket off the bottom.
If I were to buy another cooker, I would try to find one with a drain spout for easier draining of the oil.
I thank all previous posters for sharing their experiences and suggestions.

Next on the Agenda: Deep fried Prime Rib.

As I was cleaning the cooker tonight, I asked my wife how freshly cut potaotes cut into freedom fries would taste fried in peanut oil. She looked at me and said as soon as all the thanksgiving leftovers are gone we'll give it a try. I can almost taste them now.

We did our first turkey this Thanksgiving after taking suggestions from these posts. Turkey turned our wonderful!! Christmas is just around the corner and we would love to do a whole ham. Does anyone have any tips, comments, or recipes for deep frying a whole ham?? Thanks!!

This is a reply to Dave Davies if you are still looking for an injector you can find them on some of the injection seasonings or one the cooking utensil section at your nearest grocery store. if you are still haveing problems finding them email me (loflyby33@yahoo.com) and we will see what we can do to help you get an injector.
dan

I cooked my first deep fried turkey this 2003 Thanksgiving. Using your recipe and being careful not to let the oil drop below 330 at any time. The tempature was easy to maintain at 365 throughout the process you just have to be careful in the beginning. I found that if you stir the turkey carefully when you see the peanut oil smoke and adjust the flame on your burner this made maintaining tempature easy. I had 22 people for Thanksgiving dinner. My wife cook turkey in the oven just in case I screwed this one up. Well good thing because my turkey never made it to the table. We ate it all before dinner started.

Do you own a dependable thermometer? If so please post where you purchased it.

The one that came with the cooker always reads 45 degrees.

Thanks in advance,

Darin Cooney

Had my 1st fried turkey in Bunkie, La. in 1982. They probably cooked a 20 lber in a big crawfish pot, and didn't own a thermometer. Injected with Italian dressing, beer, onion powder, garlic powder, beer, cayenne pepper, (did I say beer) and fried it in lard. Best I ever had. I use peanut oil, cause people make faces at me when I mention lard, but don't knock it til you try it.

What a great website! We got into it for Thanksgiving. Did a fourteen pounder the weekend before for a test run. We did the apple juice and bourbon (Jack Daniels) brine overnight, injected it with cabelas cajun butter two hours before frying and made sure it was dry inside and out. Used plenty of paper towels. The teperature dropped to 300 but came back up nicely. I got to busy talking and the temperature got up to 390 for a while. Needless to say, the bird was dark and I was a wreck thinking that I had ruined the meal. We checked the breast and thighs with an instant read thermometer and it showed 170'. We covered it with foil and let it stand for about 20 minutes, checked again and it was 185'.The first slice removed all worry. It was juicy and delicious. Our guests devoured the whole bird except the wings and outsides of the drumsticks, they were beyond help (charred). Next attempt on Thanksgiving day for the family was a total success. An eighteen pound bird done as before, brine, injected marinade, etc. for three and one half minutes per pound. This time time I sat with the frier and kept the temperature spot on at 350' for one hour and it was picture perfect, including the wings. We will do many more in the future. Hope to try pork and beef in the near future. If anyone has had any experience with anything other than turkey post some results.

Deep frying can make the cheaper cuts of meat a culinary delight!
With snow, wind and cold in Montana, I have enjoyed cooking in my garage with the exhaust fan on occasionally to keep the peanut oil smell and my cigar smoke
from permeating my hunting gear.
But the burner heats the garage and the stored lawn chairs are popular for an hour or so.

Caution- this method should be tried only
by sober adults who read directions and pay attention to what they are doing!
You don't need to spend money on the flame regulator option because you better not leave your cooker and regulating the flame manually will give you something to do will you smoke your cigar.

My first project was a 12# bone-in pork shoulder roast in peanut oil last summer. Unbelievably delicious. Since then we've
done a 23# turkey (marinated with beer)and a 12# top sirloin chunk and a new restaurant appetizer- cheeseburger fries
(with and without jalapino). The sirloin was also amazing and the cheeseburger fries with jalapino a big hit.
The turkey was ok but not spectacular like
the other meats. I think I over-cooked a little, but too many injection holes boiled the beer out and caused splatter during frying. Did not inject other meats and they were great in their own juices.
Found this site looking for experiences with deep frying ham. Have not seen much but am going to do a 12# ham today.
Am going to do another turkey with advice found on this site and others
1. 15# max
2. marinate with fewer holes but lots of angles in same hole
3. Bag in plastic bag after marinating
for a day or two.
Will come back to report on the boneless ham butt and next week with an elk roast.

After scrolling through about a million comments, I still have not seen any mention of deep frying in root beer. I swear I saw Justin Wilson deep fry a Cajun Turkey in root beer some years ago on TV, but have not been able to find anything about this method, anywhere. Anybody ever heard of this? Any comments about success/failure?

Our Thanksgiving turkey was great - got a wonderful marinade/injection recipe here and now we can't find it again. The recipe had the following as some of the ingredients -

8 oz italian salad dressing
1/2 can of beer
Paul Prudohomme's poultry magic

Does any one have this great recipe?

I agree that the injection liquid needs to be filtered, we used a strainer but will try a coffee filter next time.
Thanks

A friend just gave us their old turkey fryer that was no longer being used. It is missing a thermometer, injector, and directions. Upon finding this site, my mouth is watering as I wait to get the proper tools before I attempt this task. What wonderful tips I have received from you all. Does anyone know where I can find a good thermometer and injector? You may e-mail me @ kjnormandin@msn.com. Thanks and wish me luck!!

Fried our first turkey last weekend, following the many useful tips at this site. It turned out terrific. The only downside is the 4.5 gal of peanut oil, that is too expensive to toss out after one use. I've strained it, and have it in the refrig at the moment, but space is very limited. Does anyone know if the oil has to be refrigerated, or can I get by storing it in the garage? If not refrigerated, about how long will it last? Thanks in advance. JS

I'll be frying my first bird this weekend and I have learned a lot fom reading all of the advice....Thanks Foodgeeks!
I have one question that has not yet been answered - Does the 3 minute per pond timer start the instant the turkey is submerged in the peanut oil, or when the oil re-reaches 350 after the tempurature drops from putting the turkey in?

We did our first turkey last Thanksgiving and thanks to the comments and suggestions on this web site, it was great. Now, we would like to try a Prime Rib. Are there any tips? Is there a limit to the size of Prime Rib you can do? I have 20 people coming!

Looking for smoke flavour? Well I'm going to try that tomorrow by adding a very small amount of liquid hickory smokme to the marinade.

What a great site. I have done 2 turkeys and both worked out great. My wife was more than just a little skeptical before doing my first one, but now she has encouraged me to do the second and now the third one which is sitting drying on the counter. All the best, from Canada. Cheers --> CD

Well I'm no party pooper and I like to vote with the smart money so I spose I oughta say I like fried turkey too! Got a fryer for Christmas this last year and have cooked a couple of turkeys and a pork loin with no failures as of yet. I am toying with whole fried potatoes the way a bachelor would cook'em (I found the right gal 15 years ago but I've got a great memory). So far my first experiment was with a good sized baker trussed up with baling wire and lowered into 365 degree oil for 15 minutes. Iwas surprised to see it raw in the middle. Next turkey fry day will have three spuds in the pot for the duration of the fry and I'm betting that it will all turn out fine.

TO J. SAVAGE - WHEN I DO A TURKEY I TAKE THE OIL UP TO 375 PUT THE TURKEY IN START THE TIMER, OIL GOES DOWN TO 350 COOK 3 1/2MINS. A LB. PLUS 5MINS.GOOD LUCK BOB

I tell you what is the easiest way to cook a turkey, is for your oil before pooring oil into your pan put your turkey in than use water, once you ues water pull your bird out and that will give you your mark where to fill. it is the safiest way that i found to cook your big bird

is this the dermatologist in fayetteville, n.c.

I would think that you CAN use OLIVE OIL IF you maintain a LOW TEMPERATURE, like with everything else that is cooked in oilve oil. That's what I'm going to try. Low temperature, and of course it will take longer, but that's the trade off. Why does this not make sense? Can someone tell me why I might be wrong?

i saw a few people saying they use thier lids while cooking thier birds. the is a no no. do not use your lid while cooking your bird. (it gets way too hot). if your trying to regulate the tempt merley adjust your flame. in colder or windy conditions grab an extra beer because you really need to monitor the temp.stay on that bird.

The question of what to do with the old cooking oil has been asked many times, and the only answer I read was to take it to an automotive oil recycling center. I have an alternative way that I have used for years. I store the oil in plastic gallon milk jugs and use it to keep my firepit going by pouring a cupful at a time over the fire logs. This keeps from adding new logs to the fire to keep it going, and everybody congregates around the fire after the meal. The original set of logs will last 'til the turkey and beer are gone in the wee hours in the morning.

If any of you want to try something a little different this year with your fried turkey, let me share this little recipe tweak that REALLY sends the tastebuds over the top:

First, my simple turkey recipe : Two jars of Chef Williams Creole Butter liberally injected into a 18 pound bird.

Now try this, AFTER you pull the turkey out, put this dry rub on it (like a crust)

2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup (or more if you're brave) chili powder

Mix well.

Put a couple of long sheets of aluminum foil in a baking pan large enough to hold the bird. When you pull the turkey out of the oil, apply this rub generously so you have a light crust. Wrap the turkey in the foil and pop it into the oven at 150 degrees for about 15 minutes. The sugar will carmelize and soak in along with the chili powder...trust me on this one, it's heaven!

Unwrap and enjoy!

let me know what you think of it..

p.s. another trick I learned from my New Orleans buddy is to cut the wings off the turkey before you fry it. Put them in separately and pull them out of the oil after about 15-20 minutes. It's a great snack while you're waiting.

Can someone address the "Black" Turkey issue? I cook mine at 350 degrees, use peanut oil and cook mine for 3.5 minutes per pound. I have been doing this for alot of years and can not find out why. I think it is a marinade thing. Help...

The blacking that you get is from using a marinade that contains a sugar. I once made a Hawaiian Turkey and marinaded it in Pineapple juice. I thought the turkey was ruined it was SO BLACK!

Thanks for the answer "kbuska", have you used other marinades that do not have sugar or the like in them and get a "brown" turkey now?.... Have other people incurred this situation?

I usually Butter and it works really well. But this year I'm using Croele Butter Marinade so I will have to get back to you on that.

Nothing better than DF'd turkey. I haven't bothered
with the seasoning or marinades yet, I just thaw &
raw... no salt, no pepper, no nothin'!!! Excellent!!!

One thing I have noticed is the oil temp DROPS
dramatically with the bird is lowered into the HOT oil.
I use peanut oil (it has a higher smoking point and
tastes better) and bring the temp up to near 400
before lowering the bird...that way it doesn't take as
long to get the temp back up to 350, which is where
you want to cook for the duration of time.

Last year I had a 22 lbs. bird cooked a little over an
hour...and like it states above, I'll never cook a turkey
any other way. This year we're doing an 18 pounder.

BTW, please PLEASE be sure to TURN OFF the flame
BEFORE lowering the bird into the HOT oil to reduce
the risk of fire...it's not a good way to start off the
dinner.

hamdar28, I believe if you use a lower oil temp(say 330), Brine the turkey, and use a temperature(see my entry below). This will bring you closer to a more roasted brown. Also although I like the nutty taste peanut oil leaves on the turkey skin, I have a suspicion it is partially respondsible for darker skin. I too am on the hunt for a deep fried turkey with a roasted turkey color...:)

I recommend ignoring cooking minutes per pound...Use 2 thermometers instead.
One Fry thermometer for the oil.
One remote temperature probe for the bird. Place the probe in the thickest part of the meat(Most cooks say this is in between the Leg/Drumstick and the breast making sure to not touch any bones).
You can pull the bird out at 160F degrees internal temp and carryover will take it past the magic 165F kill all bugs temp. (Make sure to probe test it in multiple deep flesh places)
Smaller birds like higher oil temps like 350-370 so they can cook quick and be juicier. Larger birds need lower temps 330-350 to allow the heat to permeate the bird without drying out the extremities. I feel the 2 thermometer approach is the best way to eliminate variables like oil/turkey/potsize ratio, brined vs unbrined, and external air temperatures. The closer the turkey is to room temp before cooking the better.

If you enjoy the dark meat from the turkey as much as I do, then trust me - never EVER EVER deep fry your turkey!!
I tried it this year for the first time - I've heard so much about it that I thought I'd give it a try. I followed the directions to the letter - 350 degrees; 3.5 minutes per pound; carefully monitoring the bird (which was about 17 lbs) for the entire hour it took to cook it. I used no marinades or brining, but the white meat turned out nice and juicy. However, I lost out on the dark meat as much of it had overcooked and turned to jerky. Drumsticks and thighs were OK (there was a little of the 'tough meat' on them), but the wings and the smaller pieces (in the thinner areas of the bird) had to be thrown out or fed to the family pets - just too tough for human consumption. I have had much better results with a roasting bag, where ALL the meat is so tender and juicy, it literally falls right off the bird. None of the meat gets wasted. I was deeply disappointed at the amount of meat (or 'turkey jerky') I had to just throw away this year.

I think those who swear by deep fried turkeys very likely prefer the white meat, which I think is the majority of folks out there. At our table, I admit I stand alone in my preference as everyone else likes the white meat.

I gave my new frying equipment to my son in law as I doubt I'll be using it again. I think I'll just stick with the roasting bags...

First solo deep fried project. Turned out like a champ! Did a small bird -- 10lbs. I do a lot of smoking -- brisket's my specialty --and decided to experiment with marinades. What I used was Emeril's rosemary, garlic, and lemon--1/2 cup. Mixed it liberally with tobasco -- 2 tbsp. Added another tbsp or so of Old Bay blackened spices. The injector I used was a "ketchup" squeeze type bottle with a needle on the end--bought it in the outdoor/bbque section of the PX. Worked great--just inject the turkey the night before like everyone says to do. Kept the oil at 325 and cooked the bird for just under a 1/2 hour. Turned out great -- even the dark meat. Thanks for this site and everyones' comments.

Well Group,
I haved confirmed the "Black Turkey Issue". If you use marinades that contain sugar or the like, be prepared for your turkey to be black. I looked at most marinades on grocery store shelves, and they have sugar or frutcose as one of the first ingredients (the sugar burns when seeped out). I created my own marinades this year with No Sugar in them and "Perfect Golden Brown" ..........
and on one other footnote, the person that got dry dark meat, I am a Dark Meat Person, If your turkey is dry you "Over Fried" it. For smaller birds do 3 minutes a pound.

First off for the dryness in the dark meat you need to BRINE/ marinade a few days before then inject it & let it sit for another day or so.. today is 12/20/04 I just threw my bird in the brine this morning.. it will sit for probably 3 days... then I will puree garlic, olive oil, & other favorite seasonings for my injection & put the bird back in the fridge for a day or so. Then a dry rub.. I love the taste my only problem is DONENESS.. I always seem to under cook it because the BLACK FRIED seasoning & skin.. I have a 13# bird this year hopefully it will work out better... I LOVE THE TASTE of a fried turkey.

We have fried turkeys for years. FORGET the brine. INJECT with turkey injector. We buy it at Wal Mart, Academy, or the grocery store. You can order it from Gander Mountain. Or use Italian dressing. It will not be black if you forget the brine.

A 12-15 lb. works best. We have done larger, but it takes so long to get it all cooked that some of it is overcooked.

We use plain old VEGETABLE oil. Forget peanut oil, it is expensive and there is no difference in the taste. A 5 gal. jug of veg. oil at Sams is $14.00. We strain the oil, return it to the plastic container and put it in the freezer, then re-use when we need it.

We love fried turkeys!

QUICK!! ....has anyone tried injecting with ONLY melted butter? how was it??????

Hi everyone, I know some of you have deep fried in this fashion,
but maybe not enough... next time why not try rubbing the dry
bird inside and out with nothing more than salt and red pepper.
Do not inject anything! And I promise, it won't be overly
"spiced". This procedure came from none other than that great
maestro Justin Wilson who quipped: "Once you eat this turkey,
your oven will get cobwebs at Thanksgiving." My brother-in-law
and I have been deep-frying for around 10 years now, so if you
haven't tried this way yet, think about it. PS: No black skin
either.

I disagree with whoever said to forget peanut oil. It is THE secret. Seriously. The flavor is much better (light and slightly nutty) and it's pretty healthy for you, in comparison. Check out this site: www.turkeyfrying.net. It's got the health benefits and some other really good recipes.

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