SydneyJames

Where in Sydney will you be? As previous posters have suggested, there are far too many possibilities, but head into Five Ways Cellars in Paddington and they'll get you set up right.

Well, we did it. I'll post a full report later with pics under a new thread today or tomorrow, but what I believe to be the first deep-frying of a turkey on the Australian continent yesterday was a giant success! Best turkey I've ever had - and everyone concurred. Not greasy yet mega-juicy, full of flavor and fall-apart tender. Turned out to be a tremendous party as well, first guests arrived at 2pm and last left at 2am! Much cleaning of backyard, kitchen, frontal lobes in store today.

Thanks, WineSonoma...yes, I had planned to use Archimedes' insights to avoid overspill...I've got a 12-pound bird which I just brought home from David Jones, and before even doing the water test I just popped it in the pot to see what the spatial relations were like, and clearance shouldn't be a problem...the pot's about 13 inches deep and reasonably wide, and the bird sits comfortably down in it. But I'll definitely do this this evening!

Yes, I don't think there'll be a problem...for one thing, it's quite thick-sided, and for another, the key is to get the oil up to no higher than around 375F, or not quite 200C.

OK, well thanks to everyone's advice I'm a bit poorer but a lot better equipped...went out Parramatta Road way, and got myself a big ol' aluminum stock pot at McCarthy's Hospitality (great shop!) and then at this little hole-in-the-wall in a mini-shopping arcade off George in Chinatown, I got this big cast-iron burner thing - it looks very much like the real deal, but the LPG hose I have is rusted on to my BBQ so I"m going to have to get a new one tomrrow before I can test it out. Thanks for all your advice - pics to come after the big event!

I live in Sydney's eastern suburbs, and have for four years after spending my previous life in New York and Washington, DC...and I think Sydney's a pretty mixed bag, food-wise, but every year I see things getting better. Where I live (Bondi Junction) there's a number of great produce and specialty stores, including a Norton St. Grocer and a DJ Food Hall, within the suburb or just a short way away - and once you start to find some of the little deli's and such you find that you can be cagey and know where you can get great meat for the grill for less, imported cheeses for $10-$20 less a kilo than the big guys, etc...but it takes time, and since I work from home I can explore. We're not great in the area in terms of pubs and restaurants, but I haven't really spent much time in Melbourne so I can't compare. One thing in just a few days of spending time in these forums (thanks everyone for the warm welcome and help so far) is that there seem to be more Melburnians than Sydneysiders here, FWIW. If you do come up to Sydney, drop me a line for a guided food tour.

Fortunately, my house is made of brick!

PCL -- Absolutely, and thanks! You don't think I could in good conscience pull a stunt like this - especially with all the blegs for information - and not post a full report, do you?

If it's the one I'm thinking of, it's in - or has been - in the Coles where I live, often by the registers. I haven't looked at it for a while but it's not bad, seems to shoot for a market above the sort of "87 ways to add pizazz to mince!" mags and less exclusive than the Gourmet Traveller type lifestyle publications. Jamie Oliver and Stefano de Pierri (is that his name? the Murray River guy...I'm blanking) are in it a lot. I think it's also published by our only compulsory pay-TV station, a.k.a. the ABC.

Thanks - yeah, I also found the thread on this in the cooking forum, much great advice. I think with sand around the whole thing, on the level paving stones down the side-alley part of my backyard where no one goes (and where it will be easy to keep people from coming) and a fire extinguisher handy, I think we'll be right. I think the toughest part will be not drinking for the first coupla hours of the party!

Brilliant, thanks -- I think I'll go check out Haymarket this arvo! Will let you know how it goes.

So I know it's coming a week after American thanksgiving, but for some reason I got a little homesick this year and decided to put on a turkey for all my mates here in Sydney. In fact, I thought I'd do a deep-fried turkey in the back yard, Cajun style. Only thing is I'm having a huge amount of trouble sourcing equipment to create the outdoor deep-fryer: the turkey is taken care of (though expensive!), but no one seems to sell the sort of outdoor burner/pot setups that I need, just piddling little camping stoves. In the States they sell kits for like $100, but it's a bit late to get one shipped down. I know I've done this to myself, but any advice on how to engineer this in Sydney PDQ would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.