tommy

the bird went in nekid. i think because it was smallish (10-12 lbs), the skin didn't have time to get really dark (though it was still crispy). given that this was an experiment in preparation for t-day, i pretty much boned it, as i'll be cooking a 15-17 lb bird then. so, in the interest of science, i'll be repeating this sometime this week with a 15-17 lb bird. i'm assuming the extra cooking time of 15 or 20 minutes will make quite a difference in the skin. and yes, i'm aware that you shouldn't do this with anything over 15 lbs. hence the next test!

the good news is the perlows are eating healthier than ever with this bag.

my thought as well. i was using 4 gallons of oil. that was a lot though, as the pot is big and the bird was small. i think it just comes down to price. there's a point of dimishing returns when you're dealing with a pot that will probably cost close to 200 bucks.

My deep fried 10-12 lb bird was a great success. I got a fresh bird from a local farm, and brined it for about 18 hours. Total cooking time was 35 minutes. The skin was crispy and the thing was evenly cooked throughout. We were very careful with handling the oil and the bird. A coupla pairs of welder’s gloves came in handy. We also used the handle of a metal rake to make dunking and removing the bird a two-man project. Oddly, with all of the precaution I was taking, it didn’t occur to me to not put the rack on the grass. You see, as I was walking around, I stepped on the rake part, and, not much unlike what you’d see in a cartoon, the handle came flying up at about 100 mph and whacked me in the arm and shoulder. Almost spilled my wine. My friend got a very very big kick out of that. The set-up. From Home Despot. The bird. And the offending rake. Cooking. The bird’s back. The front looked even better. There was very little oil that dripped off of the bird after we got it in the rack also made a simple gravy from 2 turkey legs, onion, carrot, celery, wine, chicken stock, etc. also, the temp dipped to about 300 (from 350) after putting the bird in. it took about 10 or 15 minutes to get back up to 350, where it stayed without much of a problem. thanks to all for the great suggestions.

another option, that you may or may not have considered, is having the food cooked by someone else. we did this with Fairway (NJ) a few years ago. it worked out great. a lot easier than cooking. it seems that everyone from the Market Basket to Kings are offering this service these days.

don't forget to pair them with wines. another 50 bucks or so.

i went about 5 months ago. not sure if he was there that night or not. if you do go, make the time and do the omakase. also, casual dress seems fine. although your idea of "casual" is probably $500 slacks and some italian leather on your feet.

Word. The woman is a Goddess. who suggested otherwise? 'fused, again.

caramelized is sweet. burnt is bitter. but all y'all are sweet enough already.

yes.

no more JC?

Cafe Centro in the Met Life building. actually, their burger isn't served on a bun unless you ask. the Beer Bar, which is attached to it, and is a bit less expensive and probably quicker, does have a bun. they serve a fine burger, and it's right there. and if you like a glass of wine with your burger, they have some reasonable selections. iirc, the burger at django, on lex at 46th, was very good. however, they've revamped the place since my last visit, so i'm not sure if they're serving burgers (although the revamping included making the downstairs dining room a "bar" area, so that might be a good sign). Michael Jordan's in Grand Central is an option as well. i've never had their burger, but people speak highly of it. depending on time and your desire to take a 2 minute cab ride, molly's and blue smoke are certainly doable.

Thank You. the number of egullet members who like burnt bread is currently at 2. i'm keeping score.

20 bucks for 3 gallons. i have no idea if that's a good price, though.

Home Despot. they have a few from bayou classic.

too late.

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for those on the edge of their seat, this 10-12 lb bird was a huge success. details to follow.

don't worry. i'm used to playing with fire. your tips have been invaluable. although i figured i had it all figured out, i picked up a few good pointers on this thread. i'll be sure to report back. and if i'm not on egullet by, say, tomorrow night, well, you'll know it didn't go as planned.

thanks fifi. also, it seems obvious that the lid should not be on the pot during cooking. any tips on how to keep leaves from blowing in! if i sound urgent, it's because i'll be lighting the thing up in about 2 hours!

a coupla questions for the experts: 1) bird in upside-down or right side-up. 2) my turkey fryer "kit" says to score the skin down by the legs to let the oil drip out. thoughts?

it seems like a lot of these italian-american pronunciations are just that: italian-american pronunciations. i'd submit that they're not wrong, and certainly nothing to find humor in. there are far funnier things than "gobbagool." mispronouncing french words. now *that's* a hoot.

my heart almost sank when i read that la scala was closed. and worse yet, taken over by a most-likely-second-rate tapas place. but it hasn't. and maybe the tapas is actually good. all is right in the world again.

we could just make this the deep fried turkey thread then! i think, like you, it's important to incorporate safety issues into the discussion on procedure and technique. hopefully people can chime in with their approach to deep frying here as well.

do you refrigerate it? mods: i know this thread was supposed to be about safety, but it's inevitable that we'll have two concurrent threads on deep frying turkey, which is unfortunate. additionally, next year when we start to discuss it again, there will be 2 threads to link the inevitable new thread to.