Ok, i'm gonna deep fry a turkey.

[Matthew.Taylor]

I'm a few years behind here, but I've decided that in one week i'm gonna deep fry a turkey. I've got the turkey (13.50 pounds), I've got a fryer that should be big enough. I will have a good amount of peanut oil before next Saturday. But I really need some good advice. I know the turkey has to be completely defrosted, and there should be no, to very very little excess moisture, but that's about it really. Techniques for cooking, and times are all over the place that I've heard.

[Okanagancook]

Serious Eats is usually reliable.  My friend used to make them but he always overcooked the meat.

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/11/basic-deep-fried-turkey-recipe.html

[KennethT]

I'd seriously check a bunch of YouTube videos... you can have a major problem if done wrong and you could get hurt really badly.

[Matthew.Taylor]

3 hours ago, KennethT said:

I'd seriously check a bunch of YouTube videos... you can have a major problem if done wrong and you could get hurt really badly.

I've heard plenty of stories, so i'm gonna be very careful here. The biggest problem is finding a place to put the fryer. The only real flat place we have is the back porch, and it's not that far from the condo. The front driveway is slanted just enough to give you the willies for this kind of thing. I know to make sure the bird is completely defrosted, and dried from any excess moisture.

[curls]

Another safety check, put your turkey in the pot with enough water to submerge it. Remove the turkey from the pot and note how much water you needed to use. Later, when you fill the pot with oil, fill it to that same high water mark.

[Lisa Shock]

Check out THIS advice.

That said, deep frying is a lot of work and means you won't have gravy unless you roast the neck the night before and make gravy from that. I have seen a lot of overcooked fried turkey and feel that either the parted-out method or sous vide is a better way to go. I also think the low and slow method used in barbeque places has merit, especially for the breast. 3-4 hours at 190°F and the breast meat is really moist and almost unrecognizable. I was at a barbeque place with someone who thought the sliced turkey breast was some sort of moist ham like luncheon meat.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

11 hours ago, Matthew.Taylor said:

I'm a few years behind here, but I've decided that in one week i'm gonna deep fry a turkey. I've got the turkey (13.50 pounds), I've got a fryer that should be big enough. I will have a good amount of peanut oil before next Saturday. But I really need some good advice. I know the turkey has to be completely defrosted, and there should be no, to very very little excess moisture, but that's about it really. Techniques for cooking, and times are all over the place that I've heard.

 

Go for it!

 

I've deep fried a turkey twice, and they have been the most delicious way I have ever had turkey prepared. I've always done it in the backyard on a borrowed turkey fryer propane rig with a huge aluminum pot. My turkeys were a bit larger than the 12 pounder referenced in the Serious Eats article. These efforts were inspired by a party I was invited to that featured deep fried turkey and it made me re-examine my indifference to this bird.

 

You can buy the gallons of oil you will need in huge containers around this time of year, and the peanut/soy blend is going to save you some money. The first time I did this, I sprung for pure peanut oil and ended up paying more for the oil than for the turkey. Both work equally well, and I'm not really sure what the hype about pure peanut oil is except maybe if your going to go to all the trouble, then get the most expensive?

 

Just be extremely careful. I did not allow pets or children out in the cooking area, and think that is wise. The oil boiled over onto the grass both times when the turkey was lowered into the oil. No one was hurt, but I can most definitely see how that could happen. Our pot was big enough that the spilled oil came nowhere close to the propane burner underneath. We monitored oil temp with a candy/frying thermometer the whole time. With a massive, 18 pound turkey going into the oil, the temp will fall dramatically, but it will come back up quickly. We only cooked the 18 pounder about 35 minutes and it was done to the bone, with crispy skin and very moist flesh, even the breast. Isn't that amazing compared to the time that it takes to roast a bird that size to dry mediocrity?

 

I highly recommend this method with abundant caution.

 

We also used the owner's pot and rig to boil twenty lobsters for a Christmas party years ago. Very nice piece of equipment.

 

I have seen an account on this forum from a respected member who cooked a turkey this way inside her home. Despite her success, I have to say from my experience with the method, this is definitely something that must be done outdoors and with all the care for safety you can muster. Stand as far back as possible from your frying rig while lowering your turkey and wear boots rather than sandals.

[rotuts]

alton brown had an interesting show on this.

 

Id watch this first :

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5a7gJ0_Fds

 

[gfweb]

After seeing those you tubes of turkey fries gone bad, I would buy a few bricks and boards to level the spot on the driveway; and do it nowhere near the house.

[rotuts]

Deep frying a turkey strikes me as 

 

something that can be done

 

but after watching others , including AltonBrown and the Folks @ DeepRunRoots  aka The Chef and the Farmer

 

do it , 

 

My curiosity moves on to other things to do.

 

granted , this  might become your calling

 

I wouldn't want to take that away from you

[Thanks for the Crepes]

21 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Deep frying a turkey strikes me as 

 

something that can be done

 

but after watching others , including AltonBrown and the Folks @ DeepRunRoots  aka The Chef and the Farmer

 

do it , 

 

My curiosity moves on to other things to do.

 

granted , this  might become your calling

 

I wouldn't want to take that away from you

 

Oh it can definitely be done, is worthwhile, and is delicious!

 

Thank you for the Alton video about the displacement admonition with water and to @curls for her wise advice on the same matter. Perhaps if we had done that beforehand, the experiences would have been much less iffy and scary.

 

Still worth doing if you have help and plenty of folks to eat up that delicious turkey, though. This method has ALWAYS resulted in the most delicious turkey I have ever experienced and this is with Big Ag farm raised and frozen specimens. 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[Anna N]

59 minutes ago, gfweb said:

After seeing those you tubes of turkey fries gone bad, I would buy a few bricks and boards to level the spot on the driveway; and do it nowhere near the house.

I wonder how many of those who could not resist the challenge received an “uncoveted” Darwin award. 🤭

[kayb]

I've never deep-fried one, but have had them, and they're decent. Although, once you get past the skin, there's not a great deal of difference in the meat taste, unless you went way overboard in injecting the Cajun marinade.  I much prefer a smoked turkey, which I've ordered before from the local barbecue establishment.

 

But my turkey, one from a local farm, will be brined and then roasted. I've had local turkeys the past three years, and they've been the best turkeys I've ever eaten. Ain't gonna mess with success. 

 

 

[Okanagancook]

I agree, apart from the skin I would rather have a conventionally cooked bird.  A good quality bird is the way to go as said above.

[Toliver]

We've deep fried turkeys in the past. We did it on a flat concrete area away from the house, putting down a wet/dampened canvas tarp first so any oil drips or spills get on the tarp and not your concrete. 

Keep children and drunks away from the cooking area.

Kiss the wings goodbye before you submerge the turkey...they rarely survive the deep frying cooking process in an edible state. You could always wrap them in foil to see if that will lessen their destruction. Same thing with the "knob" end of the drumsticks.

The fry pot will limit how big a turkey you can use. I think 16 pounds is the maximum size. Read your fry pot instructions for specifics.

The tip posted above about days before cooking pre-submerging the frozen turkey into the pot and filling it with water so the turkey is just covered, removing the turkey and marking on the inside of the pot the level of the water is great. That will show you how much oil you need for the deep frying. Then dump out the water and thoroughly dry the pot before use.

We've injected turkeys with a marinade before cooking (let them sit overnight in the refrigerator to give them time to absorb it) and they turned out good and sometimes great.
We mistakenly applied a rub one year. Most of it came off the turkey at first dunk. DOH! Live and learn.

But every time we deep fried turkey it was quite moist and the crispy skin was fought over. The other bonus is that the cooking is quite quick compared to an oven-roasted turkey. Just remember if you're feeding a large crowd with your deep fried turkey, it won't feed everyone since it's smaller than typical turkeys. My mom usually oven-roasted a turkey, as well, when we deep fried one. 

 

[heidih]

From what I have seen and read the deep fry is as much an event like a crawfish boil rather than a preferred technique. 

[chileheadmike]

A friend of mine did set her house on fire while deep frying a turkey. Too close to the house and the oil overflowed and caught fire. Mostly just damaged the siding, they were lucky.  They did get another turkey and put it in the oven to roast. One of the kids hit the self clean button and locked the oven shut. 

 

I think they may have called out for pizza that year. 

[Matthew.Taylor]

Well, it's done! And I have to say it was a mostly-smashing success!.

 

I used Alton Brown's brining recipe (1 pound kosher salt 1 pound dark brown sugar, 5 quarts hot water, 5 pounds ice) and made sure to let it sit for at least half an hour out of the brine before putting it in. I also made sure to pat it down and remove any excess moisture.

 

I say mostly because the thigh's weren't done, as there was a little blood spurt when I tried to cut them, but the rest of the bird was done. I ran them through the microwave a few times, and hopefully they're now finished.

 

I now know that i can deep fry a turkey, so now we have another potential option for Thanksgiving (not that  anyone will take it, not in a family as traditional as mine, but que sera sera)!

[hmwallbanger]

I've successfully deep fried a turkey for the past 6 Thanksgivings without burning down my house or requiring skin grafts from the burn unit of the local hospital.

Most of the information available says the maximum turkey size that can be successfully deep fried is 12-14 lbs. Any bigger and you'll run into problems like incomplete submersion, and undercooked areas of the thickest parts like the breasts and thighs.

 

The key to doing it safely:

- use an electric fryer. I use a round Charmglow 28 Qt fryer model 380-894. Cajun Injector is similar in design, while Butterball by Masterbuilt is a rectangular unit. An electric flyer eliminates any open flames that can set spilling oil on fire. It includes a sturdy fry basket for lowering and raising the turkey out of the oil and it clips to the side of the fryer to allow draining without having to hold it over the boiling hot oil.

- put the fryer on a sturdy table. I use a heavy duty 6' folding resin table, which gives me room for platters and tools.

- use the shortest heavy duty extension cord that will reach the nearest outlet.

- do not exceed the max fill line on your fryer.

- ensure the turkey is thoroughly defrosted, and dried with paper towels before putting it into the fry basket.

- use thick silicone oven mitts to slowly lower the fry basket into the oil.

- keep away flammables, children, pets, and anyone under the influence (F.U.I. or F.W.I. may not be a crime but it has severe consequences)

- keep a fire extinguisher (rated for grease fires) handy just in case

 

To answer the OP's question, the timing suggested in my fryer's manual has produced good consistent results for me: 3 minutes per pound + 5 minutes at 400F.

I generally fry a 13lb bird so that's (3x13) + 5 = 44 minutes.  That's right, less than an hour for a thoroughly cooked, juicy and delicious turkey! I can fry two 13 lb turkeys in less time than roasting one 26 lb bird!  It cooks so quickly that we often fry appetizers before the turkey like wings or tots or fries.

 

Tips:

- I've found 13 lbs to be the largest size I can completely submerse in this fryer. Larger birds tend to stick out about a half inch or more, leaving a pale oval on the breast.

- make a turkey lifter out of kitchen twine and use that to put the bird into the fry basket. It makes it easy to take the hot bird out of the fry basket and onto a platter for resting away from the fryer.

- a lot of steam condenses on the glass lid, which easily exceeds the shallow metal lip around its edge and drips back into the oil, causing a firestorm of bubbling. So every few minutes, I'll carefully take the lid off as level as possible and then pour out the condensed water into a pail.

- I let it rest for about an hour before carving. 

- one of the caveats of using an electric fryer vs a propane one is that it takes longer for the oil to heat up- as much as 55 minutes if the ambient temperature is unusually cold. To shorten this time, a few days before I fry, I store the oil indoors near a heat vent so that it'll be starting off at indoor temps rather than late November outdoor temps. 

- peanut oil is quite expensive so I mix it with canola or vegetable oil. I get some of that peanut oil flavor at less expense.

- I brine the turkey for 24 hours in an apple cider brine recipe from GeniusKitchen.com 

https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/apple-cider-brine-39410

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by hmwallbanger (log)

[heidih]

Yes it can be safely done and has its pros and cons. For amusement sake on the visuals and solid advice Grubstreet posted this video  http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/11/why-turkeys-explode-and-how-to-prevent-it.html

[Kim Shook]

Anyone tried or know anyone who has tried an oil-less turkey fryer?  

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Anyone tried or know anyone who has tried an oil-less turkey fryer?  

Click.

[FeChef]

Best way to cook a Turkey Breast. I cooked an entire 8lb breast in a Turkey fryer. Took 60 minutes, and it was amazing.

 

[gfweb]

On 11/27/2018 at 12:50 AM, Anna N said:

Click.

 

The Big Easy has fallen off the eG radar

[Anna N]

39 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

The Big Easy has fallen off the eG radar

 Indeed it has. The one @Kerry Beal  and I had up north has been given a new lease on life. Kerry donated it to our favourite butcher up there who does some catering. He was most excited. But it will be a while before we learn how he got along with it. 

The toys they come and the toys they go but we always have fun. 

Edited November 28, 2018 by Anna N (log)