Deep Fried Turkey

[Rich Riddle]

One of the neighbors at the farm decided to make a deep fried turkey for the employees at work. I at least got him to move the turkey and setup to the middle of the gravel drive. He dropped in the frozen turkey and it resulted in a huge bon fire. Cross that experience off my list. Do they really taste that good?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Yes they do taste good!

I wonder if your friend read the directions about deep frying turkeys?

I suspect it was the frozen aspect that may have caused the problem. I witnessed a friend deep fry one from a distance without any of that drama.

[Ted Calver]

I've done several. Other than the one that got cooked too much, they were very good. The trick is measuring the correct amount of oil required so it doesn't run over and catch on fire. Put the thawed turkey in the empty cooking pot and add cold water until it covers the turkey by an inch or two. Remove and pat dry the turkey and mark the level of the water remaining in the pot with a felt tip. That's the amount of oil needed to cook the bird. Empty and dry the pot before proceeding.

[Bob Reeve]

Ted gave you the correct method to get the correct amount of oil. Make sure the bird is completely thawed. I do 3-5 birds every Thanksgiving. I have roasted in the oven, Smoked, BBQ, and deep fried. Everyone prefers the Deep Fried. Crispy Skin, juicy but not greasy. The main trick is to keep the oil at 350 and cook for 3 minutes a pound. Use a thermometer to make sue it reaches 165 internal.

[Barry McFadden]

I think the problem could have been when you said he "dropped" it in!!!

[Patrick McCarthy]

Rich, had my first one last year at my son-in-law's and , yes, they do taste that good. . . . . but ice/frozen water and boiling oil don't go together. Thawing the bird first and lowering it slowly (two guys holding a broomstick horizontally works well and gives a safe zone) are highly recommended.

[Pat Barry]

One of the neighbors at the farm decided to make a deep fried turkey for the employees at work. I at least got him to move the turkey and setup to the middle of the gravel drive. He dropped in the frozen turkey and it resulted in a huge bon fire. Cross that experience off my list. Do they really taste that good?
Yes - very tasty, and very fast. Keys to success are, don't overfill the container with oil - needs to be room for the turkey in there and lower the turlkey in slowly. After that its basically sit around and have a few cold ones til its done.

[Kev Williams]

Not for me, sorry...

Our stuffed 20# bird goes in a roaster at 325°.

6 hours later out comes a perfectly cooked falling-off-the-bone tender turkey, giblets and fabulous dressing,
all of which were steeped for hours in enough juices to make 1/2 gallon of the best gravy on earth.

I need my fabulous dressing and best-on-earth gravy.
Haven't figured out how to get there from deep fried bird! ;)

[Myk Rian]

A dummy ex-SIL deep fried a turkey, and to get rid of the oil he dumped it out back in his yard. He created a steam explosion from the snow and ice where he dumped it.

[Adam Herman]

frying a turkey can be safe and delicious. It's all about how you do your work, just like a tablesaw or any number of machines we use often.

[Barry McFadden]

Not for me, sorry...

Our stuffed 20# bird goes in a roaster at 325°.

6 hours later out comes a perfectly cooked falling-off-the-bone tender turkey, giblets and fabulous dressing,
all of which were steeped for hours in enough juices to make 1/2 gallon of the best gravy on earth.

I need my fabulous dressing and best-on-earth gravy.
Haven't figured out how to get there from deep fried bird! ;)

Everyone has their own way of cooking a turkey but I have been using this method for about 25 years with great success...... set the oven to 400F and calculate the time at 15 min per pound for the first 10 pounds and 7 min per pound for the rest. So a 20 pound turkey would be 150 min plus 70 min or just over 3 1/2 hours. The turkey always turns out to be the best tasting and juiciest every time. (all this turkey talk has me wanting one this week but our Thanksgiving was a month ago!!)

[paul cottingham]

Yeah, I wouldn't be dropping a frozen turkey into hot deep fat. That's just asking for an explosion. Reminds me of training new guys on the grill when I was a student, and there was always one of them would somehow drop in an ice cube. Boom.

[Tom Stenzel]

frying a turkey can be safe and delicious. It's all about how you do your work, just like a tablesaw or any number of machines we use often.

Thanks for giving me the idea for the new TurkeyStop protective device. I'm running down to the patent office right now! :D

-Tom

[Bruce Wrenn]

all this turkey talk has me wanting one this week but our Thanksgiving was a month ago!!)Sneak across the border for the day, but do it quick before the wall goes up;). Sorry, wrong border.

[Barry McFadden]

Sneak across the border for the day, but do it quick before the wall goes up;). Sorry, wrong border.

LOL....maybe not the wrong border!!

[Mark Blatter]

I did the fried turkey thing one year and was not impressed. Yes it was good, but about the same as the oven baked. Nobody in the family thought it was good enough for the mess and cost.

This year I am going to BBQ/smoke one in a friend's Green Egg. I am told that is worth the extra work, plus it frees up the oven for other things. If it doesn't work out, my goose will be cooked.

[Jason Roehl]

I've been smoking a turkey on Christmas Day for the past few years. Makes getting up at 4 AM to do it well worth it. Our nexties join us for the meal, and would probably do anything for me at this point. My wife makes a butter-bacon-herbs puree that gets slathered under the skin prior to going on the smoker.

Now I'm hungry even though I just finished eating breakfast.

I used to fry turkeys, but for the size of group we had, it was tough to get them just right--big birds are harder to get cooked all the way through without burning the drumsticks (my favorite part...). Smaller birds are outstanding.

[Kev Williams]

If you really want a good-eatin' bird for Thanksgiving-- Swan...
But don't deep fry it! ;)

[Mark Blatter]

Did the smoke turkey today and I was concerned at first. It was dark brown and I was sure overcooked. Turned out it was almost perfect. Absolutely a great way to cook turkey. Use about three tablespoons of the drippings for the gravy and the gravy had a great smokey flavor too. Will definitely do it again next year.

[Van Huskey]

We smoke them, fry them and roast them and brine them sometimes before cooking. They can be delicious prepared any number of ways, this year was smoked.

[michel gorge]

Maybe this much 348508