I remember the first time I was invited to a party that was serving deep fried turkey. I told my husband that I thought it was going to be disgusting and that there was no way a turkey could be completely cooked in around 30 minutes or less. Boy was I wrong. It was the tastiest, juiciest turkey I had ever had. From there on I vowed we would make our own deep fried turkey the next Thanksgiving. Of course, we had to deal with the same skeptical attitudes from family and friends, but they have since been won over. I know this post will seem a bit long, but once you start the process, you're gonna wish you had all these tips. It will really save you some grief.
For those who have been wanting to do one of their own, but feel the task may be too daunting, I hope this post will ease your fears. Yes, it seems a bit scary at first but if you do it the right way you will be greatly rewarded. The first thing you need to do is buy yourself a deep turkey fryer. If you want to save yourself some grief when cleaning up afterward, spend a bit more for the stainless steel version. You will not regret it! And if it comes with the boiling insert option, get that one. You won't use that insert for the turkey, but you'll find other ways to use it (look up Low Country Boil). Next item I recommend, high heat proof gloves. They will protect whoever is setting the turkey in or lifting it out. Once you get it, read the directions!
Next is a VERY IMPORTANT TIP that you must follow! You know how you hear about all those people who managed to set their houses on fire from deep frying a turkey? I can almost guarantee you that it happened because they did not do the next three things. First of all, you need to set up the deep fryer away from the house! Duh, you think? But it does happen. And place on a fire-proof surface that you don't mind getting oil on. We usually set it on a dirt area. Secondly, take your turkey in it's original package (we do this the night before) and set it in the pot you will be deep frying it in. Next, fill the pot with water up to about 5-6" from the top. Yes, water. What you are doing is measuring how much oil you will need with the turkey in the pot. You know, that whole displacement thing and all. Now, take the turkey out of the pot. You'll see a big drop in the water level. Take a black marker and mark a line on the outside of the pot where the water level is now. When you see on the news a house on fire, this is probably what happened: The person setting up the fryer probably didn't want to sit out in the cold so they either set it up on a patio, porch or worse, in the garage. They then pored the oil in so it almost reached the top, heated it up and then dumped the turkey in which was probably still a bit wet. Remember I said three things? Thirdly, pat dry the turkey after you are done rinsing it! What happens next is not pretty. Most of us should know how real hot oil reacts to cold water being added to it. It really, really boils over. Remember when I said the water level really drops when you take the turkey out? Well, a good amount of really hot oil is now displaced by the turkey and pouring over the side of the pot right into the flame below. If that person is lucky, it extinguishes the flame but in a lot of cases it doesn't and catches fire and then catches the home on fire. I hope I haven't scared you off now, but these are the most important facts you should know when deep frying. We have been doing this twice a year for over 10 years and have never had a fire incident. But to be safe, keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
What kind of turkey do you need? This is where you need to read your fryer's directions. Our fryer can handle a 15 lb. turkey. You do not want to go over the size recommendation for two reasons: first, the turkey will not cook evenly and second, do you really want to try wedging in a too big turkey into a too small pot while battling really hot oil? I didn't think so. If this is too small for your group, consider this: remember when I said it could be done in around 30 minutes? Well you could do two turkeys in half the time it would take to bake one in your home oven. When you take the first turkey out, just add some more oil to the marked point and bring it up to the right temperature and do your next turkey. Or if you're like me, you totally fall in love with deep fried turkey and get a second fryer!
Now some people will tell you the turkey won't taste as good because you're missing out on the basting process. Well, that's just not true because flavoring a deep fried turkey is a two prong attack! First part of the attack, injecting the flavor. How do you inject flavor you say? You buy a marinade that is especially made for injecting into meat. Yes, you can do this with other meats too! I have been using Tony Chachere's Injectables for the last few years. It has a great flavor and is easily found. When we first started doing this I would have to order the marinade from a catalog every year or not too long after that get it at the local Bass Pro Shops. Now that this technique has grown in popularity, you can find it in most, if not all grocery stores. Some brands come with a disposable needle. I have used both the fancy, high priced, stainless steel needle with multiple holes in the shaft and the disposable ones. Guess what? I prefer the cheap version. The stainless steel injector has a much larger needle which makes it harder for sticking in the turkey and if you happen to be pushing the plunger when lifting it out, you get squirted or whatever is near you does. We always do two turkeys for Thanksgiving so I flavor one with the roasted garlic and herb version and a Cajun version. There should be a diagram on the bottle of injectable points. If not, the directions that come with your deep fryer should have one. Next step in the flavoring is the rub. I would say you would want a similar flavor for the rub as the injectable. Liberally sprinkle the rub onto the turkey and pat into the skin. When done, wrap it well with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight to marinate.
You may be asking, what kind of oil do I use? Around the holidays you may have noticed large boxes of oil stacked in the aisles at Sam's Club, Home Depot, Lowe's and now even at the grocery stores. Those are for the deep fryers. The most recommended is peanut oil. It's also the most expensive and if you have someone with nut allergies coming, don't even think about it. It is the one I use because it gives a bit more flavor. But if you don't use it, you are just fine. You'll want a oil with a high flame point so peanut, corn or canola are the only ones you'll want to use. I do recommend, buy it a few days before the holidays because they do tend to run out quick. You'll need between 3 1/2-5 gallons Note: If your deep fryer did not come with a thermometer, get one! You'll need a candy/deep fryer thermometer. That oil needs to be the right temperature! Also, a meat thermometer will come in handy too.
On the day you are to cook the turkey, you'll need about 30-45 minutes to heat the oil. Remember when I mentioned what I first thought about deep frying a turkey? Disgusting and wouldn't be cooked enough? Here is how it works. You're gonna want to bring the oil to between 325-350 degrees. Do not put it in until it reaches that point! You need it that high because when you set the turkey in, the oil will sear the outside of the turkey sealing it's juices in and keeping the oil out. Most directions say to cook about 3 minutes per pound. I have found that's a bit too done for me. We typically do about 2 minutes. This is where your meat thermometer comes in real handy. The temperature should read 170 degrees in the breast and 180 in the thighs. Most important thing? Do not leave the fryer unattended! Although nothing has ever happened to us, my husband never leaves that fryer!
When your turkey is done frying, carefully lift it out and hold it for a moment while the excess oil drains out. Place it on a rimmed pan and immediately cover with foil and let sit about 20-30 minutes. The reason for this is when you cook meat, it brings all the juices to the surface of the meat. When you cut into it early, all those juices drain out leaving the meat dry. If you allow it to rest, the juices start redistributing back into the meat and far less will drain out when cutting. Now the turkey might seem a bit burnt on the outside. It's not, that's just the rub reacting to the hot oil especially if you use a Cajun rub which has a lot of red in it. Now enjoy!
