Fried Turkey - The Hull Truth

LI Sound Grunt · 02-11-2005, 09:05 AM

OK since birds seem to be the topic de jour (did I spell that right, Auguste

?)

I am planning to use my new frier sunday. Its a 28 quart. A few questions I can't seem to find. the search feature comes up blank even though this was a hot topic in the past

Anyway - do you have to use peanut oil? It seems expensive.

How much oil do I need to do a 8 to 10 lb bird? I am guessing 4 or 5 gallons should cover a bird that size easily ? Do you season it at all before or after?

Any other advice? Its electric.

2blackdogs · 02-11-2005, 09:24 AM

You can use peanut oil, it is expensive, I use veggie oil, can get at costco or sam's club in a 4 gal container for around 15-17.00. I fill the pot around 2/3 full, bird will displace some oil. As far as seasoning, I am a big fan of injecting maranade into the bird the night before...either a sauce of your own creation or there are usually several available at Walley world or any good supermarket. Your frier is electric, so be very careful when putting the bird in, overflow could be dangerous, mine is a gas burner in the middle of the burn pile in the back yard, overflow is not that big a deal. I heat my oil to 325 and drop the bird in, the oil will drop in temp, stabilize at 300 and go 4 min a pound at 300 degrees. I hope some of this will help, kinda got me in the mood to fry a bird now. Let me know if there are anymore questions.

2 black dogs

skeeter2200 · 02-11-2005, 09:33 AM

Fried Turkey orginated here in Louisiana when we tried to find something else to use our crawfish boilers for when crawfish were out of season. The first 5 or 10 times I had it, the bird was fried in hog lard. I am going to tell ya... I have had it fried in different types of oil, but hog lard is still the tastiest. It will clog your artieries big time like any Cajun food but sure is good.

Bailey Boat · 02-11-2005, 09:48 AM

Best advice on frying that turkey….. HAVE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER HANDY!!!!!! Its messy doing it but good once finished….. did I mention have a fire extinguisher handy???????

HOTSPOT · 02-11-2005, 09:59 AM

Here's a trick to get the oil level right:

Leave the bird in the bag.

Place the bird in your pot.

Fill the pot with water until the water level is 2 inches below the tallest part of the bird.

Remove the bird from the pot.

Mark the water level with tape or a sharpie.

Pour the water out and THOROUGHLY wipe all of the water out of the pot.

Fill pot with oil to the mark you made.

Also, the cool thing about Peanut Oil is you can use it many times. I drain and strain mine and reuse several times. Peanut Oil also hold heat better and has a higher flash point.

Like Bailey said, keep a fire extinguisher handy !!!

Most of the time, once I pull the bird out, I drop in a 10 pound cured ham and let it sit in the oil for 10 minutes. Talk about awesome !!

one for seed · 02-11-2005, 10:55 AM

follow what HOT SPOT said and you will be fine. enjoy!!

Tireless · 02-11-2005, 11:01 AM

All good advice....

A couple of other thoughts.....

Use the peanut oil since it*has a higher boiling temp

Make certain the bird is thawed out and pat it down with paper towels to remove as much water as possible - mixing water with hot oil creates a mini explosion that can be very dangerous

I place newspaper around the base of the stand to catch some of the oil.....if you place the standin the yard ignore this step

We liberally season the bird with pepper...that's it

BTW - if you have sliced potato (french fries work)*you can put that in the oil after the bird is cooked and it absorbs a lot of the flavor and helps to restore the peanut oil for another day.* I would also recommend using some cheese cloth and straining the oil and replacing it in a container it orginally came in.* I only use the oil twice....maybe 3 times but not often.

IMHO there is no better way to cook turkey, chicken, some fish (try this with mahi strips), etc.

TexasWhaler · 02-11-2005, 11:02 AM

And have one of these on

Undaunted · 02-11-2005, 11:03 AM

the only other thing I will add to Hot Spots suggestions is do your frying somewhere in the yard a little out of the way so you do not get the oil all over your deck or driveway. People will eventually walk through it and into your house.

also when it comes to injections, I ended up breaking a couple of plastic injection needles. I ended up going to Tractor Supply and getting a surenge for cattle or horses.

LI Sound Grunt · 02-11-2005, 11:37 AM

Thanks

I am thinking of not reusing the oil just for simplicity and cause I am lazy and straining and all that sounds like more work than I am gonna want to do after a keg and a turkey.

Anyway Great advice thanks to all!!

You mentioned that the boiling point of peanut oil is higher - does that mean that the corn oil or other vegetable oil will boil at 350?? Or does it smoke - or does it make it taste bad? Is it more damgerous - basically why is vegetable oil bad for this?

Also - many thanks for the fire warnings - I will be doing this outside in our campfire pit even though its an electric unit. I saw a real funny segment on one of those funniest video TV things the other night where the guys placed the turkey in the oil and is almost exploded. Fire raging all around them. They funny part was they all just laughed, backed up and kept the show going like nothing happened.

I like the hog lard!!! Probably gotta go pretty far South of here to find that!!

Shag · 02-11-2005, 12:08 PM

One more tip. Stay out from under trees. Steam dislodges bugs.

Also, strain it the next morning. Its good for 40 cooking hours if you don't flame it.

grandx · 02-11-2005, 12:42 PM

Veggy oil burns at lower temperatures than peanut oil, may make your turkey taste burned or worse.. may catch fire. I think most oils burn before they boil, can't remember seeing a pot of oil boiling on it's own, suspect that's way too hot. I'd stick with the peanut oil, buy it in bulk 4-5 gal and the price is not so bad. After frying, put the lid on the pot, enjoy your evening and forget about it till tomorrow, straining it over a cotton cloth the next day won't take much more time than just dumping it out. Fried Turkey thats been injected and seasoned is the best turkey I've ever eaten, it is alot of trouble though, it's better if you have more than one bird to fry as the set up and clean up time is divided by the number of birds you cook... There are several instructions to be found on the how to and seasoning, if you do a google search on the subject. The most important instructions include the thermometer to monitor temp and the procedure for lowering the bird into the oil, dip it a little at a time and pull back a little deeper each time until all the water has burned off, then drop her in and watch the temp. Most accidents happen by overfilling the oil to begin with, or just dumping a wet bird in before burning off the water. A buddy helping lower the bird and a pair of leather gloves are nice to have as well. Enjoy.

TexasWhaler · 02-11-2005, 01:34 PM

some people don't realize how dangerous that hot oil can be

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/112...urkeyburn.html

LI Sound Grunt · 02-11-2005, 01:47 PM

Thanks again guys - I'm out looking for peanut oil in bulk!!!

Really appreciate all the imput and warnings!!! I plan on using a metal bar or strong piece of lumber to lower the thing in and have it planned so we'll be a few feet away while doing it. I'll take some pics and post on Monday - if the house is still here!!!!

Shag · 02-11-2005, 01:54 PM

One other thing. I bought a 30lb (?) box of "peanut" oil at Lowes Hardware. Wesson I believe. Got home and in between the great big letters that said "Deep Frying" and "Peanut Oil" was a little teeny word that said "contains." Talk about misleading. It was veggie oil that contained "PEANUT OIL". Read the box. Much as I hate to say it Wally World usually carries pure peanut oil in bulk. Also, check with local restaurants. They may have to order it but you're only talking a day or two.

Tireless · 02-11-2005, 01:58 PM

Oh yeah, one more warning.....make certain anybody that eats that wonderful bird is not allergic to peanuts.....that mistake can be ugly - I know.

yachtjim · 02-11-2005, 03:01 PM

Lots of great advice there.* One thing I did was etch a line inside of my pot to know how much oil to put in.* I have it high enough that it will fry a 20lb bird, so I use the same amount of oil every time.* I definitely recommend re-using it, it gets tastier the more it is used!

The trickiest part of the whole operation is initially dropping the turkey in...you have to walk a fine line between being smooth while you drop it in, and hauling ass away from the pot to keep from getting splattered.* Dunk it too fast and oil splashes out of the pot, dunk it too slow and you get splattered!*

msumoose · 02-11-2005, 04:15 PM

DONT THROW THAT OIL AWAY!!!

Go to your local wal-mart and buy a kerosene pump, about three fifty, and you can just pump the oil out of the pot, straining will not apply, as all the stuff that you need to strain is at the botton of the pot. Just dont stick the siphon end all the way to the bottom.

I like to season inside and out with Tony Cachere's seasoning (also available at my wal-mart, or at www.icantspellit.com), after I sprinkle it on, I rub it into the skin, and let it sit for ten minutes or so, then sprinkle again. Also use tony's injector and injector seasoning, I prefer the garlic butter kind.

MAKE SURE that the bird is truly thawed, otherwise the 2.5 min/lb will not apply.

If you need more help, just ask!!

Somethin-Fishey · 02-11-2005, 07:03 PM

For injection I like Apple Juice. i usually inject the night before and let it sit in the fridge, then inject lightly right before cooking.

For marinating, use a kitchen trash bag and dump all the seasonings in and let it "Marinate" in the trash bag.

Tony K · 02-11-2005, 09:13 PM

In addition to all the great advice, consider brining the bird before frying.* Brine*causes the bird to be extra tender and juicy*-*I tried this 4 years ago and it's my main prep:

4 cups kosher salt or 2 cups table salt
1 turkey*(cooker's recommended weight), rinsed thoroughly

1. Dissolve salt in 2 gallons of cold water in large stockpot or clean bucket. Add turkey and refrigerate or set in very cool (40 degrees or less) spot for 4 to 6 hours.
2. Remove turkey from salt water and rinse both cavities and skin under cool running water for several minutes until all traces of salt are gone. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Place turkey on meat rack set over rimmed sheet pan. Place turkey in refrigerator, uncovered, and air-dry for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Fry that bad boy and enjoy!* BTW - I have gas and electric fryers - don't know how I lived without the electric - it does a great job keeping the temp just perfect.