A few turkey fryer tips?

[grilling24x7]

I've never used this propane fueled deep fryer before and I have a few questions. If anyone wants to chime in with tips please do so. This is a standard Brinkman turkey fryer with big pot and propane attachment. I plan on doing two turkeys on Christmas day.

1. Do you prefer to use the large basket or the turkey stand (which goes through the cavity) to hold it? My set came with both.

2. My instructions say to adjust the flame until it is a blue flame with minimal yellow. Well that's impossible. I adjusted both the gas pressure (from the tank) and the air intake and its either yellow with a little bit of blue at the base, or totally yellow. Is a yellow flame ok? If so, I assume it shouldn't be roaring up the sides of the pot? I assume I need a slow controlled flame which stays below the pot. Last night's test resulted in water getting to boiling in about 20-25 min with a small flame not going up the sides of the pot.

3. Also the pot it came with turned pretty nasty black on the bottom and the sides just from this first 25 min test trial with boiling water. It flaked off with a paper towel. Kinda odd?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm a charcoal guy so this newfangled big gas tank is sort of freaking me out.

Cheers!

John

[Lazybones]

1. I use the turkey stand. I have a basket for frying fish/smaller items and for boiling crawfish.

2. No, the fire should not be roaring so big as to come up the sides of the pot. I'm not even sure mine will get that high. I usually have a mix of a blue/yellow flame. I wouldn't worry about that as much as just getting it to stay relatively constant. Build a small wind screen if needed, the wind can really screw with the fire.

3. The bottom of the pot will turn nasty, it's just part of cooking over an open flame.

Make sure that you measure the level of the oil needed with water before you put it in. I usually subtract about an inch-inch and a half because the oil will expand some. Big grease fires aren't fun, so just be careful and enjoy it. Fried turkey is now a staple at my house for the holidays.

[TTNuge]

Don't do it on your wood deck! Unless you're special you WILL have some oil spillage and a good possibility for a little fire. When you lower the turkey into the oil do it SLOWLY and wear a heavy glove like a welders glove. Don't wear sandals or shorts and when the oil starts boiling up like crazy don't just drop the turkey into the fryer and run away, go slow and you can keep it under control.

[stubshaft]

I agree with Lazybones. One other thing I would like to add is to wear heatproof gloves when putting the turkey in, lower it slowly (as it will hiss and spit) keep an eye on the foaming. Since it is always windy where I live I usually fashion a windscreen around the base of the fryer with some foil.

BTW - I would adjust the flame so that it has some blue showing.

[Grillman]

Don't cook it in your Garage.

Set up at least 10 feet away from your house and anything else that can burn....such
as a patio or deck or anything flammable.

Have the proper kind of Fire Extinguisher close by....if there is a fire....don't throw
water on it, or use your garden hose; that will turn a small fire into a BIG fire.

Keep children and pets far away from the cooker.

Allow the Turkey to drain really well before submerging it into the oil; if necessary
use some paper towels to pat the Turkey dry on the outside and inside to remove
as much moisture/water as possible.

[PacoG2]

Make sure it completely thawed!!

[zakaluka]

It sounds like the regulator on your gas connection is poorly made. This happened when a friend of mine bought a fairly cheap fryer from the NEX. He had to go the a hardware store and build himself a custom gas connection to make it work.

If your regulator doesn't give you good control, you run the risk of overheating your grease. Grease that gets even 30 degrees too hot before you realize it turns into a difficult situation to manage. That stuff holds tons of heat, and won't cool down for a pretty long time.

Chris' fryer started spattering all over his patio and wouldn't stop for a half hour. Make sure you can get the right kind of flame before you start a serious fry :)

[Skidder]

Most important do not let children or for that matter anyone near the cooking area. Have one or more fire extinguishers available and manned at all times. Lower your dried turkey very very slow. And do not leave it unattended even for seconds. Plan ever move and do a dry run on how your going to do it. As in having all your gloves,pans ect. ready right down to who in going to open the door for you after it's cooked. Just because it's out of the fryer it's still very hot. One slip could leave you or others with injuries. There's isn't anything we do here worth getting hurt for. Good luck.

[AustinKnight]

Do it away from your house and lower the bird in SLOWLY real slow.Use the turkey stand that works best. Keep temps at 350 I usually start mine at 375 as the temp will drop ounce you put the bird in. Also do 3 1/2 minutes a pound and you will have the color you and me know your looking for some do 3 min a pound and five minutes finishing up after its all done. Don't worry you'll be good I'm not a big gas man myself and don't really play with weed burners so I know how you feel. Good luck send us PRON!

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

[mnmikew]

Yes, it's VERY important to carefully measure the amout of oil you use. I usually only fry birds that are less than 15 lbs, usually I try to find them in the 12-13 lb range.

Make sure you remove the gravy and giblet bags before cooking!

Put bird in empty pot (on your turkey stand) and fill with water till it barely covers the bird. Remove the bird and mark where the water line is. I used a screwdriver or punch to mark the line on the inside of pot.

Empty water from pot and dry off bird completely.

Fill pot with oil (I usually use peanut or regular veggy oil) to your mark.

Heat oil to 325-350F and SLOWLY, VERY SLOWLY lower into oil. I cant stress enough the importance of going slow.

3 1/2 mins a pound, and add 5 mins (for oil to recover from cold bird)

Make sure you let the bird rest 20-30 mins before carving or shredding.

There are LOTS of good injection mixes out there. Inject before frying. I try to avoid puncturing the skin.

putting a rub on the outside sometimes leaves you with a ver blackend bird, I dont do it. Also try to not let the temp get over 350 at anytime.

[grilling24x7]

Fantastic comments everyone! I'm still listening if anyone else has anything to say.

I think I should be good to go. Everything you guys said is in agreement with what I've learned from various YouTube videos. I trust you guys so much more, however!

Thanks!

[Jason TQ]

Don't be too drunk when you fry . Looking forward to frying on Xmas eve.

[Pyle's BBQ]

Here is a good video to watch. Take what you want from it.

Good Eats - Fry Turkey Fry [Full - HD Quality] - YouTube

[sullysQ]

Originally Posted by mnmikew

Put bird in empty pot (on your turkey stand) and fill with water till it barely covers the bird. Remove the bird and mark where the water line is. I used a screwdriver or punch to mark the line on the inside of pot.

This should have asteriks all around it!!!!!! This step will keep you from being on a Smokey the Bear commercial. Former boss didn't do that and had a nice little fire going when he put his turkey in and it went over the sides. I didn't like him much so after finding out nothing burned down I laughed (on the inside)

[grilling24x7]

Another question: I have a 3 gallon box of frying oil blend. 3 gallons enough?