Deep frying a turkey

[parrothead]

I and my friends have always deep fried our birds at 375. I just bought a book with tons of deep frying recipes and it calls for 350 for just about everything. What temp do you guys deep fry at?

 

[Bill-Chicago]

350.

But I bring it up to around 380-390 before setting in the bird.

She'll bring it down to around 330 before it climbs back up.

I ferget the formula. is it 3.5 minutes a pound for whole birds and 7 minutes a pound for just the breast only birds?

 

[rbinms33]

I always had the hardest time remembering the right temp until I saw someone use 365. Hmmmmm....365 degrees...365 days in the year. Silly, but that's how I remember it and that's what I use for turkey, fish, or whatever else I fry up. 350 sounds a little low. You'll know it if you're cooking too low though, the meat gets all greasy and nasty.

Keeping along the same lines of the thread, our Bass Pro Shop down here is selling Cottonseed Oil at a pretty good price ($14 for 35# vs. $18 for 35#). They say it's for cooking but I've never heard of it. Anybody used this stuff before? I'm all about saving money but not sure if I want to use this to experiment on a half dozen turkeys to save a few bucks.

 

[ricky]

I use that cottonseed oil sometimes.......it browns up darker to me....only difference I can tell.....I get it @ the Bass Pro in Atlanta when we go up also.

 

[parrothead]

yep 3.5 minutes per lb for whole bird and 7 min per lb for just breast. Not sure why that is and have not deep fried just a tit.

 

[Bill-Chicago]

I'm gonna throw 4 BOOBIES (2 whole BOOBIES) in the basket and see what happens.

Thanks.

 

[rusold]

I go with taking it to somewhere around 400 before putting it in and 375 after it comes back. This sometimes leads to exciting flameups however. To make it really good you need to inject (cajun stuff it's in the supermarket here - you yankees may have to make your own) or stufing little slivers of onions jalepenos garlic etc and rub something under the skin.

 

[Wayne]

Fry? FRY? Heck, the way that my smokers cook turkey makes a fryer unnecessary and an oily hassle. However I watched a show called Top Gear while I was in the UK last year and found out that you can burn the old oil in your diesel powered car.

 

[BBQchef33]

i fried once. Did it on the walkway on the side of the hose cause i didnt want to spill oil on my deck. Bad move. the side of the house got a thin coating of oil on it that i didnt notice, unitil it started attracting dust and dirt and anything else that will stick to it. whole side of the house had crap on it.. never do that again.

 

[Bill-Chicago]

Just cuz your an idiot doesn;t mean you shouldnt fry. Duh, dont' fry near the house.

there is nothing like a fried bird. there is nothing like a smoked bird. I am so farking pissed, I am starting my own thread now.

 

[parrothead]

there is nothing like a fried bird.

We have this couple here that tried a fried bird last year and they both said it was bad. The female of the 2 even used the word gross to describe it. There is no accounting for taste.

 

[chad]

We have this couple here that tried a fried bird last year and they both said it was bad. The female of the 2 even used the word gross to describe it. There is no accounting for taste.

So you got PMS'd!

I fry around 350 3-3.5 minutes per lb. for a whole bird and check the internal temp before I pull it. Let it rest a few minutes (the temp will keep rising for about 5 minutes). I then debone the thing and slice cross sections of the boobs.

 

[parrothead]

It may be awhile before I do another, but I think I will try for a target temp of 350 next time. Might just make the oil last longer. While we are at it, how many uses do you guys get out of oil. I have one of those battery operated filter/pumps. They work great. I have reused 2 or 3 times for a bird, but have always ended up with a fish fry or something, and that usually kills the oil. I think I could get several more fries from just doing birds.

 

[rbinms33]

I only do fried turkey once a year on Thanksgiving Day so I don't save my oil. Don't wanna take a chance on using old oil and things tasting like crap. I've had my eyes open for the right kinda turkeys for a few weeks now. I don't think you can go bigger than a 12 lb bird to fit in the fryer. Around here, they put the 18-20# birds on sale but not the smaller ones. Just gotta keep watchin'.

 

[chad]

If you filter the oil (the battery pumps work OK - cheese cloth would better but I don't use it either) and stay around 350 you could get 4-5 turkeys out of a batch of oil -- maybe more.

I usually rotate one bottle of oil (1.25 gallons) every go around. But, I got three fries out of the first batch. The older oil will give you a nicer brown on the skin but if it's too old it'll darken the bird before it's done.

I've been using canola because I'm too cheap to buy peanut oil

I don't think you can go bigger than a 12 lb bird to fit in the fryer.

It depends on the size of your pot but generally 12-13 pounds is a big as you should go. I think the rule is you only want the oil to come up 2/3 the depth of your pot with the bird in it -- otherwise you could get boil over (not pretty -- don't ask, I know this!!).

 

[parrothead]

otherwise you could get boil over (not pretty -- don't ask, I know this!!).

Yeah, I've seen boil over also. Not pretty at all. HTat brings up another point. I'm sure we all do the bird in water thing to tell what level of oil to fill the pot with. This book that I just bought said to stick the turkey in the pot before you unwrap it, then fill with oil until it just goes over the top of the bird. Then pull the bird out and mark the level. Doesn't sound right to me. I stick the whole unwrapped bird in, fill with water, mark my level and go about a half inch lower thatn the mark. I am sure that I could go a little bit lower, but that has to be way to low. Anyone ever heard of this technique? It is in a book just put out by the maker of cajun injector. Found it at my Home Depot in a big display right in front of the turkey fryers.

 

[egkor]

This last weekend I watched a cooking demonstration by John Henry Abercrombie, of John Henry's rubs/spices/meats.

One of the things he cooked was Fried Turkey.

One way to prevent boilover is to s-l-o-w-l-y immerse the bird in the hot oil. It probably took JH one or two minutes to get the bird fully submersed.

He fried the turkey with the lid on, to help keep the heat in the pot.

He spilt one or two small drops of oil total. So frying a turkey can be done without a mess.

-egkor (Gary K)

 

[parrothead]

I save all of my big cardboard boxes and spread them all over the place before I start. Never been able to do one without at least a little bit of splatter.

 

[rbinms33]

I also unwrap my bird, put it on the skewer and then fill the pot with water until it just covers the bird. Take the bird out and mark the pot. That other method about the wrapped bird and the oil doesn't really make sense unless you were going to do it right away otherwise you've got a pot full of oil sitting there.

Trying to think of some more tips and tricks......

If'n you're buying frozen birds, give them enough time to thaw. A 12 lb'r usually takes about 4 days in my fridge. An 18 lb'r takes a full week. NEVER ever put a bird in the fryer unless it's completely thawed. I learned this lesson the hard way because I was too impatient to let it fully thaw. Not only did it boil over but it was poppin' and splatterin' like crazy. Not to mention it's just a scary sight. Reminds me of those volcanos you see at a science fair.

Make sure the bird is patted down as dry as you can before it goes for it's oil bath. Saves splatter.

As Gary said, putting the bird in slowly will save splatter too.

Also, make sure you pin that "neck flap" on the bird down too to cover the hole. If not, you'll have hot oil bubblin' and poppin' out of that hole.

After I'm done, I usually just borrow the parent's pressure washer to clean the concrete but some well placed cardboard would probably solve that problem.

And I guess I don't have to mention gloves and long sleeves, do I?

 

[parrothead]

That other method about the wrapped bird and the oil doesn't really make sense

Did I say that? I meant water. But if it is wrapped there won't be enough oil when you get it in there.

And I guess I don't have to mention gloves and long sleeves, do I?

Not to me, I am a veteran, and hate getting burned.