Frying a turkey for the first time??? Read this!!!
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This Is my suggestion... before you even put your rub on your turkey, fill the deep fryer with water and then drop your turkey in,,, Now add or take out water to give you enough to cover bird but not to much to spill over top... Now take your turkey out and mark the level of the water on the outside.. Now you now how much oil to put in.. One way of being safe
And don't forget to dry the pot and the bird before putting it in the hot oil. Hot oil and water do not play well together.
Some good info in there. It sure isn't worth getting burned and starting your house on fire over a bird. Be safe everyone!
That's about what I figured would happen!!!!
Thanks for confirming, Craig!!!
Be careful Brothers & Sisters, and you mothers too!!!!
Bear
Thanks for confirming, Craig!!!
Be careful Brothers & Sisters, and you mothers too!!!!
Bear
It's going in at 11 am...If your frying one, I'll bring the camera neighbor
Bring some burnt ends with ya!!!
Whooo hoooo!!!
Gobble gobble!!!
Craig
deepfryaturkey
Newbie
rbranster,
You made a good point about making sure the turkey is dry! Another suggestion I would have for anyone deep frying a turkey would be to make sure it is completely thawed as well. An frozen turkey is a sure way to a fireball. When your turkey is completely thawed and dry then it is time to fry! Stay safe folks!
You made a good point about making sure the turkey is dry! Another suggestion I would have for anyone deep frying a turkey would be to make sure it is completely thawed as well. An frozen turkey is a sure way to a fireball. When your turkey is completely thawed and dry then it is time to fry! Stay safe folks!
Good advice, Thank You!
I see this is your first post here, when you get a minute would you do us a favor and go to Roll Call and introduce yourself so we can get to know you and give you a proper welcome, also would you add your location to your profile, we like knowing where you are when we talk to you, Thanks!
Here is the one I have,it dosn't take any oil.....and it does a fantastic job....The next one that I cook I will take a picture of to post....But it does a great job....http://www.target.com/p/char-broil-...patio garden&ci_sku=12802280&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=
linguica
Master of the Pit
Common sense rules. Keep the kids and dogs away from the fry area. Hot oil and water don't mix. The hardest one of all, Don't deep fry while intoxicated.
Having said all that nothing matches the oos and ohhs you get when you come in from the backyard with that dark brown bird.
Having said all that nothing matches the oos and ohhs you get when you come in from the backyard with that dark brown bird.
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I have fried over 200 birds in the past 15 years. It is a great way to cook and prepare turkeys in my opinion. I was reading through the thread and did not see a full process posted. I did see some great tips that I use myself.
I agree the single most important thing with frying a turkey or anything, is safety. As mentioned in the video make sure you are on a hard level surface. You never set up one of those style fryers inside the house or on a deck, they do have some newer style indoor oil less fryers, I have never used one so have no opinion on them.
If you choose to fry a turkey or anything else there are a few guidelines/rules to follow:
Fry area selection and set up:
If you have a concrete pad or a level area in your yard those are preferred choices. Note that while the bird is cooking it will spit and splatter hot oil around the area. So make sure you are OK with either the concrete pad getting stained with the oil or the grass may die from the hot oil. I am fortunate to have areas around my house that have sandy spots, so I will set up there. I have used a sheet of old plywood to protect the surface, however if you have an accident you now have extra fuel for the fire. I have friend who uses large paving stones to make a concrete pad and then store them away when not in use. Inspect the area and make sure you do not have possible obstructions or trip hazards. Nothing could ruin a meal like tripping over a sprinkler head or kids toy. Set up the propane tank as far away as you can without putting a strain on the hose. Have a table or something stable to place the bird on while you are either setting up to place in the fryer or while you have the bird removed to temp or serve. Have a fire extinguisher handy. I also have a hose with a spray tip to use to wet down the grass if it has been dry out. Never spray the oil with the water, it will not end well!!!!
Bird Selection and Prep:
Before selecting your bird you need to look at the pot you are using. Most kits will tell you the max size you can fit in the pot. I will try to keep it to around 10#-12# with the kits that are sold. If you get a pot from a restaurant depot or something like that you will have to play around with it. You need to have enough room for the oil to get the convection heat movement going. If you over pack it you will run into issues of the oil getting too cold and never recovering.
Once you have determined the size of bird you are looking for and have purchased it. Before you take it out of the bag it is sealed in. You need to mark your oil level. As suggested previously place the bird in the pot you plan to use fill with water to no more than 4” below the lip, you really only want to be about 1”-2” above the tips of the legs. Remove the bird and mark where the water level is. If you can measure the amount of water that is in the pot and that will tell you how much oil you will need to start. Some will notice that this was done with the packaging on and realize that we have the cavity to fill with oil as well, so that volume is accounted for with the expansion of the oil when it heats up. I usually will keep some extra oil on hand if I need to adjust the level a bit on the fly.
I do not brine my birds I fry, you can but that will give you extra water to mix with hot oil. It makes a bigger mess to clean up. I will take my bird out of the packaging and inject with a mixture of (OJ, sea salt, fine ground black pepper, rosemary and EVOO) I will place all of the ingredients in a blender and get it to a smooth consistency, taste, adjust and the let sit over night and strain before injecting it into the bird. I do not rub the outside of the bird with anything, if I do anything I will take the stuff I strained out of the injection marinade and rub on the inside of the cavity. I find that if anything is on the outside it will burn and look bad on the bird. I am fortunate enough to have multiple fridges, so I can designate one to meat prep for the holidays. So I will leave my bird uncovered to allow the skin to dry out a bit. I find it gives me less splattering and a crispier skin.
If you buy or have one of the kits, they have a stand that you mount the bird on. They are pretty straight forward. The metal bar assembly goes through the cavity and the bird will be head first. I usually will not tie my birds, some do. However if you do not have the kit or have lost this assembly, this is how I do mine. I have an old wok ring that I place on the bottom of the pot to keep the bird from touching the bottom and getting burnt. I will take butcher twine and run it through the cavity. Then tie it to form a big loop that has the bird in it. I leave the extra twin to tie off onto the handle of the pot so I don’t lose it while the bird is cooking.
Cooking:
So you have your station set up, taken all the safety precautions, fryer turned on and heating the oil. Depending on how big the pot is, how much oil and the outside temperature is, will determine how long to heat the oil. I find it takes about 30-45min. At this time is when I pull the bird from the fridge. I usually do not temper my meats before cooking. Since this is a fast cooking and will be through the TDZ in plenty of time, I will for this. It also will help not kill your oil temp when put in the bird. So you have your oil to 350-360 degrees F and the bird is next to the fryer. You lift the bird in hold it over the oil and slowly lower it into the oil, using the hook provided in the kit or loop the string over a wood pole, you will see the oil start to splatter, spit and bubble. I will go about 3”-4” at a time, each time I lower the bird in, I wait till the oil settles down. You DO NOT want to lower the bird as fast as they did in the video!!!! When you get to the top of the cavity, if it has not already, it will fill quickly with the oil; just watch your hands and face. I have seen the oil splash up. Your oil temperature will drop, bring it back to about 325 degreesF and adjust to flame to maintain this temperature. At 325 degreesF it will take about 3min per pound. You want to reach an internal cook temp of 165-170 degreesF. When you need to remove the bird to temp it, remove it slowly to allow all of the oil to drain out of the cavity (huge mess if you don’t and can burn your feet). Place in a clean pan and temp as you would normally. Your bird will float as it cooks, that is ok. Just rotate it so it gets cooked all over. When done cooking allow the bird to rest for 20-30min before carving. You can hold in an oven if needed, just do not cover with foil or something that will hold moisture, you will lose the crispy skin.
Clean Up:
So you’re going to want to eat with the other and not baby sit the hot oil. I will place the pot in a shed or garage on a heat safe pad to allow cooling down before I place back into the bottles to discard or reuse for frying other things. You can store it in a cool dark place for about a month. I have gone longer, but would not recommend it. We usually we set up fish fries or something else before the month is up.
Other Tid Bits:
I prefer a fresh bird, really up to you and what is available.
I use vegetable oil, due to cost of peanut. But peanut is very nice. At times you can get from BJ’s, Sam’s or Costco the fryer oil used in commercial kitchens. That has some stabilizers added into it and will last a bit longer than regular cooking oils.
I was trying to be as detailed as I could remember. I think I got most everything. If something is not clear or I missed something please feel free to ask.
I agree the single most important thing with frying a turkey or anything, is safety. As mentioned in the video make sure you are on a hard level surface. You never set up one of those style fryers inside the house or on a deck, they do have some newer style indoor oil less fryers, I have never used one so have no opinion on them.
If you choose to fry a turkey or anything else there are a few guidelines/rules to follow:
- Never leave the fryer unattended while it is on or hot. Most likely the time you are doing this is a family/friend gathering. So lots of people and other distractions are around. Once you have committed to turning the fryer on. That has become someone’s single most import thing in the world! Someone had to be responsible for watching it and the area around it. You will have dogs running around, kids playing and even adults not paying attention to what they are doing. This is when people get burned and accidents happen.
- I also would not recommend doing this while intoxicated, a drink is ok, but if too many are had it can skew judgment and accidents can happen. I do highly recommend a celebratory beverage after when everything has been taken care of…….only if that is your thing.
- Setting up in the middle of where everyone will be is not a good idea. Set up your cooking station off to the side where people can see if they want, but you are in a safe controlled area.
- Safety equipment needed: ABC fire extinguisher (20# worth minimum), heavy heat resistant gloves, a way to lower the bird into the oil (some kits come with a coat hanger looking thing, others have a handle with a hook, I have also used a wood pole about 3” in length and loop the butcher twin around it {more on that later})
- Personal attire: close toe shoes (hot oil on your toes does not tickle), and apron or long pants and at least a t-shirt. Do not wear long dangly things that can get caught in the handle of the fryer or even dip into the hot oil. If you have long hair tie it back so it cannot get into the handle or oil.
- Other items: long tongs, long stem metal thermometers for frying (metal candy thermometer with long probe stem will work too), long stem lighter, small table for work station, hose with spray tip, towels, clean pans and anything else you may feel you need.
Fry area selection and set up:
If you have a concrete pad or a level area in your yard those are preferred choices. Note that while the bird is cooking it will spit and splatter hot oil around the area. So make sure you are OK with either the concrete pad getting stained with the oil or the grass may die from the hot oil. I am fortunate to have areas around my house that have sandy spots, so I will set up there. I have used a sheet of old plywood to protect the surface, however if you have an accident you now have extra fuel for the fire. I have friend who uses large paving stones to make a concrete pad and then store them away when not in use. Inspect the area and make sure you do not have possible obstructions or trip hazards. Nothing could ruin a meal like tripping over a sprinkler head or kids toy. Set up the propane tank as far away as you can without putting a strain on the hose. Have a table or something stable to place the bird on while you are either setting up to place in the fryer or while you have the bird removed to temp or serve. Have a fire extinguisher handy. I also have a hose with a spray tip to use to wet down the grass if it has been dry out. Never spray the oil with the water, it will not end well!!!!
Bird Selection and Prep:
Before selecting your bird you need to look at the pot you are using. Most kits will tell you the max size you can fit in the pot. I will try to keep it to around 10#-12# with the kits that are sold. If you get a pot from a restaurant depot or something like that you will have to play around with it. You need to have enough room for the oil to get the convection heat movement going. If you over pack it you will run into issues of the oil getting too cold and never recovering.
Once you have determined the size of bird you are looking for and have purchased it. Before you take it out of the bag it is sealed in. You need to mark your oil level. As suggested previously place the bird in the pot you plan to use fill with water to no more than 4” below the lip, you really only want to be about 1”-2” above the tips of the legs. Remove the bird and mark where the water level is. If you can measure the amount of water that is in the pot and that will tell you how much oil you will need to start. Some will notice that this was done with the packaging on and realize that we have the cavity to fill with oil as well, so that volume is accounted for with the expansion of the oil when it heats up. I usually will keep some extra oil on hand if I need to adjust the level a bit on the fly.
I do not brine my birds I fry, you can but that will give you extra water to mix with hot oil. It makes a bigger mess to clean up. I will take my bird out of the packaging and inject with a mixture of (OJ, sea salt, fine ground black pepper, rosemary and EVOO) I will place all of the ingredients in a blender and get it to a smooth consistency, taste, adjust and the let sit over night and strain before injecting it into the bird. I do not rub the outside of the bird with anything, if I do anything I will take the stuff I strained out of the injection marinade and rub on the inside of the cavity. I find that if anything is on the outside it will burn and look bad on the bird. I am fortunate enough to have multiple fridges, so I can designate one to meat prep for the holidays. So I will leave my bird uncovered to allow the skin to dry out a bit. I find it gives me less splattering and a crispier skin.
If you buy or have one of the kits, they have a stand that you mount the bird on. They are pretty straight forward. The metal bar assembly goes through the cavity and the bird will be head first. I usually will not tie my birds, some do. However if you do not have the kit or have lost this assembly, this is how I do mine. I have an old wok ring that I place on the bottom of the pot to keep the bird from touching the bottom and getting burnt. I will take butcher twine and run it through the cavity. Then tie it to form a big loop that has the bird in it. I leave the extra twin to tie off onto the handle of the pot so I don’t lose it while the bird is cooking.
Cooking:
So you have your station set up, taken all the safety precautions, fryer turned on and heating the oil. Depending on how big the pot is, how much oil and the outside temperature is, will determine how long to heat the oil. I find it takes about 30-45min. At this time is when I pull the bird from the fridge. I usually do not temper my meats before cooking. Since this is a fast cooking and will be through the TDZ in plenty of time, I will for this. It also will help not kill your oil temp when put in the bird. So you have your oil to 350-360 degrees F and the bird is next to the fryer. You lift the bird in hold it over the oil and slowly lower it into the oil, using the hook provided in the kit or loop the string over a wood pole, you will see the oil start to splatter, spit and bubble. I will go about 3”-4” at a time, each time I lower the bird in, I wait till the oil settles down. You DO NOT want to lower the bird as fast as they did in the video!!!! When you get to the top of the cavity, if it has not already, it will fill quickly with the oil; just watch your hands and face. I have seen the oil splash up. Your oil temperature will drop, bring it back to about 325 degreesF and adjust to flame to maintain this temperature. At 325 degreesF it will take about 3min per pound. You want to reach an internal cook temp of 165-170 degreesF. When you need to remove the bird to temp it, remove it slowly to allow all of the oil to drain out of the cavity (huge mess if you don’t and can burn your feet). Place in a clean pan and temp as you would normally. Your bird will float as it cooks, that is ok. Just rotate it so it gets cooked all over. When done cooking allow the bird to rest for 20-30min before carving. You can hold in an oven if needed, just do not cover with foil or something that will hold moisture, you will lose the crispy skin.
Clean Up:
So you’re going to want to eat with the other and not baby sit the hot oil. I will place the pot in a shed or garage on a heat safe pad to allow cooling down before I place back into the bottles to discard or reuse for frying other things. You can store it in a cool dark place for about a month. I have gone longer, but would not recommend it. We usually we set up fish fries or something else before the month is up.
Other Tid Bits:
I prefer a fresh bird, really up to you and what is available.
I use vegetable oil, due to cost of peanut. But peanut is very nice. At times you can get from BJ’s, Sam’s or Costco the fryer oil used in commercial kitchens. That has some stabilizers added into it and will last a bit longer than regular cooking oils.
I was trying to be as detailed as I could remember. I think I got most everything. If something is not clear or I missed something please feel free to ask.
Thanks Jar Jar!!
It is getting to be that time of year again..
Last year I ended up buying the Masterbuilt deluxe turkey fryer...it works fabo!!!
I use it fairly regular..Slowed down lately since the type 2 news.
Last years dinner..
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/113574/my-turkey
It is getting to be that time of year again..
Last year I ended up buying the Masterbuilt deluxe turkey fryer...it works fabo!!!
I use it fairly regular..Slowed down lately since the type 2 news.
Last years dinner..
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/113574/my-turkey
Last edited:
deepfryaturkey
Newbie
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