Main points underlined
SMOKING:
Especially for turkey, I recommend
dry-brining instead of wet. I find it keeps more of the flavor in the bird, where it belongs.
Since turkey doesn't have a lot of connective tissue to break down (unlike brisket or pork shoulder), you're mainly looking at a time/temp balance to get the smoke into the meat. Depending on size of bird and whether or not you spatchcock/butterfly it (taste and evenness versus a "traditional" presentation), I'd more or less max out your smoker in this case
(250-275) until you hit your preferred internal temp(s). If your smoker has a temperature gradient, be sure to put the breast towards the cooler side and thighs to the hotter side, if possible. A friend once made an aluminum foil "vest" for his turkey so that he could finish the legs at a higher temperature in the oven without overcooking the breast or separating the parts but that seemed to me to be a lot of extra effort for not much gain.
Baking powder - about a tablespoon or so, mixed into the rub - helps the skin crisp up faster/better! Whether or not you try slipping butter under the skin, a bit of an oil rubdown on top of the skin will also help keep the skin from turning to leather (and it will also spread/adhere the rub to the bird, too).
Basting is a personal decision:
I don't bother, for what it's worth, since the temperature is lower and the heat is less directional than in an oven.
DEEP-FRYING:
Do a depth test first! Put the bird into the deep fryer, fill with water (enough to cover the bird but still leave room below the lip of the pot), remove bird, note the depth of water on the side of the pot. When you put in the oil for cooking, Do. Not. Fill. Past. This. Line! A lot of the disasters happen when dropping in the bird makes the oil overflow... spilling right into the flame underneath (most of the rest happen because the bird was insufficiently defrosted and the extra water content froths the oil over the edge of the pot). Note: even if you do everything right, there may, and
probably will, still be a little splashing/flare-up. Choose your wardrobe and prepare your cooksite accordingly. I admired one setup that involved a weighted-down ladder and a pulley for added safety (it also let the cook check the meat temperature with an instant-read by himself, besides lowering and raising the turkey from a distance).
Because extra moisture can lead to extra frothing, I'd
use injections sparingly, if at all, with a deep-fried bird. If you wet-brine,
be extra careful on drying the turkey before cooking. Another reason to dry-brine.
Oil to 350, bird to 145 (half-hour to forty-five minutes or so), rest about 15 minutes.
Our group favored an... unorthodox... style of presentation that time. Works wonderfully for a more casual, less table-centric gathering.