Thanksgiving PLANNING ON DEEP FRYING A TURKEY ???? PLEASE READ THIS FIRST !!!!!!!!!!!

[marctrees]

Great idea!

Or even two sober guys each holding the end of a 6ft +  2x4 or whatever with a chain and hook or something.  

And ya, still wearing full length Jeans, not Daisy Duke cutoffs.

Ewwww, that does not sound good for many reasons. Marc

Funny stuff -   I once did some electrical work for a high income male gay couple, VERY nice people and great customers.

So, they were having a backyard BBQ party the evening of  the last day we worked there.

So, I'm walking down the basement steps, clearly smell Old Bay,  and heres one of their buddies at bottom of steps, facing stairs, sitting on 5 gal bucket, wearing Daisy dukes,peeling like 5 pounds of shrimp. with his huevo whole bag TOTALLY hanging out one side of the Dukes.

He smiles at me, I like smile back and go to the Panel.

They clearly invited us to the party, we respectfully declined.

OMG, cool but nerve racking  job though in oldddd house putting in extra outlets in a plaster on wood lath kitchen, with like artist painted "Marble" walls, they were VERY protective over.

 

[marctrees]

It seems my "Huevo" post may have Hijacked the continence of responses.

Bad picture. 

But just a real life as a Contractor occurance.

Was pretty "Ewwwww" gross, but still funny and memorable

Not the Huevos, believe me, just the whole scenario.   Marc.

 

[ford719]

Lots of excellent advice already!

Many of you have a swing set or clothesline supports in you back yard. It's a simple thing to rig up a pulley and some aircraft cable with a carabiner to let you lower the turkey into the hot oil from a safe distance.

A lot of turkey frying incidents happen because someone is lowering the turkey by hand, gets splattered with hot oil, drops the turkey as they jump back, and then the oil splashes and splatters out big time as the rest of the turkey falls in all at once.

With a pulley and cable, you can gradually lower the turkey in with ease and safety. Lowering the turkey into the oil slowly lets you observe and judge the steam splattering and keep it to a safe level until the turkey is safely submeged and cooking.

I love deep fried turkey, but rarely do it because the oil is so expensive, and doesn't get used enough to justify the cost. But every time I have done it, it was fantastic.

Dry chemical fire extinguishers work on grease fires. But if you're doing it outside, away from any flammable structures, you won't need to put it out anyhow. Maybe some crispy lawn, but nothing to get too upset about!

If you make your own impromptu support, remember that you will be pulling from the side. Having your turkey-lowering rig tip over while lowering or raising the turkey would be as disastrous as dropping the turkey in. It needs to be sturdy!



Tabbed in.

I have used a step ladder to lower the turkey in the pot for the very reasons stated in this thread. A step ladder with a pulley keeps you from getting splattered with hot grease.

 

[pete6737]

Thanks for the great tips. I'm going to fry a turkey for the first time. I have a 26 quart Kingkooker with a squareish pot. I can't find anywhere what size turkey this will fit. Any suggestions? Thanks, Pete

 

[marctrees]

That pot is big enough to "fit" any turkey.

But really if you get one that displaces too much oil, that cant be good either.

Will take forever to start bubbling after bird insertion, AND may have unsafe "headspace".

Raw meat will weigh about approx 8 lbs per gallon.

So an 16 lb bird will displace APPROXIMATELY 2 gallons of oil, assuming cavities get easily purged of air.

You have a 6 1/2 gallon pot.

4 1/2 gal room after bird.

So, 3 gal of oil, will leave 1 1/2gal of headspace before overflow.

I have never fried a whole bird, I'm not sure if that's enough to avoid a dangerous situation.

And, I don't know what size bird is recommended for deep frying, irrelevant of pot size.

So, there's the arithmetic, BUT -- I'm not telling you to follow this. It would make sense for me.

Others that deep fry birds  chime in please.      Marc

 

[marctrees]

Well, possibly scratch everything I said.

I looked at Kingcooker website for this squarish pot you spoke of.

I see the rectangular pot, made for two baskets.

NOT a tall "normal" Turkey fryer pot.

WAY TOO not deep enough, unless you Spatchcock totally into 2 totally separated halves, and cook one at a time.

In like 3" - 4"  of oil, flipping half way through.

Seems that would work, for up to a 22 lb ??  bird, in two halves, separately cooked.

Don't forget, it will still steam like crazy and foam up for ten seconds when you put it in.

NEVER have your hand ABOVE when you put in the food, always somehow to the side.

NO Daisy Dukes, or "Baby T's", or Spike Heels,  or dogs nearby.  Marc

 

[pete6737]

Well my first ever turkey fry was a success! Thanks for all the suggestions and safety tips. No issues! I can't wait for the next one. Pete

IMG_1951.JPG

• pete6737
• Dec 26, 2016

 

[JckDanls 07]

It's getting close to that time of year...so I'll give this a bump ...

 

[HalfSmoked]

Thanks Jckdanls 07 all great tips here and safety is the most important for sure. Proper dry chemical fire extinguisher large enough to do the job small one may not do the job if needed. Not only deep frying a turkey but a grease fire anytime is not good. Another time is doing a whole hog I'v seen buildings burned down on this one too.

Hoping everyone a safe TG
Warren

 

[HalfSmoked]

Thanks Jckdanls 07 all great tips here and safety is the most important for sure. Proper dry chemical fire extinguisher large enough to do the job small one may not do the job if needed. Not only deep frying a turkey but a grease fire anytime is not good. Another time is doing a whole hog I'v seen buildings burned down on this one too.

Hoping everyone a safe TG
Warren

 

[HotBox]

It's always safer to use a stainless pot that's real tall than the average small one with the oil 5" from the top with the bird in it.
I always use a stainless steel keg with the top cut out and the oil is around 12" from the rim of the keg making it more safer.
Lots of people use a little pot for a big bird and it's suppose too be opposite....
Big pot little bird
Happy cooking from the HotBox

 

[metsfan2152]

What kind of seasoning does everyone use when they fry the turkey?

 

[tallbm]

What kind of seasoning does everyone use when they fry the turkey?

Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning on the outside. I use Tony Chachere's cajun butter injectable marinade that I doctor up by throwing in a blender with a handful of jalapenos, about 4-5 heaping Tablespoons of brown sugar, and then straining it to inject into the turkey :)

Best of luck!

 

[metsfan2152]

Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning on the outside. I use Tony Chachere's cajun butter injectable marinade that I doctor up by throwing in a blender with a handful of jalapenos, about 4-5 heaping Tablespoons of brown sugar, and then straining it to inject into the turkey :)

Best of luck!

When frying i wont have any issue with putting brown sugar on the turkey or injecting it? Are you allowed to use brown sugar with the oil?

 

[smokin218r]

In case you don't know how fast this happens or haven't seen it:
Click on the photo:

 

[tallbm]

When frying i wont have any issue with putting brown sugar on the turkey or injecting it? Are you allowed to use brown sugar with the oil?

Injecting it there is no issue, I am 100% positive of this.. I cannot speak about seasoning the outside of the turkey with it.

 

[tallbm]

In case you don't know how fast this happens or haven't seen it:
Click on the photo:

View attachment 344410

Seems like they had a full pot, probably at a super high temp and the turkey may have been wet or still frozen lol.

Anyone wanting to deep fry a turkey just needs to be well prepared and they can knock it out of the park, I have done it many years with no issues but I made sure I prepped and do things properly :)

 

[JckDanls 07]

Metsfan...Smokin218... your guys name give's me a chuckle every time I see them ...

Metsfan.. yours because one of my grandsons pitched for the Mets (made it to AA)

Smokin218.. yours for the another grandson that races/raced motocross ...

 

[smokin218r]

Seems like they had a full pot, probably at a super high temp and the turkey may have been wet or still frozen lol.

Anyone wanting to deep fry a turkey just needs to be well prepared and they can knock it out of the park, I have done it many years with no issues but I made sure I prepped and do things properly :)[/QUOTE

This was the local fire department doing a demonstration. Just an FYI for people who have never seen it or done it. As you said, way to full and either a frozen or we turkey.