Who does Deep Fried Turkey

[NHBull]

Howdy,

 

Going to give this a try this year.  Already experimented with a big chicken last week and it was awesome.

I have an electric vs the propane and can hold a 20lb bird

Are there any tricks of the trade?

Anyone inject marinade?

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

[813basstard]

20 pounds is a bigg’in..we never do anything over 14.

Old man burned down the back porch one year, but it was worth it

[DaubsNU1]

Done it two times. Fantastic! Watched a few YouTube videos on what to do, and what not to do.  

 

Enjoy!

 

[jimmyjoe]

   If you've already done a chicken, I would assume that you've watched the videos and understand what you're doing. But just in case:

  

   WATCH OUT, BE SAFE, AND KEEP ALL KIDS AWAY!!!!!!

 

   Other than that, it's great.     ?     jj

[Catt]

Do a couple every year for Thanksgiving & Christmas.

 

Since you have done chicken you're well on your way, turkey are easier.

 

Time: 350° for 3.5 minutes per lb is what I use.

 

Zatarain's Cajun Injectors Creole Butter is the marinade I use.

[Tennessee Boy]

Ya'll are making me hungry 

[Glenn]

One Thanksgiving, we were at my brother-in-law's house...we had 5 fryers.  It was "bring your own turkey".  There was a variety of injectable marinades, and we tried all of them.  Had a big spread of fried turkey with different flavors.

 

We had oysters grilled in the shell too.

[Russ E]

I have an electric butterball fryer I use every year. I had a gas fryer, but electric is much easier and safer.

I have a friend that burned down his garage and part of his house using a gas fryer.

[CountryboyinDC]

It's been a decade and a half since I fried a turkey.  It takes a lot of oil, and frying 1 or 2 just doesn't seem worth it.  A guy I used to work with strained and refrigerated the oil, but I'm pretty much just smoking them myself these days.  If you're doing wild turkeys, I'll share a recipe we used for the injection, but with store bought birds you'll probably want something with a bit more kick.  The perfect place to do it is in the middle of a gravel driveway and a blacksmith apron wouldn't be a bad idea, in fact a good face shield isn't overkill. @Catt has the time right, I'm pretty sure (we used to do all the wild turkeys at 20 minutes).  Your family is in for a treat.

[Catt]

If y'all are burning down parts of your house with a gas burner it's operator error!

 

Safety 

Don't over fill the pot with oil

 

Be d**n certain your turkey is completely thawed.

 

Make sure the temperature stays stable at 350°, as the bird nears being done the temperature will raise.

 

DON'T EVER FRY INDOORS!

[VolFan]

Put the turkey in the pot and then measure the amount of water you need to cover the turkey by at least a half inch. That is how much oil you need.

Preheat the oil well to 350 and then give it another 5-10 minutes to make sure everything is warm. Dont underestimate how long this actually takes.

I brine, but don't inject. 

Make sure the turkey is well-thawed and absolutely dry.

Make sure the gibleys arent still in the cavity. 

Keep the fryer away from plants and curious labs.

 

I think that covers all my mistakes. If you flavor aggressively with the brine, theres no need to inject. I love fried turkey.

[GReb]

This is all you need. Plus peanut oil

[Nelson Wormefeller]

Did it a few years ago, everyone agreed it was the best. I highly recommend...and be careful of course.

[lo n slo]

is there any other way?

[Teal]

2 hours ago, lo n slo said:

is there any other way?

Yes...smoked Turkey.

 

Deep fried is awesome too tho! 

20 lbs is huge, what ever you do, do like Low N slo did, have your set up isolated away from the house on a hard surface.  Be careful, use common sense, and never ever attempt to fry a frozen turkey.  

[GReb]

1 hour ago, Teal said:

Yes...smoked Turkey.

 

Deep fried is awesome too tho! 

20 lbs is huge, what ever you do, do like Low N slo did, have your set up isolated away from the house on a hard surface.  Be careful, use common sense, and never ever attempt to fry a frozen turkey.  

How do you smoke yours? I’ve had several really good ones and more than a few dry and terrible birds. Never attempted to smoke one myself. Frying is bullet proof and my wife would murder me if I tried a different method lol

[Teal]

45 minutes ago, GReb said:

How do you smoke yours? I’ve had several really good ones and more than a few dry and terrible birds. Never attempted to smoke one myself. Frying is bullet proof and my wife would murder me if I tried a different method lol

Smoking can be bullet proof too, but there's a couple of little things you have do right and keep in the back of your mind.

 

First off, I use a pellet grill that allows me to set my temp and smoke digitally.  I brine my turkey over night in cold salt water and seasoning.

 

I let the turkey sit on the counter and get to room temp in the early morning.  You dont want to be counter productive by putting a cold, wet bird in.  

 

Typically I wont go over 12 lbs.  A bbig bird is a disaster waiting to happen. I'll smoke 2 or even 3 10 lb birds on the grill if needed.  

 

Typically I smoke them for 45 mins per pound. But I don't rely on that.  Ill check them an hour before I think they will be ready, if i dont have my probe in one.  165 degrees in the breast is what you are looking for.  

 

I dont stuff my turkeys when I smoke them.  I dry rub and inject them after they come to room temp on the counter.

 

Once they are pretty close, I'll turn the heat up to 350 for 20 or 30 mins for a crispy(er) skin.   

 

I can honestly say iv3 never made a dry bird by smoking.    Brine is the key there.   Extra injections of butter or vegetable oil based seasonings also help.  

 

I've tried a ton of different pellet flavors ( I used to manage a pellet mill, so I've had access to a ton of them ) hickory is probably the best to my tastes.   Pecan wood is sweet and has a pretty full bodied smoke flavor if that's your thing.  Good for poultry 

[J Francho]

I love turkey dinners! The trick is to preheat your oven.

[GReb]

19 minutes ago, Teal said:

Smoking can be bullet proof too, but there's a couple of little things you have do right and keep in the back of your mind.

 

First off, I use a pellet grill that allows me to set my temp and smoke digitally.  I brine my turkey over night in cold salt water and seasoning.

 

I let the turkey sit on the counter and get to room temp in the early morning.  You dont want to be counter productive by putting a cold, wet bird in.  

 

Typically I wont go over 12 lbs.  A bbig bird is a disaster waiting to happen. I'll smoke 2 or even 3 10 lb birds on the grill if needed.  

 

Typically I smoke them for 45 mins per pound. But I don't rely on that.  Ill check them an hour before I think they will be ready, if i dont have my probe in one.  165 degrees in the breast is what you are looking for.  

 

I dont stuff my turkeys when I smoke them.  I dry rub and inject them after they come to room temp on the counter.

 

Once they are pretty close, I'll turn the heat up to 350 for 20 or 30 mins for a crispy(er) skin.   

 

I can honestly say iv3 never made a dry bird by smoking.    Brine is the key there.   Extra injections of butter or vegetable oil based seasonings also help.  

 

I've tried a ton of different pellet flavors ( I used to manage a pellet mill, so I've had access to a ton of them ) hickory is probably the best to my tastes.   Pecan wood is sweet and has a pretty full bodied smoke flavor if that's your thing.  Good for poultry 

I might have to try it on my little pellet smoker for Christmas.  I’ve been smoking pork and beef ribs for years but not much poultry. Thanks!

[Michigander]

As a less explosive option, several years back I boiled a turkey in Italian salad dressing and it was amazing.

[CountryboyinDC]

5 hours ago, Teal said:

Smoking can be bullet proof too, but there's a couple of little things you have do right and keep in the back of your mind.

A lot of that is the same as what I do.  I have a ceramic cooler (called a Green Egg), so that may be why we do things differently.  I brine too, and I paint the skin with oil.  About the only thing I do differently is to cook to 165 at the thickest part of the thigh, rather than the breast.  I use a Polder remote thermometer.

Still not as good as a fried turkey, but better than any roasted bird I've tried.  The only thing I'm not happy with is the skin - mine is beautiful, but not crsip.

[gim]

I realize this thread is in reference to a barn raised domestic turkey from the store, but has anyone tried this with a wild turkey they harvested? I shoot a spring turkey about every other year and I haven’t found a very good way to prepare it. I had it smoked one year which was probably the best route so far but I had to leave the skin on. Trying to pluck a wild turkey...never again.

[slonezp]

My brother in law does a deep fried and a smoked turkey every year. I like them both but you can't beat the flavor of the deep fried turkey skin.

[12poundbass]

On 11/16/2020 at 7:26 PM, gimruis said:

I realize this thread is in reference to a barn raised domestic turkey from the store, but has anyone tried this with a wild turkey they harvested? I shoot a spring turkey about every other year and I haven’t found a very good way to prepare it. I had it smoked one year which was probably the best route so far but I had to leave the skin on. Trying to pluck a wild turkey...never again.

Breast them and be done with it. I’ve never had luck with wild turkeys besides that. 

[gim]

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

Breast them and be done with it. I’ve never had luck with wild turkeys besides that. 

Well gosh darn it, I was hoping for a great wild turkey recipe to come out of this.

 

That's actually what I've done the last several times but even the breasts are pretty tough.  Even 8 hours in the crock pot with chicken broth doesn't do much to tenderize them lol