Time for a refresher course on how to fry a turkey

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Posted on 11/26/2024 6:02:13 AM PST by GeorgiaDawg32

Feel free to cross-post this to other boards of which you may be a member.

In keeping with the Thanksgiving spirit, I thought I'd put this up for those who are going to deep fry their turkey and especially for those who will be attempting to deep fry their first turkey.

Make sure you use fresh peanut oil for the frying. You can reuse the oil up to 3 times (2 is preferable) if you're deep frying multiple turkeys.

NOTE: If you have a deep fryer that says it can hold an 18 lb. turkey, DO NOT use a turkey over 15 lbs. This will allow the legs and wings to open up and cook between the leg/body and the wing/body.

Place the fryer AWAY from all structures at least 20 feet and make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy just in case one of those “hold mah beer and watch this” moments occurs.

1) Make sure the turkey is dead, defeathered AND it has signed all hold harmless agreements, liability statements and other legal documents giving you permission to fry its dead body. This will keep PETA off your backs. (ok, that was sarcasm)

2) Make sure, if you buy a frozen turkey, it is COMPLETELY, totally and absolutely thawed

3) The night before, inject it with the sauce of your choice (We use a butter/garlic sauce). You can use hot sauce, italian etc. etc.). Inject it into the meat all over the turkey and leave in the fridge overnight so the sauce can saturate the meat

4) BEFORE you attempt to deep fry, perform the "Water test". Take the turkey out of the fridge and place it in the fryer exactly as you would if you were deep frying (i.e. a*s end up).

5) Fill the container with water to 1" below the top of the turkey (Hot oil expands and will cover the turkey during frying).

6) REMOVE the turkey from the fryer and mark the water line with a magic marker or some other sort of marker. Pour the water out of the fryer then DRY OUT the inside of the fryer AND the turkey as best as you can

7) Fill oil to the line you have marked.

8) Fire up the flame and using a thermometer, heat the oil to 400 degrees.

9) TURN THE FLAME OFF using the hose cutoff AND turn the tank off. MAKE SURE the turkey is set on the stand with legs at the top (A*s end up).

10) Using a broomstick or some other sort of handle (use 2 people for this), put it through the O-Ring (triangular on some model fryers) and gently, SLOWLY, lower the turkey into the oil. WATCH FOR SPLATTER.

11) Once the splatter has stopped, re-open the gas valves and relight the burner. Cover the pot with the top but leave SLIGHTLY cracked. Using a thermometer, bring the oil to 350 degrees and adjusting the flame, keep it there.

12) Cook the turkey for 2 minutes 50 seconds per pound starting the clock when you have immersed the turkey in the oil. DO NOT EXCEED THIS TIME LIMIT or the turkey will be overcooked. (A 15 lb. turkey will be done in 42.5 minutes)

13) DON’T have that second beer you’re thinking about

14) When the time is done, TURN OFF the hose shutoff AND turn off the tank.

15) Using a broomstick or other suitable handle, SLOWLY raise the turkey out of the oil and hold for 60 seconds to allow oil to drip back into the fryer.

16) Using a thermometer, place it into the bird between a leg and the body. It should hold a minimum of 160 degrees for 20 seconds.

17) Place in an aluminum roaster (or other roaster if you prefer), take it in the house and enjoy.

18) DO NOT attempt to empty the oil from the fryer for a good 24 hours. Give it plenty of time to cool off.

Some things to remember:

1) DO NOT place the fryer on or near wood such as a house or deck. The smoky taste will not transfer from a burning structure to the turkey

2) TRY not to be inebriated when doing this, it's extremely dangerous

3) DO NOT use a turkey that is partially frozen. Talk about splatter from he*l.

Y'all can feel free to add any other do's and don't's (is that a word??) to this list.

Be prepared to be complimented on how good the turkey was.

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To: GeorgiaDawg32

2 posted on 11/26/2024 6:06:52 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)

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