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Tips For A Great Deep Fried Turkey

Many cooks have opted to stray from the traditional method of roasting turkey to a new popular method – deep-frying.

Deep-fried turkey has a wonderful, unique flavor and deep-frying can’t be beat for producing moist melt-in-your-mouth turkey meat. If you’ve decided to deep-fry your holiday turkey this year, a few tips for producing the best deep-fried bird possible can help.

You will need a turkey deep fryer. Turkey deep fryers differ from traditional pots in that they are taller and thinner. This helps conserve oil when deep-frying your turkey. That can be helpful, since you will be using a fairly large amount of oil! Be sure to buy a good quality turkey deep fryer; equipped with a lid, turkey rack, and most importantly, a lifting hook. Using a conventional pot to deep-fry your turkey and trying to remove the cooked bird with anything other than a lifting hook can be extremely dangerous. Be sure to purchase a turkey deep fryer that is large enough for the turkey that you are planning to cook. Don’t skimp on size – again, safety is a big issue here.

You want to make sure that you are cooking in enough oil. One way to be sure of this is to place the turkey into the deep fryer and then fill the deep fryer with water until the water completely covers the turkey. Remove the turkey and mark the water line – this is how much oil you want to put in the deep fryer for cooking.

Preheat your oil (a good vegetable oil will do, but some cooks like to use peanut oil for extra flavor) until the temperature reaches 350 to 375 degrees. Using the lifting hook, lower your turkey very slowly into the pot. Slowly is the key word here. Believe me, you do not want to be splashed with hot oil!

One of the benefits of deep-frying your turkey is the amount of time it takes to cook; only about 3 minutes per pound as opposed to 30 minutes per pound for a roasted or smoked turkey. After you have deep-fried your turkey for the amount of time suggested for its weight, start checking for doneness by using the lift hook to remove the turkey, and then inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. When the meat thermometer registers 165 degrees or more, your deep fried turkey is ready to enjoy.

Please remember, when cooking such a large bird in that much oil, you want safety to be your first, middle, and last concern. Take your time, use good judgment, and you should have a turkey dinner that everyone will enjoy!