Way Off Topic - Turkey Frying

[BuglessDuster]

There is no appropriate place to put this topic, so I'm putting it here. If it's completely inappropriate, please feel free to delete it.

I was just thinking that since we as home brewers have the equipment necessary to fry a turkey, if anyone here has done it. How long does it take? How much and what kind of oil do you use?

 

[A2HB]

Peanut oil is a great oil for frying up a turkey. I think the time it takes depends on how big of a bird you have though.

Make sure to do a brine or some flavor injections prior to frying

 

[day_trippr]

You need enough oil to submerge the bird - which must be totally thawed and dry lest you end up with an explosion and ER time.

btw, I'd never use a brew kettle for this, but that might just be me...

Cheers!

 

[1977Brewer]

You need enough oil to submerge the bird - which must be totally thawed and dry lest you end up with an explosion and ER time.



btw, I'd never use a brew kettle for this, but that might just be me...



Cheers!

My kettle spent the first ten years of its time on earth as a fry kettle. Palmolive makes a product that will remove grease from almost anything.

 

[BrunDog]

I can guide you...

1. Make sure your turkey is good and frozen solid. Don't take it out of the plastic wrap - that will seal in the juices. Also, leave the giblets inside the cavity as built-in stuffing.
2. Set up your fryer indoors somewhere. You don't want to be outdoors because wind and bugs can slow things down. A carpet floor is better than a hard concrete or tile floor because the heat will be better maintained.
3. Fill the pot up to the rim as you want to make sure you have enough oil.
4. Heat the oil to a higher temp than you will fry at, because the cold bird will bring the temp of the oil down. Start with about 450 degrees.
5. When you are ready to cook it, make sure to drop the turkey into the oil fast, and from a good height. You need to get the bird deep into the oil, so the more velocity, the better.
6. Finally, and most importantly, ignore points 1-5 above. Following these will likely have you in the hospital ER quickly.

 

[Ki-ri-n]

3 to 3.5 minutes per pound at 350.
Make sure there no moisture on the bird and there's enough oil to cover it when submurged. You can test it by putting the bird in, fill with water, remove the bird and mark the water level. Again, make sure there's no moisture when you go to oil.
Injecting with Sprite, Jack, Squirt, 50/50 also has really good results-take your pick.

 

[estricklin]

I've fried at least 50 of them before. My family fries them whenever we have a get together, it's cheap, delicious and feeds a lot of people.

Only fry the smaller turkeys, like 12-14 lbs, that is a rule I do not break. Completely thawed, and preferably brined and injected.

Any kind of oil is fine really, I use vegetable oil because it's cheaper. When I'm done, the next day I pour it into a 5 gallon bucket that I use just for this purpose. After the oil setting all night all the crud goes to the bottom, when I pour i leave that stuff behind. No messing with trying to strain and filter.

I usually start the fry with a bit lower temperature for safety, 300 or a little less, then I ramp up to 350 as it's cooking. Cooking times vary quite a bit but usually around 45-50 mins. I keep a thermometer probe in the thigh during the whole process, one of those cheap oven thermometers from Wolly World will do just fine. For a normal size aluminum turkey pot it takes about 2.65 gallons of oil to get to the "max line".

Use welding gloves, have a fire extinguisher handy for an emergency.

And for bonus points, doing the same process with a whole chicken is even better, and faster.

 

[TravelingLight]

I've been frying turkeys for years. Within the past few years I switched over to the oil-less infrared fryers. LOVE IT. Have not looked back once. I got so tired of buying expensive oil and dealing with filtering and pumping it out and still only reusing it a few times. I was extremely skeptical of the infrared fryers but it's great. I always get a handful of people checking it out when I take it out to the tailgate lot for a football game.

 

[Beernik]

Last thanksgiving.

Watch some turkey frying videos and read the safety tips. Alton Brown has a good video about turkey frying. The basics are:

1. Have a completely thawed bird.
2. Premeasure the amount of oil you need by submerging the bird in water in the kettle. Then pull the bird out and mark the water depth on the pot.
3. Turn off the burner when dunking and removing the turkey. Dunk the turkey slowly.

 

[Dixon9717]

I used to fry turkeys a lot. It can be a dangerous thing. Last time I did the tongs broke lowering the bird into the dryer and splashed hot oil on my wife and myself. Will never do that again. If you do choose to its a good idea to submerge the bird in water and mark the top of the waterline when you remove the bird so you know how much peanut oil to use. If I remember right it's about 45 minutes at 325* for a 12lb bird. Make sure it's completely thawed and wiped dry. I liked to inject it the night before with creole butter. Good luck.

 

[slym2none]

I've never fried a whole turkey, and don't own a rig.

I have, however, fried a turkey breast indoors on an 18K BTU indoor NG stove more than once. If you know what you are doing, it isn't dangerous. The first time I underestimated how much the temp would drop and it took about 45 minutes, and wasn't as GBD as I wanted. The last two times, I made sure the oil was at "strike temperature" and had a 25-minute cook time. All of them came out delicious. FTR, all were brined ahead of time. Really, unless you are serving over a dozen people, a turkey breast is plenty. I wish I still had the pics, but imageshack went from free to a subscription service, so I lost all those pics.

 

[Beernik]

I used to fry turkeys a lot. It can be a dangerous thing. Last time I did the tongs broke lowering the bird into the dryer and splashed hot oil on my wife and myself. Will never do that again. If you do choose to its a good idea to submerge the bird in water and mark the top of the waterline when you remove the bird so you know how much peanut oil to use. If I remember right it's about 45 minutes at 325* for a 12lb bird. Make sure it's completely thawed and wiped dry. I liked to inject it the night before with creole butter. Good luck.

That's why I use the nylon rope, so I don't have to be too close to the bird while I'm lowering it in. I also have a pair of elbow length welding gloves and safety glasses available if I need to get near the pot.

 

[LBussy]

Brine and gloves are the most important tips I see above ... all of them are good tips.

Oh ... and fry an extra bird. It takes just a tiny bit more time but you have delicious leftovers.

(Been frying turkeys for > 15 years)