My First Solo Fried Turkey: Here I go!

[Krona Kruiser]

I've had a few fried turkeys in my day and I've always accompanied buddies in frying their birds. This is my first solo act doing frying it on my own. I've got everything in order:
-peanut oil
-frying kit (it even has a timer that shuts if off every 15 minutes. It's more of a nuisance.....)
-propane
-thermometers

What I'm excited about is this marinade rub I've tried a while back that I really enjoyed.

Here it is:
- 1 bottle of Italian dressing
-1/2 cup cayenne pepper
-1/2 cup black pepper
-1 cup Creole seasoning
-2 tablespoons garlic powder

Here's my 16lb. young hen turkey

 

[Commander Quan]

Good luck. Enjoy the compliments. Don't burn the house down.

 

[Bk124tt]

Pleaseeeeeeeee be careful! No water left on the bird, pre dunk the bird with water to know how much oil is needed so you don't overflow, do it away from the house and have a fire extinguisher (abc type) on hand, remember water and oil fires DON'T MIX!


Good luck, enjoy and happy thanksgiving!

 

[rockviper]

Never fried a bird before, always stuck mine in the oven. Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

 

[macjager]

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c4#/video/bestoftv/2012/11/21/mia-shatner-turkey-fryer.cnn
William Shatner talking about "how not to do it"...wise suggestions from Capt Kirk...

 

[Krona Kruiser]

Thanks for the suggestion guys! I've pre dunked the bird and added water (give or take an inch) to measure the amount of oil needed. The turkey is thoroughly defrosted and I know to reduce the heat before dunking the turkey. Another trick to prevent accidents is to turn-off the flame while submerging the bird in order to avoid any oil and flame mix. Will post pics later.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

Here's the video macjager posted. It's hilarious.

 

[PFP_Dad]

I love fried turkey but my wife is thoroughly convinced that everyone who does this is trying to light their house on fire. I can't wait to show her the picture of the finished bird.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

I got everything set up now. One thing I didn't mention is that I devised a pulley system to submerge the turkey. I just have to wait for the missuses to get a few things finished in the kitchen before I get this thing going.

 

[hillbilly pick]

Used a blow-dryer on my turkey a few years back to dry it before frying and worked great.

 

[Hunter]

Good luck!

 

[Matt_Bloodletter]

The frying is fascinating but I'm in awe of the 1/2 cup cayenne!

 

[Krona Kruiser]

Here it is 1/2 hour in. I had a bit of overflow but the flame was off and it settled down quite nicely. I'm keep you guys informed.

 

[mekler]

Can't wait to see the finished bird!

 

[Big W]

Good luck brother! I did it once and although I didn't have any mishaps and the turkey came out alright, getting rid of all that peanut oil was a PIA. I could see doing it if your fryin more than one, lets say you do it for some neighbors ; )

 

[Krona Kruiser]

I tried to take a picture as it came out of the pot but my camera went bonkers. Here's a lame pic. The black is from the pepper/creole seasoning but the skin tastes amazing. It's not spicy like it would seem but not mild by any means. The inner temperature was 170 when I took it out and the inside is a butter off white. Very moist. That's just from trying a sample.

 

[Deano]

Looks great. Enjoy.

 

[Big W]

Try using a straight rub next time instead of a marinade...I think the Italian dressing contributed to the charred results.

 

[BigWill]

Today was my 7 or 8th year of frying a turkey. Yummy stuff. I used the Emeril marinade recipe on cookingchanneltv.com. Juice and spicy. A great combination. I fry my turkey out in the yard away from the house. No fires or burnt down anything.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

The outer bit was charred a little but only that right area. The inside was juicy and tasted like the best fried chicken you'd have........but it's turkey.
The side dishes were baked brussels sprouts au gratin, ground pork stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes (really good) and mashed potatoes and gravy. We also made another turkey that we brined last night as back up. My brother in-law, who's a foodie, was impressed with the spread.
So, what I learned was this:
-instead of keeping it at 350, 335-340 would minimize the charring
-minimizing the Italian dressing in the rub would help too
-have other things handy to deep fry since I have this thing set-up already
Big safety tips
-bird has to be thoroughly defrosted
-turn off flame while submerging the bird
-having good thermometers on hand for the oil and turkey
-having a fire extinguisher on hand for any potential disasters