opinions on frying turkeys
 

good or bad?

I'm trying to decide whether to make the investment in the equipment and oil...

It's fun. And it tastes good. Especially the skin. But a properly brined and oven cooked to the right temp (not overcooked like most turkey) beats it, IMHO.

I've never owned the equipment but I've eaten the turkey. And from what I understand the oil gets expensive since you don't use it very often.

Alton Brown did a great Good Eats episode on frying turkeys.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._35148,00.html

"As God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly."

Who said that?

Oh, you said "fry" not "fly". My bad.

Deep fried turkey is the way to go. If you decide to do it, get a flavor injector. Best turkey I have ever had was deep fried with cajun spices injected into it.

Fried turkey tastes pretty good, but I am cheap first and wouldn't bother frying just because of the expense. I don't think there is that much difference in the taste.

My father in law said it's great. I've never tried it. I venture it's the kind of thing you want to do exactly right with the right equipment, etc.

Deep fried turkey is the best turkey ever. You can baste a turkey all day in the oven or even bake it in an bag, but it will never touch a fried turkey in juiciness in my opinion. And the cracklins are best fried.

We'd use the same propane setup for low-country boils (crab, shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and corn on the cob) too.

Warning: Make sure you use peanut oil. My old man ran out of peanut oil and mixed in some canola with it. Peanut oil has a higher flash point so that is why it is used. In this fateful experience the vinyl siding melted off the second story from 12' flames and the fire department showed up when a neighbor called.

I'm going to try brining this year. Never tried it before. I found a couple of brine recipes on the 'net but if anyone has any favorite brine recipes I would love to see them.

If I was cooking the turkey this year, this is what I would use. You might need to double it, depending on how big your turkey is.

1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
6 cloves garlic, crushed
several sprigs of rosemary or thyme
2 bay leaves

Mix a day in advance, bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Cool and pour into container big enough to hold brine and turkey. Refrigerate, breast side down for at least 12 hours, turning at least once.

Brining is very trendy this year. Personally, I would go with a fresh herbal rub since everyone else will be brining. I brined a turkey a few years ago and it worked out great. My recipe:

Water
Apple Cider
Kosher salt
brown sugar
cinnamon sticks
cloves
chili powder

I recommend using a rotisserie. Couple years ago I upgraded my backyard grill to something bigger to be able to do whole chickens and turkeys this way (with propane). Sear the skin first and then slow roast, locks in the juices like the deep fryer without all the excess oil. Excellent flavor. Bad news is that this year it looks like its going to be quite cold and windy so I've already punted on cooking outdoors (takes too long in the cold) and we're going to do the oven bag thing.

we have a smoker and have liked the results of smoking in the past. Want to try something different.

That was from WKRP in Cincinnati. Ummm.....can't remember the name of the guy that said it. Johnny something? That was supposed to have been a HILARIOUS episode.

I think the radio station had some kind of publicity stunt where they were dropping live turkeys from a helicopter and whoever caught them, got to keep them and have them for Thanksgiving or something. Unfortunately the turkeys, unable to fly, dropped like a rock.

Turkeys can actually fly though. ;)

Don't be a jerky, fry that turkey!

How much oil for the average turkey? or better yet, how much $ in oil for the average turkey?

Farrah - I'm trying your brine recipe. Mixing it up right now. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Johnny Fever.

WKRP was a great show - Les Nessman and his walls... oh, and that Loni Anderson - she drove my 10 year old self crazy!

Mr. Carlson is who said it. Les Nessman was reporting from the mall when the turkeys were dropped from the helicopter.

IMO, it was the funniest episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.

And Orange, I always preferred Baily to Jennifer.

The turkey turned out pretty good. Significantly more moist than a regular turkey. Overall I don't think the brine added significant flavor to the turkey (I could only really taste it in the outer pieces) but the additional mositure was definitely better than an unbrined turkey.

One thing I forgot was to turn the turkey. Not sure what effect this had.

Brining is so easy that I really don't see a reason to ever cook a turkey again without brining it. Thanks for the recipe Farrah.

We had our TG dinner today since we were on vacation on Thursday. Did this recipe as well. Turned out GREAT. Very tender and juicy.

One note. Mrs. FM makes gravy out of the drippings and didn't anticipate the salt being in there. So the gravy was VERY salty.

Well, that's good to know. I've only ever used a basic brine of salt, sugar, and water on turkey, pork, and chicken. Sounds like the best thing to do for flavor is to use a simple brine, then rub some herbs under the skin afterwards.

And FM, I'm sorry your gravy was so salty. Did you use kosher or table salt? Kosher salt grains are bigger, so if you substitute table salt, you're supposed to use a smaller amount. I would try that, and maybe rinsing off the turkey and cavity of extra salt after the brining is done.

We just use Morton Tenderquick curing salt. Rub liberally over entire turkey and let it sit for a day or two. Penetrates very nicely. A couple of hours in the smoker helps too.