Turkey Fryer

I’m going to attempt to deep fry a turkey today,tried once before and had a mess of oil on the deck but thankfully no fire. Following instructions, I but the turkey in the pot before hand and filled with water just to cover top of turkey. I lifted the turkey out and drained it back into the pot, I marked the water line to use as a refrence for the peanut oil. Filled pot to mark with PO, heated to 325-350 degree’s dropped the turkey in what I thought was slowly and before I got in half in the pot it was over- flowing the pot. the turkey was dry when it was put in. What went wrong? Does the oil expand when it’s heated? What is a better gauge to measure how much oil to put in. Also if all goes well if I filter the used oil can I put it back (mix it) with the unused oiled? Any tips will be very helpful.(P.S.)if this doesn’t work to only back up for the granddaughter’s is a peanutbutter sandwich to go along with there mashed potatoes.

Even when you think that bird is dry, it’s not. If you used the turkey to measure the oil the same day you dried it, I guarantee that bird was no where near dry.

We rub down are bird a good 24 hours before cooking and set it in a deep pan with paper towel under it. That gets change out often because of the moisture still coming out of the bird.

It does not hurt to keep the oil a good half gallon below your mark (yes, oil expands), once you apply the bird it can always be topped off with the heat cranked to bring the temp back to 325-350 degrees, the temp is more than likely going to drop some when you add the bird anyways.

After filtering the oil it can be drained back into the oil that has not been used. I however keep them separate, just personal preference.

Another tip, you will get more use out of your oil by making sure you do not exceed the 350 degree mark.

The water measuring trick should work. Just be sure to slowly lower the turkey into the oil… the slower the better. I usually lower it down an inch or 2 at a time and then let it sit there for 20 seconds. Then you need to be sure to SLOWLY lower it when the oil starts to go inside the body cavitiy (turkey should be neck down in the pot). If you lower it too quickly while the oil is going into the cavity that can cause a boil over. Yes, you can filter the oil and mix it with the left over oil so it can be used another time. I have done a lot of turkeys over the years and have found the “perfect” sized turkey is a 12 pound turkey cooked for 45 minutes. Try this recipe for the injection solution…
2 cups H2O
3 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon garlic juice
15 – 20 drops of Tabassco sauce

Thanks Bret and Mike, very useful info. Now, do I have to tie up the legs and do something with the wings like when cooking a whole chicken on the grill? And cheese cloth to filter the oil> Thanks again John

I never tie up the legs or wings. I do inject them though. Just make sure your injection solution DOES NOT have any sugar in it or the legs and wings will burn due to the sugar. Yep, cheese cloth works well as a filter.

I’ve done several birds and have yet to not spill a little oil out of the pan.

Its a messy job.

The best place to do it is on some cardboard on the driveway or in the yard.

I also try and keep the turkey around 11 to 12 lbs. – – No more than 14lbs. One other thing is the size of your pot. I have seen some pot a little to small for my liking. I have had my for so long I do not remember the size. I hope yours turn out great this time.
fish333

I ususally have less oil than recommended in the pot, (all that splashing will cook the bone on the end of the legs)Slow Slow Slow any ice or unthawed meat will cause excessive bubbling. I usually cook my stuff at 325 and can use the oil over and over. Just leave the turkey in for five more minutes.

Water volume expands by a factor of 40 when heat turns it to steam.

In addition to the tips above.

I just watched Alton Brown’s good eats on the food channel where he fried s turkey, he actually dropped the bird early at 250 and didn’t have the flare ups, and raised the temp to cooking temp. Normally deep frying you don’t want you temp to drop much below your cooking temp too much but, if he did it this way I’d fully trust it to still turn out perfect.

You can probably find the clip on him doing a deep fried turkey if you searched online.

I’m certainly going this route on my next turkey.