My family has done the fried turkey thing for years, and im proud to report
we have never had any problems, besides not having enough
turkey………………………………………..
The Tale Of The (Fried) Turkey
Common Sense Will Set You Free
J. Scott Wilson , Staff Writer
Hard rock music didn’t manage to do it, trashy sci-fi fell short, but
fried turkey has finally managed to turn me into a heretic. I’m going
against most of my chef idols in continuing to succumb to the lure of
deep-fried bird.
After years of being enjoyed in relative obscurity, last year fried
turkeys made big news — but not good news — as the latest deadly
danger in the world of cooking. Anyone giving the headlines a casual
perusal would think that turkey fryers were the greatest threat to
our national health since the invention of the Big Mac.
Bear one thing in mind: as cooking disasters go, a poorly operated
turkey fryer is “good TV.” There is just about always a HUGE gout of
flame involved, and sometimes even an explosion. What producer could
resist such a story?
The simple fact is, if you buy quality equipment, use some common
sense, and exercise a modicum of caution, turkey frying should be no
more dangerous than any other form of cookery.
Glove Up
Turkey frying is an outdoor activity, and you don’t want to be
cooking out in public wearing some red plaid potholder gloves. Head
to your local hardware store and pick up a pair of welder’s gloves.
Besides being much more businesslike than your oven mitts, they have
a MUCH better heat tolerance and most types are waterproof.
Fryer Setup
You may like to cut corners on some of your cooking equipment, but
this is not the time to bargain-hunt. Start your evaluation with the
base upon which the oil pot sits. Most cheap rigs have three legs.
Spend a bit more and get a four-legged base. It is steadier by a long
shot.
Make sure the pot is good heavy-gauge aluminum, with a tight-fitting
lid. The gas hose should be sturdy rubber, not plastic.
There are two basic types of turkey holders: a basket and a two-
piece “stand-and-hook” rig (pictured, left). I prefer the stand-and-
hook, as it’s made of stronger metal and you don’t get the problem of
the turkey sticking to the inside of the basket. You haven’t had fun
until you’ve tried to extract a volcano-hot fried bird from an
equally hot fryer basket.
Your rig should include an oil thermometer. If it doesn’t, buy one.
Make sure it’s got a long prong and a clamp to hold it on the side of
the pot.
You should also get an oil filter rig, so you can filter out bits of
seasoning and such and store your oil for reuse. My favorite consists
of a pump line with an open funnel, into which is placed a cone of
filter paper.
Oil
This one’s simple: peanut oil is the only thing that should go into
your turkey fryer. Don’t pay grocery store prices, though. Especially
at this time of year, your local sporting goods store quite likely
has 5-gallon jugs of it for less money than 1 or 2 gallons at the
grocery.
Why peanut oil?? It has a very high smoke point and is very durable.
You can fry multiple birds in one batch of oil. It also imparts very
little flavor to the food, so your seasonings don’t get buried.
DO NOT overfill your pot. The best way to measure your oil
requirement is to put the bird, still in its wrapper, in the pot and
fill it with water until the turkey is just covered. Pour this water
into a CLEAN 5-gallon bucket and use a marker to note the water
level. Empty and completely dry the bucket, then fill to the line
with your oil.
Yes, I know: your oil pot already has lines marked inside it telling
you how much oil to use. Are you going to trust your skin to those?
Add a couple of steps and make sure you’re safe.
For turkey frying, your oil should go no higher than 350 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Bird
The most common source of explosive disaster in turkey frying is the
turkey itself. The cause? Simple physics.
Oil and water don’t mix. We’ve been told that since the youngest
ages. Therefore, if you put a partially frozen turkey into hot oil,
the ice crystals (usually inside the body cavity) will detonate,
flinging oil with gusto and incinerating your party guests, which is
never a mark of good party hosting.
Foreign objects and substances are also a source of potential
disaster. If you leave that wax baggie of turkey innards in the body
cavity, prepare for a lovely petroleum flavor in your bird, and a
possible fire when it gets hot enough. Also, yank out the plastic pop-
up thermometer, if your bird comes equipped with one. It’s best to
avoid pop-up-equipped birds, though, as that hole leaves an excellent
channel for juices to leak out.
Cooking
Alrighty, then! You’ve got your oil hot, your bird completely thawed
and cleaned out, and guests circling like vultures.
Inject your bird either with one of the many commercial preparations
or a mix of your own, making sure to thoroughly douse the breasts,
thighs and drumsticks. Rub the skin down with a spice rub such as
Tony Chachere’s or your own spicy mix and let it sit for just about
five minutes.
Rack or basket the bird and SLOWLY lower it into the oil. Think about
the last time you jumped into a bathtub … even with the proper
amount of oil, you can make a splash if you drop the bird in
unceremoniously.
Slow removal goes for taking the bird out of the oil, too, while
we’re at it. Let most of the oil drain from the bird before moving it
to a safe holding area to rest before carving.
Cook the bird for four minutes per pound. I’ve found that a 10- to 14-
pound bird gives best results.
Enjoy!
Somewhere in Durham North Carolina.
of some sort it had 4 different compartments like places to cook, “who knows what” and it’s bottom was not flat it was convex, then we both kinda knew it was too small for the” cook allot of foods in one pan idea” and it was so well made,……. “You can tell these things when one is a Jedi Master” so the best we could come up with was maybe it was a Crêpe pan????? Well it was only $1.65 so we figured what the heck. Well Sunday night i had read a few Crêpe recipes, and the reviews, left by other people who bought the Nordic Ware Crêpe Pan from Amazon dot com,
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