How to Deep-Fry Your Turkey

Safety tip: You must deep-fry your turkey outside. 

Being from the south, Northerners (or Yankees as some in my family kindly label people from my adopted home of New York City) automatically assume that I am well versed in fried food. Well, they might be right. Fried food did play a role in my childhood dining, but I wouldn’t say that we had more fried food than the average American family. One thing we didn’t fry, and I wish we would have, was our turkey for Thanksgiving.

For this very American holiday, my family does what most typically do (with the exception of listening to my aunt play the dulcimer): We eat roast turkey with “dressing" (not "stuffing"), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, giblet gravy, some type of chilled fruit salad probably involving Cool Whip, home-canned green beans, and on and on. We watch football, of course. We retell stories from years ago while I get pummeled with questions about the big city and my career as a chef. All along, I put away some Pinot Noir procured from the “package store” in my hometown of Mountain Home, Arkansas. This shop smells of cigarette smoke and brown paper bags, but I love going there. It even has a temperature-controlled wine room where invariably I find something a little too old and convince myself it will be a treasure unattainable back home in New York.

But back to the turkey: My Mom and I always discuss what the approach will be to the holiday meal, and three years ago during our planning, I asked her if she had ever had fried turkey. “No,” was her response. I had prepared it once before with good results, but I was by no means an expert. By our next conversation, she had located a deep-fried turkey set-up that she could borrow and we were off to the races. My family naturally assumed that I had all the answers, know-how, and mastery necessary to fry a large bird over a propane burner. I knew enough to pull it off, but I certainly learned a few valuable things along the way and I’m going to share that with you now.

Deep-fried turkey is one of the best ways to prepare the bird for Thanksgiving, or any other occasion for that matter. Undeniable truth. But first, a public safety announcement: There are some rules you MUST follow unless you don’t mind your house burning down. I am serious.

This photo doesn’t show it, but I recommend tying up your turkey for even cooking once you have placed the metal handle inside it. 

YOU MUST DO THIS OUTDOORS. DO NOT DO THIS IN YOUR KITCHEN. I AM NOT KIDDING. There are so many bad, greasy, and dirty things that can transpire if you fry a turkey in your kitchen. You should just not even consider it. Open flames, hot oil, hoisting a turkey into the air, and placing it into 375 degree oil. The list goes on and on. Take it outside.

YOU MUST DEFROST THE TURKEY! This may seem obvious, but mistakes happen. Should you get through the process of getting ready to fry the turkey and have overlooked defrosting it, YOU have ruined Thanksgiving. Stop and order some Chinese food or make a grilled cheese sandwich. Should you decide to go ahead and put this frozen or even semi-frozen turkey in the oil, the large pot of fat could begin to vibrate and boil over. A wing may fly off. Fat will shoot into the air. It will be a VERY bad scene.

YOU MUST GAUGE HOW MUCH OIL YOU NEED IN YOUR POT. This may seem less obvious but if overlooked, boiling oil will come flowing over the pot and all over your burner and ultimately the ground or concrete driveway. You will have to relight the burner that has been soaked in oil and everything will be coated in grease. This takes ALL of the fun out of things. Avoid this by placing the turkey in the pot before you even turn on the flame. Fill the pot with oil while the turkey is inside and once it is completely covered, remove the turkey and set aside while you light the flame and heat the oil. Check the turkey for moisture (other than the oil) one last time while the oil heats up. As for the type of oil, I like peanut; it’s clean, lighter somehow, and also less “oily” tasting.

THE TURKEY MUST BE DRY AND THE OIL MUST BE HEATED TO 375 DEGREES. Wet foods and hot oil are NEVER a good combination. If you have brined the turkey (as is all the rage and I hope you will do), you must be sure the turkey has been fully wiped dry of all brine. Is it clear that the turkey must be dry? Heating the oil to 375 is a good idea, as it will drop at least 50 degrees when the turkey hits the oil. Cook for about 3.5 minutes  per pound, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160 degrees.

FINAL NOTES:

I recommend that you have a fire extinguisher nearby. It is a good idea for many obvious reasons.

This is what happens if you use too much sweetener in your brine. 

For those new to brining, just do it. The process will make your turkey juicy and delicious. Brining involves soaking the turkey in a solution typically consisting of water, salt, some type of sweetener (sugar or honey), and some type of acid, such as lemon. From there, you can go in any direction you like and add some garlic, thyme, rosemary, ginger, etc. A note on sweeteners: Prepare the brine with very few sweeteners. A sweeter brine will produce a very dark skin that is not unpleasant tasting, but doesn’t look that great.

Lastly, tie up your turkey once you have placed the metal handle inside the bird. You will see from my pictures I have not done this in the past, but I plan to do so this year. I have a feeling it will cook more evenly, just the same as when you roast one.

Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes, 30 minutes if you can, in a warm spot before carving.

This may seem like a lot of rules, but the results are worth all the work and precautionary measures. Family, football, Pinot Noir, and deep fried turkey: It’s a lot to be thankful for.

More to be thankful for:
Thanksgiving Gravy
Pumpkin Pie
Brown Butter Cornbread

Have you ever deep-fried your Thanksgiving turkey?