I have fried a lot of turkeys. One year I think we did 7 in a row.
Peanut oil is for taste , not for safety. many oils and more likely mixes of oils (due to the high cost of peanut oil) have relatively high smoke points. Just be sure that whatever oil you choose , you stay below its smoke point. I'm a real coward and also very safety minded from working at temperatures as high as 6000F for most of my professional career. you need to have respect for anything that can burn you quickly. Unlike sticking your hand right into a flame and safely taking it out before you get damaged , hot oil will cling to your skin and burn for a long time after it initially hits you. Have respect for the danger potential. If you really need someone to tell you not to drink too much before frying a turkey , find someone else to do it , you don't have the survival instincts needed.
I always leave 25 degrees between my oil temp and its smoke point (that's F degrees). many oils sold with kits or at the same stores as the cookers will be a mix of peanut oil and others. Peanut oil is very expensive so most mixes I have used are about 1/3 peanut plus other vegetable oils.mixed oils amost always have the smoke point written somewhere on the container. unfortunately , many pure oils don't and they expect you to look it up. I set the thermometer up down the side of the kettle and leave it in and monitor it all through the cooking.
35 minutes is too short for any respectable turkey. I alway use this rule for timing , 3 minutes per pound plus 5 minutes. Also , after you have cooked a half dozen or so , you will know what the frying action looks like when the bird is near done. Anyway , a 12 pound bird takes about 42 minutes or so depending on oil temp.
Water is a deadly enemy in the whole process. Don't have the bird wet , any ice in or on it , and don't spill your beer or magarita into the hot oil. It will violently turn to steam and with that steam , oil will get sprayed out of the kettle.
The oil is flammable , never forget it.
I always use a rig where the turkey is lowered into the kettle by two guys. By doing this , each guy can be 2 to 3 feet from the kettle when the bird goes in. The time when you are lowering the bird in initially is the most dangerous time. Don't just plop it in by letting it go above the kettle. Slowly lower it in and expect that it will really boil like hell when initially put in. That's because no matter how much you pat it dry , there is still some moisture on the surface.
I have rubbed the birds , injected the birds with liquid marinade, stuffed basting under their skin , brined them and injected solid things like garlic and spice clusters. They all result in a little different taste , some of which people think is worth the effort. i have found the best thing you can do with little to no work is cook a fresh , never been frozen bird. I also try to get birds as close to 12 pounds as possible. they may be 12 to 14 pounds but that's OK. I think for most rigs , that's about what fits nicely. I have seen people do 16 pounders with no problem but for my set up (most are all the same) I like about a 12 pounder.
Do follow the instructions above to determine the oil level without a bird in it.
I have heard some incredibly stupid things from "experts" about frying turkeys on both the radio and TV. I actaully heard a guy talk about how stupid people were to cook the bird in the house (which of course is stupid) but then he said "do it in the garage instead"!! Now that's really stupid.
I cook the birds outside , at least 10 to 15 feet from anything that can burn except the grass. make sure the heater is on solid , mlevel ground and that it does not wobble at all.
Adjust the burner so the oil comes up to temp at a controllable rate. I like it to be rising maybe 1 degree per minute for the last 10 degrees , that way you know you are in control. When you drop the bird in , the oil temp will drop , I do not increase the heat. the bird will really sizzle for about 30 minutes because its just pouring out water vapor into the oil. Then the temp will start to rise again , watch that it doesn't exceed you predetermined max safe oil temp. The close you get to the bird being done , the faster the oil will rise in temp. That's one of the good indicators of doneness.
If you are going to do multiple birds (which is the only economical way to do it do to the high price of the oil) let the temp stabilize again before sticking another bird in there. You may need to add an ounce or two between every bird you cook. Some just gets pulled out on the bird surface , some , but very little gets absorbed , I think primarily in the skin. Anyway , for two birds it won't matter but after 5 or 6 you will definitely notice the oil no longer covers the bird. You want it covered but only just by an extra inch. Don't get the oil too close to the top of the pan when the bird is in.
Anyway , I hope this helps people who try it for the first time.
Hybrid Mode
