1st Time to Deep Fry a Turkey...Need Advice

[Gunther]

I will be attempting to deep fry my first turkey and needed some help from the experienced TBH brethren. I have a few questions....

For a 16-18lb turkey
What temp should the oil be?
How many minutes per pound?
How many inches of oil should be over the submerged turkey?
And any other helpful advice would be seriously appreciated!!!

[rzrbak]

Gunther,

Not to be a wiseguy..... Google a search for frying a turkey. The first hit you review will be close to the same for all the hits on the internet and it will answer all your questions. You are gonna love it and its fun....... Happy Thanksgiving.....

[southTXhunter]

All i do is inject the turkey with creole butter and drop it down in the peanut oil.....

[southTXhunter]

BTW their are now all kinds of different injections you can use....

[twistedmidnite]

What ever you do, make sure the turkey is 100 percent thawed! I get my oil to 350 degrees and cook the turkey 3 minutes per pound. I also inject it with Creole butter or just make my own sauce up of Cajun seasoning, jalapeno juice , melted butter and inject. I also toss a few pieces of onion into the oil while cooking to keep the oil from burning

[geauxgruene]

Take a look at this thread from a few months back.....Cajunblake gives some pointers.

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61900&highlight=turkey

[TechHunter]

tonys is a great rub and they make great injectable marinades too

[slacker]

3.5 mins per pound and put the turkey in the grease at about 250 degrees and ramp up the temp from there. The grease will "pop" less at 250. We've done ALOT of birds for church fund raisers and such. Don't go any bigger than 15lbs either. Oh and be careful of the hot grease on your bare/flipflopped feet. I like to use this burner.

[TxAg]

All I can offer is make sure you thaw it out first!!!!

[Cajun Blake]

... 3.5 mins per pound and put the turkey in the grease at about 250 degrees and ramp up the temp from there. The grease will "pop" less at 250. We've done ALOT of birds for church fund raisers and such. Don't go any bigger than 15lbs either. Oh and be careful of the hot grease on your bare/flipflopped feet. I like to use this burner.

ditto what David said ...... stick with a 12-14 lb bird

with all the T-giving day food items, there will be plenty of bird to feed 12+ ppl

FYI and important - to determine your oil level , place the bird in the pot and add enough water to barely cover the legs and tail bone

take the bird out of water and use a marker to "mark" the water line (you can also scratch a visible line inside the pot with a screwdriver)

remove water and dry pot, then add peanut oil to water line mark

this will save you a potential fire hazard and splash burns if you have to much oil in the pot when bird is dropped in.

i've probably cooked 50+ birds and you learn from experience .... trial and error

Maintain the temperature of the oil at 350* deg F and cook bird for 3 1/2 minutes per pound (approx 45 minutes ).

you will likely need 3-4 gallons on Peanut oil for a 12 lb bird

** also be certain you have a full bottle of propane , because if you run out you're SOL !!

[scissorhands]

Ditto what everyone else said. Dont let your oil get to 400 degress. Make sure your bird is thawed and pat that sucker dry. Water and oil is not a good idea. Watch it closely and enjoy a good tasting fried bird.

Rob

[jgard]

ditto what David said ...... stick with a 12-14 lb bird

with all the T-giving day food items, there will be plenty of bird to feed 12+ ppl

FYI and important - to determine your oil level , place the bird in the pot and add enough water to barely cover the legs and tail bone

take the bird out of water and use a marker to "mark" the water line (you can also scratch a visible line inside the pot with a screwdriver)

remove water and dry pot, then add peanut oil to water line mark

this will save you a potential fire hazard and splash burns if you have to much oil in the pot when bird is dropped in.

i've probably cooked 50+ birds and you learn from experience .... trial and error

Maintain the temperature of the oil at 350* deg F and cook bird for 3 1/2 minutes per pound (approx 45 minutes ).

you will likely need 3-4 gallons on Peanut oil for a 12 lb bird

** also be certain you have a full bottle of propane , because if you run out you're SOL !!

x2

[RaginCagin]

I prefer the Cajun injector creole garlic butter over the Tony's but use whatever you prefer. The only thing I do different is I started using lard the last few years instead of peanut oil. Many places around the house that cook cracklins save the lard and sell it in 5 gallon containers for about $5. It is alot cheaper and gives great flavor.

[slacker]

we always deep fry a couple of chickens before frying the turkeys that way the grease is hot and the cooks get to eat while the turkeys cooks. we tried an inject from academy that was a bourbon bbq something or other and it turned out fantastic, i would like to do a turkey with that one. frying a 16-18lb turkey will take 63mins, I would fry that turkey at 300 degrees for 75mins. that way the outside doesn't burn too bad. you can always put it back in the grease if its not done. put just enough oil in to cover the legs and tail area. we also fry ours with the lid on, the temp will be easier to regulate with the lid on.

[kidkarr]

Thaw it fully and also don't forget to wipe it down all the way. pour out the residual water that will be inside the bird. Try and have as little as possible seepage from your injection marinade. These fried birds are the best. p.s. the temp will drop signifigantly so have it a bit higher than you need it so it does not drop too rapidly and soak too much grease into your bird. Happy Thanksgiving!