Deep Fried Turkey Safety

RECIPE FORUM Recipe Exchange
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Many folks will be attempting their first deep fried turkey this holiday season. This can result in a fine meal or painful burns if not done correctly

Start by purchasing a Fresh Turkey, not on this is currently or has been frozen and they have too much liquid in them and will splatter when submerged in the scaing hot deep oil.

Be sure to remove the package of gizzards and neck bones from inside of turkey. before unwrapping turkey. place in the cooking vessel/ deep kettle, and pour water over to cover turkey by one inch. Remove turkey and measure the water in kettle. This is the proper amount of oil to use. Unwrap and Wipe bird free of any surface dirt, do not submerge in water. To dry skin totaly, hang turkey over newspapers or brown bags and turn a household fan onto turkey and allow skin to dry in the blowing air. Pat the inside with cloth or paper towels and direct fan into body cavity.

Apply favorite Rub mixture to outter skin and to inside if desired. Inject marind into turkey in Thighs, Legs and seveal places on breast and back.

Fill kettle with the measured oil. Peanut Oil is best as it will take the high temparature needed to sear, then cook turkey completly. Heat oil to at least 350 *. Use the Turkey rack that came with cooker set to slowly lower perpared turkey into the hot oil. Be careful as it will still splatter somewhat as it goes into oil. Remove lowering handel and place cover with thermometer through it over kettel and allow skin to begin cooking. Occasionaly move turkey about so it cooks evenly. Allow aprox. 3 3/4 minutes per pound for a 13 pound turkey or 45 minutes total. Check internal Temparature with Instant read thermometer and it should read 160-170 degress.

Carefully remove turkey from oil and place on cut open brown paper grocery bags to continue cooking from residual heat then allow to cool. Carefully remove wings, thighs and legs and pull meat from bones and cover until serving time arrives.

Turn heat off under the oil and make sure cooker and oil are in a safe place so no one knocks them over and gets sever burns.

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One more point to emphasize… if there is snow where you are, adamantly forbid any snowball fights until the cooking oil has cooled, a snowball into a pot of hot oil causes a huge explosion/boilover!

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No sandals or flip-flops, wear heavy gloves and eye protection, use a helper. Most of the hoses that connect the burner to the propane tank are 6 feet long or less - is that really long enough?

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Thank You, All of these are valid points to keep in mind. Kettle should be at least five inches deeper than the bird is long. I have done turkeys in those cookers they sell at BassPro and other sports shops and they are correct depth. I have also done them in a ten or fifteen gallon castiron Cauldron over an open fire at Civil War Reenactments. The cauldron is big enough that the oil is over the bird but far enough from top of cauldron to prevent much splattering. We build a special campfire just for the cauldron to cook the birds, we do two for all of our troops and have as yet had an accidental burn of fire.

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After the turkey is done, you can use the fryer and oil to play the party game, “Bobbing for French Fries”. :shock: :smiley:

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Perhaps the topic of propane should be a thread of its own – but here goes:

One gallon of liquid propane will evaporate into 268 gallons of gaseous propane. The tank on your grill holds a little over 4 gallons in liquid form.
Propane is heavier than air, so it should never be stored in basements or low-lying areas where it can accumulate.
Propane can get as cold as minus 42 degrees F as it evaporates, so touching a frosted hose or a leaking connection can give you frostbite.
It only takes a mixture of 2% propane in the air to be explosive.