The Best Fried Turkey Recipes

THE BEST FRIED TURKEY

Steps:

• Thaw your turkey completely, rinse and pat dry. Mix your injection marinade ingredients together and fill syringe. Poke 1 hole and move the needle into different positions as you push out marinade into the turkey. Do this in different parts of the birds, making as little holes as possible with getting the marinade in as much of the bird as possible.
• Mix the rub spices together and rub all over bird, in cavity and in under skin also. Wrap turkey in cling wrap so it is completely covered and refrigerate 1 hour -24 hours. The longer the better!
• When ready to fry fill pot with water to first fill line, cover turkey in airtight bag and submerse into water to ensure the water will not over flow when placed in the hot oil. Mark water line. You want the turkey completely submerged in oil.
• Dry pot and add peanut oil to marked line. Preheat oil to 275. Remove from plastic wrap and pat dry one more time. When oil reaches temp add turkey to bucket and lower using the hanger/hook. Wear gloves to protect hands and arms from oil splattering.
• Insert thermometer probe and close lid. Allow oil to heat to 325. Cook until Internal temp of turkey reaches 165 degrees. Remove from oil and let rest for about 20-30 minutes before carving.

DEEP-FRIED TURKEY

Steps:

• Place the hot water, kosher salt and brown sugar into a 5-gallon upright drink cooler and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve completely. Add the ice and stir until the mixture is cool. Gently lower the turkey into the container. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure that it is fully immersed in the brine. Cover and set in a cool dry place for 8 to 16 hours.
• Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.
• Place the oil into a 28 to 30-quart pot and set over high heat on an outside propane burner with a sturdy structure. Bring the temperature of the oil to 250 degrees F. Once the temperature has reached 250, slowly lower the bird into the oil and bring the temperature to 350 degrees F. Once it has reached 350, lower the heat in order to maintain 350 degrees F. After 35 minutes, check the temperature of the turkey using a probe thermometer. Once the breast reaches 151 degrees F, gently remove from the oil and allow to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes prior to carving. The bird will reach an internal temperature of 161 degrees F due to carry over cooking. Carve as desired.

DEEP-FRIED TURKEY

Steps:

• To determine how much oil you will need for frying, set your turkey (still in the plastic) in your frying pot, legs up. Measure and add enough water just to cover the turkey. (There should be at least 6 inches between the water line and the top of the pot to fry safely.) Remove the turkey and water and dry the pot very well.
• Combine the butter, broth, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over very low heat and cook until the garlic softens, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and let cool completely. Strain; reserve the liquid and discard the solids.
• One hour before you are ready to cook, take the turkey out of the refrigerator and remove the neck and giblets. Pat the turkey very dry, inside and out. If there is a pop-up timer, remove and discard. Use an injector syringe to inject the butter mixture into the turkey, 4 or 5 places in each breast and 2 or 3 in each leg and thigh. (Inject as deep into the flesh as you can.) Pat dry if any of the mixture leaks out. Season the turkey inside and out with 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper and rub it in well.
• Add the oil to the frying pot and heat to 350˚ F (if using a propane fryer, heat over medium). It should take 45 minutes to 1 hour to heat the oil. Once the oil reaches 350˚ F, using protective gloves, slowly lower the turkey into the fryer according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• The oil temperature will drop 30˚ F to 40˚ F almost immediately. Adjust the heat so the temperature stays between 300˚ F and 325˚ F the whole time you are frying. Fry 3 minutes per pound. When the turkey is done, turn off the fryer. Using the gloves and the lifting rack, carefully remove the turkey from the oil to a rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; it should register 155˚ F. Let the turkey rest 20 to 30 minutes before removing from the rack and carving (the internal temperature will increase about 10˚ F). Make sure the frying oil cools completely before discarding, at least 4 hours.

DEEP-FRIED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a large stockpot or turkey fryer, heat oil to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Be sure to leave room for the turkey, or the oil will spill over. Layer a large platter with food-safe paper bags.
• Rinse turkey, and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Rub Creole seasoning over turkey inside and out. Make sure the hole at the neck is open at least 2 inches so the oil can flow freely through the bird.
• Place the whole onion and turkey in drain basket. The turkey should be placed in basket neck end first. Slowly lower basket into hot oil to completely cover turkey. Maintain the temperature of the oil at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and cook turkey for 3 1/2 minutes per pound, about 45 minutes.
• Carefully remove basket from oil, and drain turkey. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; the internal temperature must be 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). Finish draining turkey on the prepared platter.

DEEP-FRIED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine first 6 ingredients. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey; rub salt mixture under skin, inside cavity and over outside of turkey. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together. Refrigerate 18-24 hours. Add oil to turkey deep fryer; preheat oil to 275°. Allow turkey to stand at room temperature while oil is preheating. Place turkey on deep fry rack, breast side down. Turn burner off; carefully lower turkey into oil. Turn burner on high and heat to 350°. Adjust heat to maintain 350°. Cook turkey until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, (about 35-45 minutes total time in fryer). Remove turkey from oil; tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.

DEEP-FRIED TURKEY

Steps:

• Eight to 24 hours in advance, make the brine by sauteing onion, celery and garlic in butter until tender. Add hot peppers and Worcestershire, then stir in the salt, cayenne and black pepper. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
• Strain into a bowl, pressing the solids to extract as much juice as possible, to yield about 1 1/2 cups.
• With monster hypodermic, inject the turkey's breast in five places and each leg in one place.
• With your bare hands, rub the cayenne into the turkey's breast under the skin. Omit if you don't like the flavor -- though it's very mild in this quantity.
• Refrigerate, uncovered, for 8 to 24 hours. Or if you prefer, you may fry the bird immediately.
• On the day you plan to eat it, remove the turkey from the refrigerator, place it in the empty fryer pot and cover with water. Then empty the pot, measuring the water to find out how much oil you'll need (usually about 5 gallons for a 14 pounder).
• Dry the pot very thoroughly and fill it with the same amount of oil or lard, attach the extra-long thermometer and heat the oil to 350 to 375 degrees. Just before lowering the bird, turn off the flame to make absolutely sure that Mr. Peanut's essence won't start a fire. Then pierce the turkey with its holder and lower slowly into the oil. Boil for 49 minutes or longer (3 to 3 1/2 minutes per pound).
• Remove the turkey, drain excess oil and rest it on a platter for 10 to 30 minutes. Slice and dive in!