ALWAYS
Set up your cooker OUTSIDE, on a flat surface with NO overhanging trees.
Use a propane cooker designed specially for cooking turkeys, complete with thermometer.
Pre-measure the amount of oil needed to cook your bird.
Follow the specific directions for your cooker.
Keep fire extinguisher handy.
Use the correct cooking oil.
Keep children & pets away. (DRUNKS TOO!)
NEVER
NEVER leave operating cooker unattended.
NEVER operate in a house or garage!
NEVER try to fry a frozen or partially frozen turkey.
NEVER use on a wooden deck!
Fail to follow safety procedures and you WILL set your HOUSE/GARAGE/SELF on FIRE!!! Now if I haven’t scared everybody off, we can begin………..
EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED
Turkey-fryer setup, including (Propane burner w/stand, 25-40 qt. pot, hose attachment, perforated turkey rack w/ handle, or basket). Oil thermometer. Meat thermometer. Propane tank. Marinade injector. Marinade. Spice-rub. Oven mitts or heavy gloves. Wrench. 5 gallons of. peanut/ canola/ or safflower oil. Paper towels. Old clothes. Campfire-style lighter. Eye protection.
PREPARING THE TURKEY
You’ll need to buy a turkey in the 10-15 lb. range. Any larger and your bird may be burnt and dry on the outside by the time it’s cooked. Frozen turkeys will need @ least 3-4 days to thaw in the fridge+ another 12 hrs. to marinade.
Determine how much oil you will have to use by putting the thawed and cleaned out turkey on the fryer rack legs up (Some fryers use a basket instead of a rack). Put this into your turkey pot and add water to just cover the top of the turkey. Take out the turkey w/ rack and mark the water level on outside of pot with a marker. Pour out the water. This is the amount of oil you will use.
Too large a bird means trouble.
Hint: Make sure your pot is big enough (25-40) qt. so the hot oil doesn’t boil over.
Now you can marinade your bird. Draw some marinade (homemade or store-bought) up into your injector and inject into the turkey. Go for the thickest parts of the bird and in about 6-10 different places. A turkey takes approx 1oz.of marinade per lb. Put back in the fridge. Turkey to be deep-fried should Not Be Stuffed.
Hint: Don’t forget to remove the little plastic pop-up thingee.
Hint: A professional-type stainless steel marinating syringe works MUCH better than a cheap plastic one.
Hint: Try to inject from under the skin, making as few holes in the skin as possible.
After 12- 24 hrs. in the fridge, your bird is almost ready to cook! Just pat it dry and rub your dry- rub (spices) all over the turkey. Be sure to apply rub to the inside of the turkey too.
Apply spice rub liberally.
Hint: Using rub containing lots of sugar will make your turkey come out BLACK! Its more of a visual than a taste issue, but since sugar eventually burns in the hot oil, the skin of your bird may have burnt taste if your rub has a lot of sugar in it.
Now its time to cook the turkey << Click For Cooking Information