Jump to content

Deep fried turkey


russian rocket

Recommended Posts

Has anyone deep fried a fat bird before? Im talking about a 21 pounder. i know its not recommended to deep fry anything bigger than 15lbs, but i wanted to know if anyone has had good success in frying the fat ones. I bought a 21lb bird from a coworker and now i am having some concerns about deep frying it for thanksgiving.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone deep fried a fat bird before? Im talking about a 21 pounder. i know its not recommended to deep fry anything bigger than 15lbs, but i wanted to know if anyone has had good success in frying the fat ones. I bought a 21lb bird from a coworker and now i am having some concerns about deep frying it for thanksgiving.

 

My brother in law has done a 20 before.

Just make sure to test you put water in the pan to see how hire the liquid rises before..days before you put the oil in so you don't over fill the pan

mace

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My brother in law has done a 20 before.

Just make sure to test you put water in the pan to see how hire the liquid rises before..days before you put the oil in so you don't over fill the pan

mace

 

did he have any issues with anything over/under cooking or did it come out perfect?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We fried one last year and we will do it again this year. with 14 guests a 15lb turkey probably won't be enough so we're having a large ham also.

 

Mace noted the biggest risk, make sure the turkey doesn't displace too much oil or you'll have a HUGE (and dangerous) mess.

 

My recommendation would be to do two smaller ones but of course it would take longer cooking two turkeys one at a time but then you wouldn't have to worry about cooking all the way through.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We fried one last year and we will do it again this year. with 14 guests a 15lb turkey probably won't be enough so we're having a large ham also.

 

Mace noted the biggest risk, make sure the turkey doesn't displace too much oil or you'll have a HUGE (and dangerous) mess.

 

My recommendation would be to do two smaller ones but of course it would take longer cooking two turkeys one at a time but then you wouldn't have to worry about cooking all the way through.

 

i deep fried 12lb birds last year for thanksgiving and Christmas and they came out great, i just have concerns about deep frying the 21lb bird that i have in the freezer right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i deep fried 12lb birds last year for thanksgiving and Christmas and they came out great, i just have concerns about deep frying the 21lb bird that i have in the freezer right now.

 

You can put it in the pot, then fill water to the line and check for the volume displaced. I'm not sure I would risk it though. Find someone with a smoker and smoke that monster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Weight isnt too much of an issue, just takes longer to cook. Rule of thumb is 3 1/2 min per pound with a bird that big. You wont run the risk of over/under cooking it. Once it starts to float then youre getting really close. We've always stuck a meat thermometer in the hip joint area just to make sure it hits the 180* mark.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ I agree with all those guys.

 

We've been deep frying turkeys for about a decade now. 3 every thanksgiving. 15 pounders give or take. 3 diff flavors typically.

 

2 are for the fam, one gets frozen for later consumption. Dad and I start in the morn and sometimes setup a TV outside to watch festivities and football.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ I agree with all those guys.

 

We've been deep frying turkeys for about a decade now. 3 every thanksgiving. 15 pounders give or take. 3 diff flavors typically.

 

2 are for the fam, one gets frozen for later consumption. Dad and I start in the morn and sometimes setup a TV outside to watch festivities and football.

 

1. tv is a great idea!

2. how do you do the different flavors?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

did he have any issues with anything over/under cooking or did it come out perfect?

 

Dad's done the bigger birds (around 20 lbs), he even bought a bigger pot to do the bigger ones. Never had a problem with the taste (except for that one time he forgot to remove the plastic bag of giblettes)

 

There isn't an issue with under-cooking the center, you just cook longer. The rule of thumb is 3 minutes per lb plus 5 minutes for the bird so at 21 lbs you'd be looking at a cook time of around an hour (68 minutes). With the bigger birds however I find the internal temp is more important than timing it - you want to see a 165 degree internal temp so right around the 50 min hour mark poke it with a meat thermometer.

 

Some people like to do the first five at 325 degrees and then ramp it up to 350 for the remainder, I don't see the point to it. As far as overcooking the outside I personally don't see how, oil and water don't mix so the hot oil will sear the juice into the bird, not pull it out and dry it out like oven roasting will. any escaping juice will sink to the bottom until it becomes steam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damn...I have a boring ass turkey every year it appears. It's always dry as fuck lol. I need to get one of those smokers and do one for the family.

 

I think home depot sells a turkey fryer (huge pot with a propane burner) for like $40 maybe? not too expensive and i think it took us about 45 min to do our turkey last year but don't quote me on that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can put it in the pot, then fill water to the line and check for the volume displaced. I'm not sure I would risk it though. Find someone with a smoker and smoke that monster.

 

smoking the bird is the other option i am contemplating, i have a nice smoker, but i just love the taste of nice crispy skin from the fryer.

 

 

thanks for the input guys, put my concerns to rest

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. tv is a great idea!

2. how do you do the different flavors?

 

TV is a life saver. I was born and raised a Cowboys fan and since they play on Thanksgiving...

 

We inject the bird. Tell me you've injected a bird then deep fried it. Please.

 

I have the big easy oil less turkey fryer. It creates an excellent bird.

 

Never heard of oil-less frying. Link? I'm intrigued.

 

I use one of these and it's legit. About as good as an oil fried bird (I like it better actually, not as greasy) and way less mess/BS. https://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-TRU-Infrared-Oil-Less-Turkey-Fryer/dp/B001HBI7D8

 

Infraredsting. I'd be interested to compare this to a traditional oil fried bird.

 

Mmmmm.....deep fried turkey......

 

Randy, I'll be coming over to your place for Thanksgiving this year.

 

You'd be more than welcome DJ. We only have fam over on the actual Thanksgiving day. You're invited. You know where we'll be...kinda. lol

 

Some of us are living in 2017, then there is this guy living in 3017.

 

:lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...