TURKEY FRYER

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SteerCrazy

Head Chef
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
2,089
Location
Kansas City
Lookin to purchase a Turkey Fryer this year. Anyone have suggestions on the purchase? I am planning on using it ONLY for Turkey Frying once, maybe twice a year. Do I get a cheapie one, expensive one? Thanks
 
My buddy has the cheapie one. Cost about $30. I see them advertised for that price all the time. Cooked a bird in it last Thanksgiving. It came out great. If that's all your cooking in it ,that's what I'd shoot for.
 
MBF,

Just make sure the base is sturdy and if I was buying I would go with the 34 qt size pot instead of the 30, most birds are a little cramped in that 30 qt size. Besides let's you do a bigger bird, if you need to.
 
Brian, they are great! MBF, do like Bruce said and get the larger pot, you can do more with it. They are also great for steaming clams, lobsters and what not. I too am like you and I need a turkey on Thanksgiving, not a picnic!
 
brian j said:
i've never had fried turkey. is it really that good? i have a hard time getting the picture if a huge chicken mcnugget out of my head.

They are great Brian, 15lb turkey in 45 minutes. Many people think it will be greasy but it's not, when that bird hits that hot oil, it seals the juices in and makes for one of the most moist, juiciest, crispy skinned bird you've ever had.

A little (a lot) labor intensive on the cleanup though.
 
What I looked for when I bought mine (I have two) was a sturdy base and a cast iron burner. One is taller than the other because I baught it for making turtle soup and chowder.
 
You can pick up a decent turkey frier just about anywhere. My dad got me one for Christmas several years ago from Wal-Mart and it works perfectly fine. I think he paid around $60 for it. As said before, look for the larger pot and make sure the base is sturdy.

Turkey friers are no more dangerous than frying chicken in your house a little common sense goes a long way. That probably answers the reason why certain people have catastrophies when frying turkeys. I've only fried a handful, but have been extremely happy with the results each time. Here's a list of a couple things that helped me out and may help you.

1. Pre-measure for oil by placing the turkey in the pot while still in the plastic. Fill the pot with water just until the turkey is covered. Pull the turkey out of the pot and where the water level is, is how much oil you should add. This will prevent boil overs/fires.

2. Make sure the turkey is 100% thawed and relatively dry of water. Ice crystals and/or water inside the bird WILL cause problems.

3. Do not attempt to fry the turkey on a deck, in garage or close to your house. Obviously this is common sense, but thought I should say it anyways.

4. Use a reliable thermometer for the oil.

5. Season the skin of the turkey after it comes out of the oil. Seasoning before is pretty much and waste because 99% of the seasoning comes off during the frying process. Injecting and seasoning under the skin is highly recommended.

6. Get some cheese cloth to filter and re-use the peanut oil. Regardless of some opinions about peanut oil, it's one of the best oils for high temp frying and it costs more because it's better. Not to make "yuppies use their visors" or however it was said.
 
MBF don't skip on the fryer...like Bruce said..get a little bigger of the pot for turkeys and then get a smaller set up with a basket for doing wings, fries and everyother thing that can be deepfryed....my guess is that you will find yourself using it more than once a year if you get the exra basket...also...IMHO peanut oil is the way to go..and it can be bought at Sams or BJs......(we do deepfry days here at least twice a year....start in the morning with homemade donuts and coffe and then switch to beer and everything and anything that can be deepfryed...)
 
wittdog said:
MBF...u say u will only be using it once a year.....we'll see... ;)

Yeah, my wife is from Cape Cod and is use to the clam bakes. Could do me a clam bake here in "FARMLAND" kansas...... :LOL:
 
Larry Wolfe said:
You can pick up a decent turkey frier just about anywhere. My dad got me one for Christmas several years ago from Wal-Mart and it works perfectly fine. I think he paid around $60 for it. As said before, look for the larger pot and make sure the base is sturdy.

Turkey friers are no more dangerous than frying chicken in your house a little common sense goes a long way. That probably answers the reason why certain people have catastrophies when frying turkeys. I've only fried a handful, but have been extremely happy with the results each time. Here's a list of a couple things that helped me out and may help you.

1. Pre-measure for oil by placing the turkey in the pot while still in the plastic. Fill the pot with water just until the turkey is covered. Pull the turkey out of the pot and where the water level is, is how much oil you should add. This will prevent boil overs/fires.

2. Make sure the turkey is 100% thawed and relatively dry of water. Ice crystals and/or water inside the bird WILL cause problems.

3. Do not attempt to fry the turkey on a deck, in garage or close to your house. Obviously this is common sense, but thought I should say it anyways.

4. Use a reliable thermometer for the oil.

5. Season the skin of the turkey after it comes out of the oil. Seasoning before is pretty much and waste because 99% of the seasoning comes off during the frying process. Injecting and seasoning under the skin is highly recommended.

6. Get some cheese cloth to filter and re-use the peanut oil. Regardless of some opinions about peanut oil, it's one of the best oils for high temp frying and it costs more because it's better. Not to make "yuppies use their visors" or however it was said.

Good advice....maybe season the bird with some Wolfe Rub Bold.....Most I've seen have some sturdy stands to them and again, I would probably be lookin at the 32-34qt size. Have a nice patio out back away from the house to fry the sucker in. Thanks again
 
A couple of years ago(?), at an outdoor party, the "used" oil was dumped into a 55 gallon burn barrel. Burn barrel had a fire in it. Flames went 30ft into the air!

Town later passed an ordinance making it illegal to do that kind of thing. :cry:
 
corndog said:
MBF, what I have done w/ my frying outfit is go to an auto parts store and buy an alum. drip pan. I place the burner on it and that will help catch the grease if there is any splatter. It helps keep the grass alive. Also here's another tip..before you drop the bird in the grease, cut off the fire!!!!!!! That's is another safety deal that alot of people over look, along w/ having a fire extinguisher close by---outside w/ you---Then when the splattering has died down, then relight the flame. I also season my oil by frying some bacon in it. My pot also has several lines etched on the outside for the different sizes of birds I fry. I hope this helps...

Thanks for the tip Corndog......Wittdog suggested I use my grill mats to cut down on splatter.

So let me get this correct. You fill the fryer with the designated amount of oil. Turn on the burner, which is hooked up to a propane tank??

Get your oil up to the right temp, cut the gas (figuratively and literally as well) lower the bird in the fryer then cover the top, fire up the fryer and cook.

How long does say a 15lb bird take to cook??

Thanks
 
If doing it on your driveway.... Don't forget the extra oil to make your whole driveway uniform in case "some" gets spilled.

Heard that from someone here....sometime, somewhere. :twisted:
 
might even be worth a trip to your local wally world. the one here marked all of theirs 75-80% off just to get the room. havent done a turkey in mine yet, but did cook up some fish. I went and got a water heater pan to put mine in and put sand in that to catchc any drips/spills
 
If you are going to pump up your bird, measure the amount of oil AFTER you pump it! The injection will add volumne to the bird and will in turn help make the oil spill over if you measured before. This happened to me a few weeks ago. I did have the burner off as I lowered the bird in and when I saw that it was gonna run over I stopped and got a pot and drained some of the oil out. It all wotked great from there. It was also a 18 pound bird so she was pretty big.
 

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