Ok, the family has asked if I can fry a turkey. No problem, I've got most of the equipment except the pot. The turkey they got is a big one and my stock pot isn't big enough, I need at least 30+ qts.

Searching the inter webs it appears Bayou Classic and King Kooker are the big names in the large but, inexpensive backyard fry & boil realm. What's the insight from the SF membership who have fried turkey's? If I go too cheap, do I risk warping or, burning a hole through the bottom of the pot? Any advice and tidbits is appreciated.

I don't think you'll have problems with either of those brands, but I wouldn't suggest a huge turkey for your first turkey frying endeavor.

Remove the wings and legs and fry them separately for all sizes of bird.

Lower the turkey Very slowly into the oil.

quote:

Originally posted by topherh:
I don't think you'll have problems with either of those brands, but I wouldn't suggest a huge turkey for your first turkey frying endeavor.

Remove the wings and legs and fry them separately for all sizes of bird.

Lower the turkey Very slowly into the oil.

Better Yet, turn the fire off when you lower the turkey in the oil and instantly restart it after. Most people don't recommend frying a bird over 14 lbs or so.

I have a charbroil big easy oil-less turkey fryer and honestly you can hardly tell the difference between it and a deep fried bird. I wiped peanut oil on the outside, put spices on it, and stuck it in there on high and periodically watched the thermometer. It recommends no larger than 16lbs.

A young lady was looking for someone to fry a turkey or her it could not find anyone, i suggested that she try cutting the turkey up like you would a chicken and fry it. She tried that and was real happy with the outcome, said her family loved it. I told her to it the breast meat off the carcass and cut it into strips for easier frying and to make cuts into the legs and thighs to cut down on cookin time.

Just be sure you have the right amount of oil in the pot to cover the turkey but not flow over... that is the big mistake folks make and you end up with a big fire when the oil hits the propane flame....

Also, it is really kind of a waste to go to all this trouble to fry just one Turkey.... I'd do at two or three... after that the fat and other stuff starts burning in the oil....

Fire Departments offer advice, literature, and even videos and recipes for frying turkeys without burning the house down. Here is a flyer on safety from the National Fire Academy.

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/down...key_fryers_flyer.pdf

I worked on the cookers when my Rotary Club fried and smoked turkeys every year as a fundraiser. Would fry about 150 turkeys in a morning. We used peanut oil in Cajun Fryers that have lids on them and are very stable. The local fire chief was a Rotary member and supervised the cooking. Having the turkey fully thawed, the right amount of oil to cover the turkey but not overflow, and time and temperature control is really important to get it right. It is a little messy but you can put your turkey cold in the pot and fill to the right level with water to gauge how much oil you will need.

If you are using a simple pot on top of a burner arrangement, keeping pets and children away from the cooker is a consideration. And never wear sandals!

In preparation, put the turkey in the empty pot. Add enough water to find the depth needed to properly cover the bird, remove the bird. This will let you know the aamount of oil you need.

I’ve been frying turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas for probably 15 years now, and a couple critical things to keep in mind are:
- follow the weight limits of your cooker
- use the right amount of oil (as others have stated)
- make sure the bird is DRY before placing it into the oil (we brine ours overnight and dry it thoroughly the morning of the frying)
- do everything SLOWLY, especially lowering the bird into the oil; putting the cold bird into the hot oil is what causes a lot of the popping and splashing of the hot oil; when it splashes onto you, your natural reaction is to drop it, which in turn causes the oil to overflow/splash out onto the flame — bad thing.
- wear silicone gloves and have a second person help you lower the bird into the oil using a long pole of some kind (we use a sturdy rake handle); the protective gloves and the distance created by using the long pole prevent any popping oil from hitting you and causing the reaction described above
- have a fire extinguisher nearby and monitor the process directly, constantly
- Never use a fryer in your garage or under a porch.

Frying a turkey is a great excuse to sit outside and smoke a nice cigar and drink a beer and avoid the kitchen. Seriously, though, sit outside and watch the damn thing for safety’s sake.

We’re fortunate here in Tucson as it is generally very mild on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, so sitting outside for an hour and a half is pleasant. Obviously, in Minnesota you might want to go the route described by the other poster of cutting up the bird and frying it as you would a chicken.

Just be extremely careful and enjoy the fried turkey!

Everything ^^^ he said. The pole over vat of oil is only way to go. Also don't panic with popping just keep going slowly and make sure you have safe distance.

Seen a few mishaps in person, nothing serious, but enough to give appropriate level of fear.

SigFan saved be a lot of typing.

I have a Bayou Classic that is made specifically for frying birds so it is made a little narrower and taller then my other large pots I use for boils. It has level marks for the oil levels and it came with a metal gizmo for lowering and removing the turkey. Worth the money.

Plan ahead for gravy. Try giblet and the wing tips in pot of water.

My mouth is watering just thinking about fried turkey......my favorite way to have turkey. We did some awesome fried turkeys down in Louisiana......ah, the good times!! Of course, a Bloody Mary or two are required while you "watch" the turkey fry.

Use bacon grease for best results.

A couple of years ago, our oldest son Nathan suggested that we fry
a turkey for Thanksgiving.
I asked him if he was SURE that he wanted to do it (which meant that
"I" would be doing it.)
"Of course!", he replied. So.......I had to go buy a large enough
Turkey frying pot, $35 worth of peanut oil and more propane. We haven't gotten the turkey yet.

Turkey day comes. Of course, Dad sets up the turkey fryer in the back yard.
As a pre-caution, I had an 8 foot aluminum pole, commonly called conduit that electricians use.
Thankfully, I did.

We got the oil up to the proper temp and placed the turkey on the
Sacrificial pole and slowly placed it
in the oil. Did I say slowly? Oh! Maybe, just maybe we were not quite "slowly"
enough. It erupted worse than Vesuvius before it swallowed up Pompeii! I suppose the Internet culinary experts meant something else than
our definition of "slowly".

Now, the waiting game. The timer was set and I left No. 1 son in
charge of the foul affair. I went inside to redoubt my
efforts on giblet gravy and whatnot. He comes in a bit later and
says, "Dad, the turkey is turning really, really dark brown.
OK, I hurry outside and....Alas! Our poor bird was uh...very, very
crisp. I immediately thought of the Griswold Family Christmas
in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I do believe that ours
was much worse.

We brought the remains inside and I put it up on the slab. I
attempted to carve the bird with an electric knife but to no avail... I started
prying, heaving, and tearing it apart until I got to the edible
part. It was just about a fistful of breast meat, right under the leathery outer
covering. The legs, wings, and thighs weren't fit for human, much
less animal consumption. I can picture a team of archeologist 10,000
years from now making this "new" discovery. I am quite certain that
it will be the featured article in National Geographic.

Let's just say that I when I gave grace, it was, shall we say, unorthodox....
"Lord, thank you for this bountiful feast that you have bestowed
upon us. Thank you for all of your many blessings...except for the turkey!"

Don't be like this guy, but just in case have a fire extinguisher and the number to the local pizza delivery joint.

The guy using the grill appears to be using too small of a pot, mistake number one, and lowering the bird over an open flame, for mistake number two.

As far as determining the amount of oil to use, does anybody know of any reason to not just put the bird in the pot, pour the oil to cover it, then remove the bird until the oil is brought to temperature?

Thanks for the pointers and tips. All good. Gonna dry brine the bird and bring it to near room temperature before lowering in.

This is how i'm going to do it. Makes for nice visual for the kids and appears to be the most safe and controlled.

quote:

As far as determining the amount of oil to use, does anybody know of any reason to not just put the bird in the pot, pour the oil to cover it, then remove the bird until the oil is brought to temperature?

That is a perfectly acceptable, albeit messy method. I prefer to put the bird in the pot, and pour water to the correct coverage, then mark the pot. This way I don't have a greasy turkey hanging around dripping oil all over the place.

I do this the night before I brine the turkey.

I cut the top out of a beer keg for frying turkeys and boiling peanuts....can’t go wrong

quote:

Originally posted by SigFan:
I’ve been frying turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas for probably 15 years now, and a couple critical things to keep in mind are:
- follow the weight limits of your cooker
- use the right amount of oil (as others have stated)
- make sure the bird is DRY before placing it into the oil (we brine ours overnight and dry it thoroughly the morning of the frying)
- do everything SLOWLY, especially lowering the bird into the oil; putting the cold bird into the hot oil is what causes a lot of the popping and splashing of the hot oil; when it splashes onto you, your natural reaction is to drop it, which in turn causes the oil to overflow/splash out onto the flame — bad thing.
- wear silicone gloves and have a second person help you lower the bird into the oil using a long pole of some kind (we use a sturdy rake handle); the protective gloves and the distance created by using the long pole prevent any popping oil from hitting you and causing the reaction described above
- have a fire extinguisher nearby and monitor the process directly, constantly
- Never use a fryer in your garage or under a porch.

Wear some appropriate clothing and shoes in case you get splashed. Not sweats, like the guy in Rhino's video. I'll reiterate, make sure the turkey is DRY!