10 Tips On How To Deep Fry Turkey - GF Video

When learning how to deep fry turkey, there's a lot of info left out, here's GardenFork video with 10 tips on deep frying.

My 10 Tips On How To Deep Fry Turkey:

Read fryer directions: This is one of those times where I advocate reading the directions that come with a rig.

Do a trail run: Make sure your propane tank is full, and the burner works correctly. If you deep fry turkey the weekend before, you can have it all for yourself. The oil you used can be used again, see below.

Cheap vegetable oil works: Mike Wells at Popular Science is on the same wavelength as I am on this. I don't think you need expensive peanut oil.

Start with 3 gallons: I have found a 30 quart deep fryer usually takes about 3 ½ gallons to deep fry a 14 pound turkey . You can test this by putting the bird in the empty fryer, adding water to cover, and measuring the water as you pour it in. Be sure to dry the turkey after doing this, water and hot oil can cause boil overs.

Smaller turkeys are better: An 18 pound turkey is a big deal to deep fry. It can be hard to hold up and get into the pot, and it is more likely to boil over. I deep fried a 12 pound bird for these videos and there was plenty of turkey.

Calibrate your thermometer: Thermometers can be off by quite a bit. Boil some water and see what your temp reads. Water boils at 212F at sea level. As you elevation rises, the water boiling temp will drop. we are at 1500' and the temp is 210F.

More Deep Fried Turkey Videos:

Wear old clothes: You will get oil on your clothes and shoes, so don't wear nice clothes. Dress like me, at least for a few hours.

Fresh is better than frozen: I have messed up defrosting turkeys several times. It is much less stressful to just buy a fresh turkey. Plus, unless the turkey is completely thawed, any ice or water in the turkey can cause the oil to boil over the pot. A very bad thing.

ABC fire extinguisher: Have one nearby, OK? It has to say for A B & C type fires on the label.

Turn off burner: When lowering or raising the turkey into the pot, turn off the burner. This way any oil spills down the pot, it wont be ignited by the burner.

I Love These Gloves:

Wear oven gloves: I really like these silicone oven gloves a GardenFork viewer sent me.

Dry rub is ok: If you are a fan of dry rubs or dry brining, you can do that, just use more of it, as some the dry rub or salt will get washed into the oil.

Let rest on metal baking tray: After the turkey is cooked, let is rest on a metal baking sheet for 2o minutes. Keep away from your kids and pets, its still real hot.

Cook on grass: When you deep fry turkey, oil can spill. If you place the burner on the grass, the oil is absorbed by the soil. If you deep fry on your driveway, you have oil on your concrete and its slippery, so don't say I didn't warn you.

Reuse oil: You can re-use the vegetable oil 3-4 times, but between frying, keep the oil cool in the basement or fridge. Be sure you strain the oil to remove the turkey bits from the oil after each use. You could also give the oil to someone who uses it to power their car or truck.

Use long lighter: This is one of the easiest when I wanted to write about how to deep fry turkey. When you have a big pot on the burner and you need to relight it, a long lighter is key.