A fried turkey can be the centerpiece of your holiday dinner.
Frying your holiday turkey instead of roasting it will impress your guests and produce a moist, flavorful turkey. You'll need a deep fryer large enough to immerse a whole turkey, and about five gallons of oil. Many people prefer to fry the turkey outside, which lessens the chance of spattered oil in the house. In many areas of the United States, you can purchase deep fryer set-ups designed specifically for frying turkeys.
Instructions
1. Wash your turkey in cold water and remove any giblets. Trim any excess skin from the neck cavity with kitchen shears.
2. Season the turkey. You can purchase special injectors filled with seasoning marinade made for frying turkeys. Inject the marinade under the skin of the turkey with a large hypodermic needle. Or rub your turkey with a mixture of seasonings, such as salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and garlic.
3. Fill the frying pot with oil. Peanut oil is traditional, but any oil that will withstand high heat, such as corn or canola oil, will do. Turn on the burner and heat the oil to 325 degrees. Test the temperature with the candy thermometer.
4. Slide the handle of your turkey hanger up through the tail opening of the turkey and out the neck opening. Make sure the turkey is firmly seated on the hanger. If you don't have a turkey hanger, you can use a large fry basket to hold the turkey.
5. Put on oven mitts. Slowly immerse the turkey in the hot oil. Fry for three minutes for each pound of turkey.
6. Tear open three or four brown paper bags and spread them out on a table.
7. Turn off the burner and lift the turkey from the hot oil. Hold it for a few seconds to allow most of the excess oil to drip away. Transfer the turkey to the brown paper and allow it to continue to drain.
8. Insert a meat thermometer into the turkey thigh. The turkey is done when the temperature of the thigh meat registers 180 degrees F.
9. Slip the turkey off of the hanger. Transfer the turkey to a platter and carve as desired.
Tags: turkey hanger, your turkey, brown paper, deep fryer, frying turkeys, Transfer turkey