1 turkey, 12-15 lbs, thawed 5-6 gallons peanut oil 3 cloves minced garlic 1 stick butter 1/4 lb lean salt pork, finely minced 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 large outdoor turkey fryer 1 turkey injector 1 yard of cheesecloth (or a fine mesh strainer) salt and pepper, to taste
For this recipe, you will need a large outdoor turkey fryer. Find a place to set up the cooking area away from your house. You'll need a heavy-duty turkey lifter to remove the turkey from the hot oil, a long stemmed thermometer, and long-armed hot mitts. Be sure the turkey is fully thawed before frying!!!!!
The night before:
Slice the salt pork into 1/8" dice. Combine with 3 minced cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon peanut oil in a heavy skillet over low heat and leave for 30 minutes, or until the drippings have rendered out from the salt pork. After 30 minutes, add butter, soy sauce and paprika. When butter has melted and become clear, remove pan from heat and strain the mixture with cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer until no small bits remain. This mixture is used to inject the turkey before frying. Inject the turkey about 5 inches apart, having the injector go in different directions several times for each hole made.
If any of the mixture is left when done injecting the turkey, use it to rub the outside of the turkey.
Remove the pop-up timer, then place the turkey in a large food-safe plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight.
Cooking the Turkey:
Add peanut oil up to the line on the inside of the turkey fryer (or see your manufacturer's instructions for recommended quantity of oil). The turkey should be submerged with one inch of oil above it while cooking.
Thirty minutes before cooking, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature. Bring the oil temperature to 350°F. Pat the turkey dry with a clean towel.
Put the turkey in the frying basket, breast side facing down. With a hot mitt covered hand, stand away from the oil and carefully lower the turkey into the cooker. Allow the oil temperature to lower to 300°F and continue frying, 4 minutes per pound of turkey.
The turkey will turn a deep brown when done and will be crisp. The temperature in the thickest portion of a thigh should read 175°F using an instant read thermometer.
Remove the turkey to a cookie sheet; sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper, then allow it to cool, upside down for 20 minutes.
DO NOT do this indoors, within 20' of your house or any other building, on a wooden or plastic deck, and under any kind of covering or overhang. Every year, some fool burns down his house, a portion of it, or his deck.
Posts: 17565 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Psych major, you missed a VERY important step. When you remove the turkey from the refrigerator place it in the fryer and cover it with water.
Remove the turkey and mark the water level inside the fryer with a pen or some type of marker. Empty the water and make sure the fryer is dry.
When you add the oil, only add to the marked line. Once the turkey is lowered in the fryer, the oil should be enough to cover the turkey, just like the water did.
Most of the fires that happen frying turkeys happen because they fill the fryer 1/2 - 2/3 full of oil. When the turkey is added, the oil overflows and catches fire.
Also, make sure the cooker is turned off when you remove the bird from the oil.
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Posts: 1641 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
