Holiday How-To: Deep Fry a Turkey in 5 Simple Steps (Plus Safety Tips)

You hear the stories every year: a poor guy who tried to deep fry a turkey and ended up on the local news. We know, the thought of deep fried turkey sounds delicious. Something new, something juicy and tender, something crisp and crunchy. But homemade deep fryers are fraught with danger: spatters over an open flame, amateur chefs with exposed skin, and unbelievably unstable fryers that go tumbling at the first stiff wind. If you want to deep fry a turkey, our suggestion is to do some research, start small, and have fire extinguishers ready. Here’s how to get started. [pagebreak]

What You’ll Need:

1. A small to medium sized turkey and oil. (A large turkey usually cooks unevenly).
2. A large stock pot: you’ll have to submerge the whole turkey and you’ll want to leave room for overflow. So practice a few times with water and see how far up the sides of the pot it goes.
3. A fry basket with a handle or metal hook: this is what you put the turkey in.
4. An outdoor burner: to fry the turkey.
5. Safety gear: we’re not kidding. You want good outdoor-style gloves, thick long sleeves, a heavy apron, closed-toed shoes, and a fire extinguisher ready and nearby. [pagebreak]

How to Prepare:

1. Prep your outdoor work station. Put your burner on a flat surface (no hills, no steps, no decks, etc.) and away from anything flammable. Do a few practice runs with a pot filled with water to make sure it can’t be knocked over easily. You might also want to set up a barricade far away from the cooking station so that little ones or wandering adults don’t accidentally get near.

2. Fill the pot with oil (remembering to account for overflow) and head to 350 degrees.

3. Thaw and dry your turkey complete. Little molecules of water cause flare ups, usually not a big deal when frying in small batches. But with a big turkey and so much oil, even a small drop can cause a big accident.

4. Prep your turkey the way you normally would: that is, remove the neck and giblets. If your turkey came with one of those pop up thermometers, remove that too. Season (but make sure it’s dry!) then place it in the fry basket, breast side down and facing south.

5. Double check your safety gear. [pagebreak]

What to Do:

1. Turn the heat off your burner and using the metal hook and standing away from the pot, very slowly (as slowly as possible) lower the turkey into the oil. The oil will bubble up (like when you make caramel) and you don’t want spills to hit flames. You also don’t want to drop your turkey in and have it catch fire or cause major spillage.

2. Then turn your stove back on and back away but STAY CLOSE. You do not want to leave the pot unattended outside.

3. We mean it. Keep your eye on the pot at all times. It takes about four minutes per pound of turkey. That’s enough time to sip some hot chocolate and take in the day. While watching your turkey carefully.

4. When time is up, don your protective gear, turn off the oil, and using a metal hook, lift your turkey out. When temperatures reach 180 degrees in the thigh and juices run clear, your turkey is cooked through.

5. Place your turkey on a platter to let cool and then carve. At this point you can take your turkey inside. [pagebreak]

Cleanup Tips:

– Don’t try to move a pot of BURNING HOT OIL. It’s not worth it man. Make sure that the burner is disconnected and that there is no heat. Then set up a barricade around the pot (but not near it!). Check on it occasionally until the pot has cooled down enough to move back inside.

Now you are free to enjoy. Remember, though, that if any point in this process, things start to seem like not such a great idea, call your fire department (not 911). They’ll be happy to swing by and give everything a safety check.