Better Late Than Never: How To Fry A Turkey

Moist and flavourful turkey is always the goal for Thanksgiving, so after hearing about how much of a life-changing experience frying a turkey is, I decided that was how I was going to prepare the Franklin family meal this year. As I planned to cook the bird on the Sunday before Thanksgiving (we do Turkey Day on the second Monday in October in Canada because our aboriginals harvested their crops earlier than the ones who got screwed over by the Americans did), I started my prep on Saturday by acquiring a turkey fryer from a local rental company. When I got back home, I had to determine how much oil was needed to fry the turkey the three of us planned to eat. To do this, I put the frozen turkey we had in the big ass pot that came with the turkey fryer and filled it with water until the turkey was completely submerged, then marked the water level on the inside of the pot with a pencil. With that done, I turned my attention to the turkey.

Because oil and water don't mix, I needed to be certain that my turkey had no ice in it. When the ice from a frozen turkey meets hot oil, it turns to steam instantly and expands several hundred times its original volume. This much pressure can cause the oil to bubble over and I really didn't want to deal with angry neighbours, property damage, severe injury and a visit from the fire department if the oil made contact with any flames. So if you try this, remember:

YOU ARE DEALING WITH BOILING OIL  - DO NOT LEAVE IT UNATTENDED!

Once the turkey was thawed out, I dried the inside and outside of it with paper towels, and seasoned it with a rub made from Old Bay, poultry seasoning, and paprika. I stuck it back in the fridge until I was ready for it.

When it was time to cook, and I started filling the pot with oil, I soon saw that the four 3 L bottles of sunflower oil I had were nowhere near the amount I needed. I was forced to make a quick run to the grocery store for some more, but even with the extra oil I bought, I didn't have enough to cover our turkey. Not wanting to head back to the store again, I decided to make do with what I had; this just meant I would now have to turn the turkey at various points to ensure it was completely cooked through. After setting up the fryer on the stone patio in the backyard (DO NOT SET UP A TURKEY FRYER  INSIDE OR ON A WOODEN DECK) and attaching the propane tank from my BBQ to the turkey fryer I rented, I fired it up and waited for the oil to heat up. I thought I had hooked up everything correctly, but it seems to take a long time for anything to happen. So again I had to improvise. I pulled my BBQ to the patio, reattached the tank, and placed the pot on the BBQ grill. As I knew how to start that cooking appliance, I was soon back in business.

I had to get the oil up to 190 degrees. If the oil starts to emit black smoke, that's a sign it's getting near its smoke point, and the temperature needs to be lowered. After confirming the oil hit the recommended 190 C, I carefully placed the turkey in the boiling oil.

As the turkey fried, I settled into a lawn chair with my laptop and watched the Jets pull off the upset and beat the Cowboys; I owe it all to my frying of the turkey. Every 20 minutes or so, I would flip the bird (HA!) to make sure the parts that weren't submerged in oil were cooked. After about 70 minutes of cooking, I went to check the turkey's doneness with my thermometer. I wish I had thought about how I would get the turkey out of the pot. I wished I had a bamboo skimmer as the tongs and fork combo I was forced to use was awkward. The turkey may have come apart on me, but I look at it as it saved me some carving time.

It was a beautiful golden brown and other than the oil I drained from the cavity, not as oily as I thought it would be. The turkey needed to rest for at least 20 minutes to allow it to finish cooking, so I placed it on a rack and cover it with aluminum foil. I reaped the rewards of my efforts when it was time to eat, as the meat was as tender and juicy as advertised. If you're looking for a fast way to make a great turkey that gives you space in your oven for side dishes, I highly recommend you give this method a try, it lives up to the hype.