TURKEY DINNER WITH A TWIST Here's a Turkey You Can Soar With
	NOVEMBER 2004

by Sara Tamayo
Photos by Brad Shifflett

When my eldest son bought a giant contraption that he said was designed to “deep fry a turkey,” I thought he was crazy. I couldn’t imagine anything that would improve on the taste of a beautiful golden slow-roasted turkey. My father, who was living with us at the time, thought the same thing and wouldn’t even taste it.

When the turkey was finished I was really surprised by the results. It was the best turkey I ever tasted and simply melted in my mouth. We fooled my dad into trying a piece later, and he declared that it was wonderful.

When you mention turkey for dinner most people think of Thanksgiving. It seems like one of the few days of the year that the whole family bothers coming together to eat a turkey-with-all-the-trimmings dinner.

I am blessed, however, to be part of a family that gets together often. Sometimes mom (that’s me), dad, kids, grandkids, great grandma, an aunt or two thrown in — all of us get together around our dining room table to eat a great meal. It’s a regular event around here — and one that sometimes includes deep fried turkey as the feast’s piece de resistance (i.e., main entrée).

So we end up cooking and serving turnkeys far more often than once a year. Perhaps after you taste how wonderfully moist and flavorful this turkey is, you’ll prepare it more than once a year too.

What You Will Need
You will need a turkey fryer, as the beginning requirement. I have seen these for sale at Costco, Home Depot, and BBQ stores. The other requirements are almost as essentials:

• A propane tank
• Candy thermometer (unless the fryer has one built in)
• A meat thermometer
• Gallons of oil
• Oven mitts and pot holders
• A fire extinguisher

As an additional safety precaution, make sure you have the phone number of the local fire department handy, should the worst-case scenario occur.

Where to Fry the Turkey
Never! I repeat NEVER attempt to deep-fry a turkey indoors. Not even inside a garage. Oil is flammable and especially dangerous in the large amounts that you will require.

Place the fryer on a level dirt or grassy area.

Don’t make any substitutions for your location. A deck can catch on fire and hot oil on concrete spreads everywhere. The same hot oil when spilled on dirt or grass, however, simply soaks into the ground.

Preparing to Deep Fry a Turkey
Peanut oil is usually the oil of choice, but any oil with a high smoke-point could be used. These include sunflower, safflower, and canola oils.

You first must determine how much oil you will need and then preheat the oil. You can do this in the following steps:

1. Put the turkey in the fryer basket and put the basket in the pot.
2. Add water until it reaches two inches above the turkey.
3. Remove the turkey and measure the distance between the surface of the water to the top of the pot. You will need to fill the fryer with oil to the level of the water.
4. Pour out the water and dry the pot thoroughly.
5. Dry the turkey thoroughly.
6. Fill the fryer with the oil to the depth you determined in step 3 above.
7. Heat the oil to around 365-375 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Watch the temperature with your candy thermometer or the one that came with your unit. This will take 45 minutes to an hour.

NOTE: If you don’t see the temperature going up, be suspicious. The first time my son fried a turkey, the temperature got stuck at 250 degrees. He had been heating the oil for about two hours before it finally occurred to him to check the thermometer. He shook it, put it back into the oil, and the temperature jumped to over 500 degrees. It took an hour for the oil to cool down sufficiently so that they could finally cook the turkey. It was a very late dinner. He was fortunate, however, that he didn’t cause a flash fire and end up as a note in one of the back sections of in the next day’s edition of the Contra Costa Times.

There are many ways to season your turkey. Some people inject a marinade, others, like myself, put seasonings under the skin. You can save time if you prepare the seasons while the oil is heating.

Garlic and Herb Deep Fried Turkey

Ingredients
10-12 pound turkey
1 cup fresh minced herbs (rosemary, parsley, tarragon, sage, thyme) I get mine at Shelly’s Garden on Chestnut Ave.
1/4 cup fresh garlic minced
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper.

Cooking the Turkey

1. Remove the giblets and neck; rinse the turkey well with cold water and pat dry inside and out.
2. Mix the herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper together. Gingerly separate the skin from the breast so as not to tear it and spread this mixture as thoroughly as possible.
3. Your oil should be hot at this point. You want it at 375 degrees.
4. Slowly lower the turkey into the oil. The level of the oil will rise because of the moisture from the turkey, but should quit popping after a minute.
5. (Safety tip: wear oven mitts, long sleeves, long pants, and even safety glasses. It’s also good to have two people raise and lower the turkey.)
6. Check the temperature and increase or decrease the flame so that the oil temperature remains within the 350-365 degrees range.
7. Fry the turkey about 3-4 minutes per pound. Stay with the cooker to maintain the temperature and keep the kids and pets away from it.
8. Check the turkey regularly with a meat thermometer. When the thermometer reads 170 degrees the breast or 180 on the thigh, carefully remove the turkey. Allow it to drain a couple of minutes and let it sit covered on a platter for 20-30 minutes before carving.
9. Allow the oil to cool completely before filtering and storing. Remember to keep the children and pets away while it’s cooling.

For a good wine pairing with this meal, I recommend a bottle of our Ca’na Chardonnay. Another eminently suitable match could be provided by a bottle of Pinot Noir. Lazy Creek, in Alexander Valley, is one of our favorites for this.

Saving Money
Because of the initial expense with the fryer and the oil, it’s a great idea to have a couple of family members or even neighbors go in together on the purchase. While the oil is hot, cook a couple of turkeys, one for now, one for later. Rotate eating time with the neighbors. I’m sure you’ll love how moist and flavorful this bird turns out.

You can reuse your oils if you filter them. You must do this especially if you have spices and herbs in the turkey. First you need to let the oil cool, then pour it through a fine strainer. Next you want to filter it through cheesecloth. The oil should then be covered and kept in a cool place. According to the Texas Peanut Producers Board,

Peanut oil may be used three or four times to fry turkeys before signs of deterioration begin. Such indications include foaming, darkening or smoking excessively, indicating the oil must be discarded. Other signs of deteriorated oil include a rancid small and/or failure to bubble when food is added.”

Remember, reusing three or four times doesn’t mean over three or four years.

Caveat
For those of you who have read my previous articles, I just want you to know that I do know the difference between Steamed Clams and Scallop Salad, even though I described the one and the editors stuck in pictures of the other. (I guess I’ll stop doing two of these things at once, from now on.)