The acceptance and popularity of deep fried turkey has grown quite a bit over the last decade. While some people may think it can be messy or hazardous, if you read the instruction manual and stick to the guidelines, it should be simple. You can even cook your turkey while enjoying a beer and chatting about football.

A crispy and delicious deep fried turkey is certainly worth the prep time and makes an excellent addition to your holiday, or even a regular day, menu.

How to deep fry a turkey:

To start with, besides a turkey deep fryer, you’ll need a completely defrosted turkey and a couple of gallons of oil. Some good quality choices for oil are canola and vegetable oil. However, the best one to use is peanut oil.

Make certain to truss the turkey. All that means is that you need to fasten the legs, neck flap, wings and tail to the carcass of the turkey. You can sew them with a big needle and some twine, or use metal skewers. Always buy a turkey that doesn’t contain any type of thermometer or pop-out device. Something like that would dissolve in the oil – not a good thing.

How much oil do you need?

To ascertain the volume of oil you’ll need, put the turkey in the pot and add water to cover the turkey and a couple of inches more. You should still have a couple of inches from the water to the top of the pot. If there isn’t any space left, you’re going to need a larger pot – or a smaller turkey. Remove the turkey and measure the amount of water. That’s the volume of oil you’ll need to fry your turkey.

Now make sure that your turkey is completely dry. Then you can spice it however you like. You can add any seasonings you fancy.

Preparing the turkey deep fryer

You also need to make certain that the deep-frying pot is perfectly dry. To do this you can place the pot on your stove top and heat it prior to taking it outside to your outdoor deep fryer’s heating source.

Now that the pot is entirely dry, add the oil then bring the temperature up to approximately 375 or 400 degrees. It may fluctuate a bit depending on the external temperature and climate. It’s a good idea to cook in a covered but well ventilated space. As long as you are safeguarded from a stormy or snowy day, it ought to be a pleasant cooking experience.

Adding the turkey to the oil

Now, here’s where it can get a bit difficult. Remember, the turkey needs to be dry and it should be at room temperature.

Be sure to turn off the burner as soon as you’re ready to put the turkey in. You’ll be lowering the turkey into extremely hot oil and it will splash to some extent. It’s a good plan to be wearing some first-rate cooking gloves. Remember to lower the bird very, very gradually into the hot oil to minimize any splashing.

As you lower your turkey into the hot oil it will invariably boil and bubble up. That is why it’s such a good idea to turn off the burner or heat source while lowering the turkey. Just make certain that the oil does not overflow the cooking pot.

Cooking time

As soon as the turkey is safely sitting in the oil, turn the burner back on to obtain a temperature of 350 degrees.

Awesome job! Now you can go take a break. But don’t roam too far away since the turkey won’t take very long. A deep fried turkey cooks at a rate of about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes per pound. That means that a ten pound turkey will just take about 30-35 minutes.

Employ a thermometer to test the turkey for doneness. A completely cooked turkey should have an internal temperature of about 160 to 165 degrees. The ideal place to test is between the thigh area. Be sure not to hit any bone so you’re getting an accurate reading.

Removing the turkey from the oil

Prior to removing the turkey from the deep fryer oil, once again turn off the burner. Remove it very, very gradually so you don’t splatter any of the oil on yourself. Allow the turkey drain a little bit on some paper towel then let it rest for 15 or 20 minutes.

That’s it – just carve and savor a crispy and mouthwatering deep fried turkey.