Time to shift gears as we head into the holidays and turkeys across America remain on high alert lest they end up roasted or deep fried on millions of dinner tables. It’s a good thing our President will at least pardon the turkey. Do you suppose turkeys should set up an emergency alert system (Code Orange) for mass casualties? I should talk (write), huh? I’ve enjoyed many a turkey over the years!
About thirty years ago, enterprising Louisiana Cajuns decided to deep fry a turkey. Heck, if ya’ can fry catfish and chick’n, why not deep fry a whole turkey? News spread across the land and since the late nineties many Americans have switched from oven roasting to deep frying. Even churches set up a row of deep fryers to quickly prepare turkeys for families.
With all the praises sung about how much better a deep fried turkey tastes compared to the regular oven roasted kind and how much quicker it is to prepare, I decided to deep fry a turkey one year. Thanks to my STUFFology 101 Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter co-author and caregiver, Eric Riddle, who agreed to let me use his new deep fryer.
How to prepare a Deep Fried Turkey Caregivers Deserve
Caregivers deserve a break. And what better way to have a fun respite than to watch your friends, family, and/or neighbors deep fry a turkey.
Eric bought a turkey deep fryer years ago but never used it. Growing curious about all the rave reviews, I had to try it. Until then, I’ve prepared stuffing from scratch and followed the traditional oven-roasted method. After assembling it my husband and I bought enough peanut oil to supply a fast-food restaurant. I researched online to make sure the three families that would be joining us would enjoy a successful adventure. Failure was not an option. Everyone stepped in and I shot 14 short (mostly less than one-minute) videos from preparing the turkey (cleaning and brining) to measuring the oil and safely frying and removing the turkey for an enjoyable feast that would make any turkey proud… uh, maybe NOT!
After all the effort we went through, we agreed that if we’re going to do this again, it’s better to have more than just one turkey to fry as it’s a lot of oil to send to the recycler after one use.
The results?
Yes, it is quicker. Yes, the taste is equal to roasted turkey. For those of us who loved stuffed turkeys, we’ll have to alternate with oven-roasted. Yes, it’s a fun change of pace.
Be sure to share your adventure with deep frying a turkey, below.
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