Fried Turkey Texas BBQ Style

Fried Turkey

In the south and spreading all over the country and we must give credit for this to the Cajuns in Louisiana, we have begun to enjoy fried turkeys. Personally speaking, my family may like this best of all the ways to cook turkey. To fry a turkey you will need some special equipment. The initial investment in the equipment can costs up to 75 to 100 dollars but you can always use the gas cooker to cook fish and chicken later. Or heck you might even want to try your hand at boiling some crawfish when they come back in season. Or another option is to get several neighbors together to split the costs of the equipment and oil.

What you will need:

1 - 10 pound turkey (big turkeys will not fit in the cooking pot)

Approximately 5 oz. of your favorite Cajun seasoning or Texas Grilling Magic™

1 - meat injector

Injector spice (or make your own, see below)

Usually 4 to 5 gallons of peanut oil

You should never fry a turkey inside the house or even inside the garage. The high temperature cooker you will be using is extremely dangerous is the oil spills out of the pot and starts a fire. So give yourself plenty of space in the open before you fry the turkey.

First, you will need to measure how much peanut oil you will need to put into your cooking pot. The way to do this is to place the turkey in the pot and then fill the pot with water and cover the turkey completely plus 1 inch over the top of the turkey. Remove the turkey and make a mark or measure the pot to see how full the pot should be filled with peanut oil. Pour out the water and completely dry the inside of the cooking pot before adding the peanut oil. Fill the cooking pot with the appropriate amount of peanut oil and place on the high temperature burner. (Remember get out of the house or garage, get in the open air to do this in case there is a fire) Turn on the gas burner to get the temperature of the oil up to 350 degrees. This can take up to 45 minutes so please plan accordingly.

While the peanut oil is heating up (or you can do this step the night before) prepare the turkey for frying. Make sure the turkey is completely dry. You may wish to inject the turkey with a marinade or spice of your choice. There are several flavors in the market. Or you can make your own injection flavoring with melted butter and a couple of ounces of Texas Grilling Magic™. Just melt one pound of butter in a sauce pan and add Texas Grilling Magic™ to the melted butter and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Continue to cook and mix together. Be careful not to burn the mixture. For best results pour the Texas Grilling Magic turkey marinade thru some cheesecloth to remove any of the large particles in the mix as these can mess up your injection needle. Place in the meat injector and inject the turkey in several places. Don't be shy with the marinade. If your turkey cooker is not outfitted with the turkey stand you will need to run a wire hanger thru the neck area of the turkey so you can remove the turkey from the pot when it has cooked.

Cover the turkey with a liberal amount of Texas Grilling Magic™ and when the temperature of the peanut oil gets to 350 degrees you will be ready to take your turkey and place it in the hot peanut oil.

TIP: First turn off the gas to the burner this will keep you from having a fire incase the peanut oil spills over on the burner.

TIP: Wear good grease and heat resistant gloves to protect your hands from the splashing hot peanut oil and keep your feet away from the cooker. You should also wear clothing that is not baggy so it does not catch fire.

TIP: Lower the turkey very gently into the peanut oil. It will take a couple of minutes to completely submerge the turkey into the hot oil as the oil will boil vigorously as you lower the turkey down. You may have to lower the turkey down a few inches in the oil and then let the oil settle down a bit and then lower more of the turkey down in the oil a bit more until the turkey is submerged in the boiling oil. If your cooker has a basket put the turkey in the basket and lower into the oil very gently. Please be careful and never drop the turkey into the hot oil. You should put neck end (big cavity of the bird) of the turkey into the oil first and lower down with the butt area and legs facing up in the pot.

Light the fire back under the pot and let the turkey cook.

Cooking times for frying a turkey are fairly fast. You can count on 3 ½ to 4 ½ minutes per pound of turkey. So a 10-pound turkey will need to cook for at least 35 to 45 minutes. Remove turkey and apply melted butter and seasoning (Texas Grilling Magic™) to the outside of the turkey while it is still hot. Serve hot.

THANKS to my good friend Dean Clinton and the folks from Texas BBQ

Bill Cannon bill@texasbbqrub.com

http://www.texasbbqrub.com/shopping.html

BBQ Made Simple

Real Texas BBQ Rub, Inc.

157 FM 359 Rd

Richmond, Texas 77406

Phone - 281-344-1076

Cowgill Net Jeffrey Cowgill 2010 Contact