Now you're talking Turkey!

[Pheidippides]

Or at least I hope so.

I am responsible for cooking one turkey for the thanksgiving get-together. I am not a poultry virgin by any means, but I am also not yet the Gene Simmons of turkey defilement.

I am currently debating the cooking method.

My normal approach is to use a savory brine of some sort the day before and then roast.

However, my next door neighbor regularly deep-fries his and is willing to do so for me too as long as I pitch in a few bucks for materials. Having never had a deep fried turkey (live in the south though I do), I am intrigued.

Downsides: I can't make gravy from a deep-fried turkey. I am also making mashed potatoes (the recipe is a secret, but it involves Pontiac Red potatoes (die, Russets!), heavy cream, garlic, parsley, butter, and Jarlsberg/sharp cheddar cheeses) and gravy is essential.

And nobody knows how to make good gravy these days except me, it seems. Seriously, folks, it's not that hard. Drippings plus cornstarch plus salt and pepper is all you really need. Just remember to mix the cornstarch with cold water before putting in the gravy and you won't get lumps.

And yet, every year, I'm subjected to this packet-based bituminous slime. So I will only consume my own.

My questions for you (YOhio, where are you) are these:

1. Should I deep fry and give up the potatoes and gravy?

2. If not, anybody got some good ideas for a brine? I am thinking something slightly spicy and cajun.

[TripletDaddy]

I am also making mashed potatoes (the recipe is a secret, but it involves Pontiac Red potatoes (die, Russets!), heavy cream, garlic, parsley, butter, and Jarlsberg/sharp cheddar cheeses)

more proof that we are from the same womb. seriously, it is uncanny. except we also toss in a hint of finely chopped onion and bacon. other than that, almost an identical recipe.

It works with the Yukon golds, as well, but I enjoy the reds a bit more.

[Pheidippides]

more proof that we are from the same womb. seriously, it is uncanny. except we also toss in a hint of finely chopped onion and bacon. other than that, almost an identical recipe.

It works with the Yukon golds, as well, but I enjoy the reds a bit more.

<adds bacon to shopping list>

I like the Yukon golds as well, but I have always thought the additional sugar and starch content of the Reds make them superior. I am biased, however, as we grew our own at home on the farm in large quantities.

New (that's a size, not an age, for the uninitiated) Reds boiled skin-on and drenched in parsley butter. Yum.

I cannot think of a worse potato in almost all respects than the Russet. Seriously, Idaho, you devote your entire economy to tubers and the best you can do is the Russet?

[CJF]

more proof that we are from the same womb. seriously, it is uncanny. except we also toss in a hint of finely chopped onion and bacon. other than that, almost an identical recipe.

It works with the Yukon golds, as well, but I enjoy the reds a bit more.

I have a very similar recipe also although I do swap cream with cream cheese about 50% of the time. Good stuff.

[Clark Addison]

1. Should I deep fry and give up the potatoes and gravy?

I would say no. Thanksgiving doesn't work without the gravy. How many people are you cooking for? Could you do two turkeys. I have been thinking about smoking a turkey this year. We are going to have about 15 in our house, so I'm just going to do two birds. One roasted in the traditional way, and one out in the smoker.

[TripletDaddy]

I have a very similar recipe also although I do swap cream with cream cheese about 50% of the time. Good stuff.

so do we, actually. the cream cheese approach makes a nice RICH mashed potato. delicious.

[CJF]

so do we, actually. the cream cheese approach makes a nice RICH mashed potato. delicious.

Exactly.

I'm thinking about smoking a small turkey this year. My mom will make the regular turkey with all the fixings and make the gravy. I'm thinking of adding a small smoked bird to add to it. And if it doesn't work, we still have the orginal version.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Deep fry the turkey you will not miss the gravy. The best turkey that I have ever had is a deep fried turkey.

[il Padrino Ute]

Deep fry the turkey you will not miss the gravy. The best turkey that I have ever had is a deep fried turkey.

Perhaps I have this entire Thanksgiving dinner thing wrong, but the gravy is not for the turkey, but the potatoes.

[Pheidippides]

I would say no. Thanksgiving doesn't work without the gravy. How many people are you cooking for? Could you do two turkeys. I have been thinking about smoking a turkey this year. We are going to have about 15 in our house, so I'm just going to do two birds. One roasted in the traditional way, and one out in the smoker.

See, here's the real catch: we are getting together with a few other families from our ward. Somebody is doing a turkey in addition to ours. Other folks have been assigned the potatoes and gravy - I just simply refuse to eat them. At some point, the housewives, would-be chefs and other food preparation denizens of my generation decided that they no longer cared about potatoes and gravy, so we get bland russets mashed with nary more than skim milk and gravy from a packet. Unacceptable, and I will not partake.

So I'm saying that the group doesn't get a fried turkey because I hate their cooking, if I decide to roast my own.

[cougjunkie]

I was at Walmart the other day, amazing how much a deep fried turkey can cost if you are doing your first one. 60-100 for the deep fryer. 45 for the peanut oil and then the cost of the turkey.

[Pheidippides]

Folks, problem solved! The missus is going to pick up a second, smaller turkey at the store today with the express purpose of deep frying it.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Folks, problem solved! The missus is going to pick up a second, smaller turkey at the store today with the express purpose of deep frying it.

No you have just created a new problem. You are going to have a small better tasting turkey. Deep fry the big turkey and roast the small one.

[Pheidippides]

No you have just created a new problem. You are going to have a small better tasting turkey. Deep fry the big turkey and roast the small one.

Having done my research on the matter, I am confident in saying I'd rather deep fry the smaller one. Larger ones, it appears, do not cook as evenly and are more difficult.

[TripletDaddy]

Can someone please talk me off the ledge? I was at cabelas yesterday buying a coat for my daughter. On my way out, I noticed a display table with a delish scent emanating from within. Turns out the guy was doing a deep fried turkey demo. After wading through several overweight hunters, we grabbed some samples and I was blown away at how incredibly delish the deep fried turkey tasted. It had been injected with this mesquite mumbo jumbo that only made me want to jump directly into the deep fryer to lick the sides for any residue that had not been consumed.

Fast forward to about an hour ago. I'm flipping across the channels and I come across an infomercial for the Butterball deep fryer. I have been watching it on a loop for an hour and I'm pretty convinced that this is Deity telling me that I must own and consume deep fried turkey as a recurring ritual. The infomercial shows how to use this thing to cook wings, chicken, and even donuts.

Does anyone else own a deep fryer for turkeys? And nik, did you wind up doing the deep fry for thanksgiving? I'm concerned about the gravy, as you mentioned.

This butterball fryer looks sweet. What brands or models do you recommend deep fryers?