Now you're talking Turkey!

[FN Phat]

My dad was frying a turkey a few years back. He didn't have enough peanut oil when he put the bird in, so he topped it off with canola or vegetable oil. He starts blowing leaves while the bird is cooking and then boom! Flames shoot out the top of the fryer 20' high. My dad at the time was between our deck, the fryer, and our home so he was kind of pinned in by the fire. He was screaming help. The neighbors called the fire department even though my dad was able to get it under control. In fact, my dad was back to blowing leaves the time they showed up. The only evidence of the fire was melted siding on the house.

When he lifted the lid to check on the bird, the oxygen hitting the hot oil is what caused the tower of flames.

[Surfah]

When he lifted the lid to check on the bird, the oxygen hitting the hot oil is what caused the tower of flames.

Yeah. That's what it was. I love hearing that story. I wish I was there, only to hear my dad screaming.

DDD, if you want to get adventurous, make a trash can turkey.

[TripletDaddy]

Yeah. That's what it was. I love hearing that story. I wish I was there, only to hear my dad screaming.

DDD, if you want to get adventurous, make a trash can turkey.

As delish as it sounds to use a trash can as cookware, I will probably focus my efforts on the traditional deep fryer.

I think I have been sufficiently persuaded to avoid indoor turkey fryers, safety ratings notwithstanding. So now my dilemma is whether I want to bother with cooking something on my lawn.

For those that watched the Alton Brown video, he raised a good point. Do you just lean over the fryer and slowly put the turkey inside? Seems somewhat dangerous. Dd you invent your own contraption to lower the turkey?

Also, how do you ensure the turkey is completely dry after brining? Just use the towel to pat it down?

I think this could be fun. For the outdoor turkey fry enthusiasts (as well as low boils or whatever they are called), what brand fryer are you using?

[Pheidippides]

As delish as it sounds to use a trash can as cookware, I will probably focus my efforts on the traditional deep fryer.

I think I have been sufficiently persuaded to avoid indoor turkey fryers, safety ratings notwithstanding. So now my dilemma is whether I want to bother with cooking something on my lawn.

For those that watched the Alton Brown video, he raised a good point. Do you just lean over the fryer and slowly put the turkey inside? Seems somewhat dangerous. Dd you invent your own contraption to lower the turkey?

Also, how do you ensure the turkey is completely dry after brining? Just use the towel to pat it down?

I think this could be fun. For the outdoor turkey fry enthusiasts (as well as low boils or whatever they are called), what brand fryer are you using?

Generic brand whatever fryer. Seriously, the gear is not complicated. Propane tank. Burner. Pot, thermometer, turkey stand, hook, lid. You are done. Make sure the base is sturdy, but otherwise any old setup should work.

I do not stand over the oil when I put my turkey in. I wear heavy gloves and slowly lower the triangular hook thing that attaches the rack with my arms extended. Lower slowly to reduce risk. You could lower with two people using a long rod, but I don't bother.

I do sit and watch for the entire cooking time. And no children are allowed in the back yard when I cook.

I do pat the turkey down when I fry, but that's not a huge deal. The turkey will have moisture in it no matter what - you want that. Make sure the cavity is clear of liquid you can see and make triple sure it is 100% thawed. No exceptions. Anybody who has worked short order cook as a teenager has has the experience of somebody tossing an ice cube in the fryer. Frozen birds are like that, only with much more ice flashing to steam and an open flame to catch the atomized oil particles.

[kccougar]

As delish as it sounds to use a trash can as cookware, I will probably focus my efforts on the traditional deep fryer.

I think I have been sufficiently persuaded to avoid indoor turkey fryers, safety ratings notwithstanding. So now my dilemma is whether I want to bother with cooking something on my lawn.

For those that watched the Alton Brown video, he raised a good point. Do you just lean over the fryer and slowly put the turkey inside? Seems somewhat dangerous. Dd you invent your own contraption to lower the turkey?

Also, how do you ensure the turkey is completely dry after brining? Just use the towel to pat it down?

I think this could be fun. For the outdoor turkey fry enthusiasts (as well as low boils or whatever they are called), what brand fryer are you using?

Watch for splatter. We did this once with ward friends in St. Louis where we had Thanksgiving dinner at our church building. We fried the turkey outside on the lawn and everything went well - until spring when I noticed a perfect circle of dead grass in the spot where we had set up the fryer.

I just can't get behind fried turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. It does taste good, but there is a fatal flaw - no gravy. There is no Thanksgiving dinner without gravy.

[YOUTUBE]BmtEI9NWuz0[/YOUTUBE]

[wuapinmon]

You should get an apron like this so your neighbors will know where you stand in the "real men" debates.

http://www.absolutesocks.com/frytufunap.html

[TripletDaddy]

Generic brand whatever fryer. Seriously, the gear is not complicated. Propane tank. Burner. Pot, thermometer, turkey stand, hook, lid. You are done. Make sure the base is sturdy, but otherwise any old setup should work.

I do not stand over the oil when I put my turkey in. I wear heavy gloves and slowly lower the triangular hook thing that attaches the rack with my arms extended. Lower slowly to reduce risk. You could lower with two people using a long rod, but I don't bother.

I do sit and watch for the entire cooking time. And no children are allowed in the back yard when I cook.

I do pat the turkey down when I fry, but that's not a huge deal. The turkey will have moisture in it no matter what - you want that. Make sure the cavity is clear of liquid you can see and make triple sure it is 100% thawed. No exceptions. Anybody who has worked short order cook as a teenager has has the experience of somebody tossing an ice cube in the fryer. Frozen birds are like that, only with much more ice flashing to steam and an open flame to catch the atomized oil particles.

What is your take on AB's brine recipe? Do you normally use the ice to brine the bird? What size bird are you using (14lbs or 20+lbs?)

Did you experience the dead grass like kccougar indicated? I don't want to kill the grass. Is there something I can lay down other than a 5 x 5 piece of tin foil?

Also, did it take a bit of practice or was it pretty simple from the get go? It looks terribly easy but that is when things usually go wrong.

I think I want to try this. I guess one other thing to have on hand is an extinguisher.

[Pheidippides]

What is your take on AB's brine recipe? Do you normally use the ice to brine the bird? What size bird are you using (14lbs or 20+lbs?)

Did you experience the dead grass like kccougar indicated? I don't want to kill the grass. Is there something I can lay down other than a 5 x 5 piece of tin foil?

Also, did it take a bit of practice or was it pretty simple from the get go? It looks terribly easy but that is when things usually go wrong.

I think I want to try this. I guess one other thing to have on hand is an extinguisher.

For frying, I try to use 12 pound birds. Reduces the amount of oil and danger of splashing. I do the same for roasting too, actually, as I get better results with smaller birds (although note that I have roasted a 21 pounder with decent results; my mom did a 30 pounder growing up but we raised it ourself).

I don't usually brine fryer birds (I inject all sorts of stuff instead; there are many commercially-produced injections that are awesome, with my fav being Cajun butter) but when I do brine I use some variation on AB's theme and method. I did one with orange zest and ginger and honey and a number of other things last year that was awesome.

I don't fry on grass - I have a patio big enough to stay away from the house. This is key for a stable base - it reduces my worry factor. I always have a fire extinguisher handy, especially after the cognac peppercorn sauce I made for some steaks a while ago that nearly burned down my kitchen.

[TripletDaddy]

ok, im going to give it a go. At least do some research on fryers and see how much the setup will cost. I'm not ready to stake Thanksgiving dinner on it just yet but might be fun to try on the side.

Another AB point that has stuck with me....grease on concrete is tough to clean. That has me leaning towards a grass fry. I'd rather have some dead grass for a little bit than a big grease spot forever.

[wuapinmon]

ok, im going to give it a go. At least do some research on fryers and see how much the setup will cost. I'm not ready to stake Thanksgiving dinner on it just yet but might be fun to try on the side.

Another AB point that has stuck with me....grease on concrete is tough to clean. That has me leaning towards a grass fry. I'd rather have some dead grass for a little bit than a big grease spot forever.

If there's a Harbor Freight nearby, you can get a cheap tarp that will prevent the grease from staining. Just be sure to secure it with something like duct tape so no one trips.

[cougjunkie]

ok, im going to give it a go. At least do some research on fryers and see how much the setup will cost. I'm not ready to stake Thanksgiving dinner on it just yet but might be fun to try on the side.

Another AB point that has stuck with me....grease on concrete is tough to clean. That has me leaning towards a grass fry. I'd rather have some dead grass for a little bit than a big grease spot forever.

I have been wanting to try this for awhile as well. Let me know how it goes if you live.

[CJF]

About 20 minutes ago my son stole the remote and changed the channel. He thought that was hilarious. He changed to the Butterball infomercial and now I'm really interested in trying this indoor fryer. The honey glazed pecan fried turkey looks amazing. And I don't love turkey.

[TripletDaddy]

About 20 minutes ago my son stole the remote and changed the channel. He thought that was hilarious. He changed to the Butterball infomercial and now I'm really interested in trying this indoor fryer. The honey glazed pecan fried turkey looks amazing. And I don't love turkey.

That is a persuasive infomercial!

That pecan honey turkey looked ridiculous. Seriously, I was ready to buy the fryer right then.

I can also go for cooking 2 lbs of wings all at once, done in 10 minutes.

I'm concerned about burning the house down, though.

[hostile]

ok, im going to give it a go. At least do some research on fryers and see how much the setup will cost. I'm not ready to stake Thanksgiving dinner on it just yet but might be fun to try on the side.

Another AB point that has stuck with me.... That has me leaning towards a grass fry. I'd rather have some dead grass for a little bit than a big grease spot forever.

For dutch oven cooking, I went to Home Depot and bought 4 concrete paving stones ($1.29) each. You could probably do the same on grass, just make sure the pavers are stable and flat. If they get grease on them, so what?

We did a fried turkey at my BIL's cattle ranch a few years ago. Really easy to set up and very tasty. We're going to Cody for Thanksgiving this year - I wonder if he's planning on frying again?

[TripletDaddy]

For dutch oven cooking, I went to Home Depot and bought 4 concrete paving stones ($1.29) each. You could probably do the same on grass, just make sure the pavers are stable and flat. If they get grease on them, so what?

We did a fried turkey at my BIL's cattle ranch a few years ago. Really easy to set up and very tasty. We're going to Cody for Thanksgiving this year - I wonder if he's planning on frying again?

Great idea. Also added benefit of being fire resistant in the event somethihing did go down.