BeerBorg

I only know one person who deep fries the bird. I live in the Northeast .
Maybe it's more of a southern thing.
When I get my new burner I might give it a try.

I've never deep fried that bird. I will deep fry French fries, fish, onion rings... and a few other things...depending on how close to the fryer it was when I bumped it..
I like to slow oven cook mine. comes out juicy.

I used to deep fry it. I love em. Now I grill them indirect on the smoker. They are good either way. The only drawback I know of deep frying is that you are limited on size. If it's too big it displaces too much oil....which could be disastrous.

I have not, but I have tasted a bird that was deep fried. It was purty darn good! I should try it myself some day.

I used to deep fry birds and they are really good that way, but the oil is expensive and you have to be careful and make sure the bird is completely thawed out or you can have a big problem. I use my turkey fryer burner for making beer now and I've been doing chicken all last summer on my smoker and I love poultry slow-cooked on a smoker. Have not tried a turkey yet in the smoker, but am going to do around a 10 pounder for Thanksgiving stuffed with apple slices. The wife will cook a bigger one in the oven, we'll see which one gets ate up the fastest.

I've done a couple, came out great. Some tips...

Make sure it is totally thawed. Hot oil and water(ice) don't mix. It will foam over, and flame up. Look on utube, they have some impressive fires.... don't start an impressive utube fire...

Fill the pot with water, insert bird, and make sure the water line is 3" at least from the top. There will be turbulence when you drop the turkey in... don't start an impressive utube fire...

Pull turkey out and mark the water line. This is where you will want the oil line to be. Any higher, you may get overflow when you drop in the bird....Don't start an impressive utube fire...

Brine for at least 1 day. Flavor will be inserted in the meat... great stuff...

Dry the bird, inside and out. Don't use paper towels, they will work, but they also fall apart...

Season the bird with dry rub of choice. Don't skimp. it will make a very flavorful crispy skin that everyone will talk about for years...

Take the bird out of the fridge at least 2 hours before deep frying. Don't worry about bacteria, it won't survive the hot oil...

Set up fryer on a stable area. A drive way is fine, a carport is not... don't start an impressive utube fire...

-Heat the oil to 390 - 400 degrees. The temp of the bird, and it's mass will lower the temp, you want to eventually be at no less than 350* or it will be greasy, no more than 375*, or it will burn outside before inside is fully done...

Lower the bird slowly... really slow as to not splash or boil over.... don't start an impressive utube fire...

If I remember correctly, but you'll want to check, you can cook a 20ish lb. bird in about 40ish minutes...

Slowly remove the bird.... let the oil drain from the cavity, spilling back into the pot... don't start an impressive utube fire...

I smoke my turkey in an Orion Cooker. Decent turkey, fantastic ribs. http://www.theorioncooker.com/

Good post mtsoxfan, you have it covered, I would like to add if you do brine a quick rinse with cold water is a good thing before you pat it dry. Just gets rid of some of the excess salt. I brine all my chickens, I don't like dry meat.
Edit: I would recommend doing a brine and not that hard but the results are very good.

mtsoxfan wrote:I've done a couple, came out great. Some tips...

Make sure it is totally thawed. Hot oil and water(ice) don't mix. It will foam over, and flame up. Look on utube, they have some impressive fires.... don't start an impressive utube fire...

Fill the pot with water, insert bird, and make sure the water line is 3" at least from the top. There will be turbulence when you drop the turkey in... don't start an impressive utube fire...

Pull turkey out and mark the water line. This is where you will want the oil line to be. Any higher, you may get overflow when you drop in the bird....Don't start an impressive utube fire...

Brine for at least 1 day. Flavor will be inserted in the meat... great stuff...

Dry the bird, inside and out. Don't use paper towels, they will work, but they also fall apart...

Season the bird with dry rub of choice. Don't skimp. it will make a very flavorful crispy skin that everyone will talk about for years...

Take the bird out of the fridge at least 2 hours before deep frying. Don't worry about bacteria, it won't survive the hot oil...

Set up fryer on a stable area. A drive way is fine, a carport is not... don't start an impressive utube fire...

-Heat the oil to 390 - 400 degrees. The temp of the bird, and it's mass will lower the temp, you want to eventually be at no less than 350* or it will be greasy, no more than 375*, or it will burn outside before inside is fully done...

Lower the bird slowly... really slow as to not splash or boil over.... don't start an impressive utube fire...

If I remember correctly, but you'll want to check, you can cook a 20ish lb. bird in about 40ish minutes...

Slowly remove the bird.... let the oil drain from the cavity, spilling back into the pot... don't start an impressive utube fire...

That is pretty much how my friend makes it for their big family get together. The deep fried turkey is made early in the morning and around noon the family shows up and starts cooking the regular thanksgiving meal. While the regular meal is being made the fried turkey is snacked upon.

I still think the fried turkey is way better than the roasted turkey.

I've tasted several fried turkeys and I love them a whole lot. Would love to do them myself at home, but I almost never deep fry anything else, so I'm thinking I'd waste a boat load of oil. If I ever get a turkey fryer setup with burner and pot, it would double up as brew pot, so that would be cool.

One thing I will add to the directions posted above. Turn the burner off right before you slowly lower the gobbler into the oil. This way, if there is any boil over, it will not boil over onto an open flame and cause the utube fire. Once it's in the pot completely and the oil is stable, relight the fire.

This step is not necessary, but it's just a good safety tip.

BD.... unless you have plenty of headroom, I'd say that is a necesary step... good catch....

I have not Deep Fried a turkey but like many others here i smoke my birds and they come out delicous. I have hd fried turkey and it is ok but i prefer it smoked.

I did it once and it was great! However my fryer has been repurposed as a brew pot soooo...

BlackDuck wrote:One thing I will add to the directions posted above. Turn the burner off right before you slowly lower the gobbler into the oil. This way, if there is any boil over, it will not boil over onto an open flame and cause the utube fire. Once it's in the pot completely and the oil is stable, relight the fire.

This step is not necessary, but it's just a good safety tip.

Wow, that is about the smartest tip I've read for using one of these things! Thank-you loads, seriously!