Turkey Fryers ... Outdoor Oil/Propane vs Inside Electric

[JAB]

Hmmm, I do really enjoy spicy/Cajun type foods. I usually create my own, home-made brines, injections, marinades and rubs but you'uns have me wondering what it might be like if I injected a turkey with that Creole butter, rubbed it with Tony Chacherees and then put it on the smoker. I don't see how it could be [i]bad[/i].

[quote name='Jasongar8' timestamp='1352340729' post='841562']
We smoke 3-4 turkeys every Thanksgiving. We also use an "oil less fryer" too. No matter how you cook them, the key is to brine overnight before you cook.
[/quote]

Not to go too far off topic but since I think/hope the OP's question is mostly answered...

As I said, I usually just do a turkey breast on the smoker (and, yeah, brining before hand is key.) This year, I don't know if I will do a turkey breast for Thanksgiving or not since I am probably going to smoke a venison hind quarter roast (in a braising liquid.) I am thinking about doing a few turkey legs, though. I normally don't like the legs but recently had one from a food vendor at the Foothills Fall Festival that was great. I think they must have used curing salts in their brine and the resulting smoked turkey legs were more like ham. In fact, had someone just given me some of the meat off the bone I would have thought it was ham. Tasted like ham, had the texture of ham and even looked like ham. To tell the truth, I am not always the biggest fan of ham (except for fried, country ham) and I almost think I might have liked those turkey legs better than ham. I'm wanting to try my hand at that, now. Edited November 8, 2012 by JAB

[xRUSTYx]

Well ...

I picked up all my supplies today!

(1) Turkey Fryer - $75
(4) Gallons of Peanut Oil - $50 (last 4 gallons at Walmart)
(3) 16oz Bottles of Creole Butter! Only $3.50/each with Injector at Walmart. They only had 3 left, and I bought them all!

All in all, spent close to $150 ... Hope its worth it!

I did have a question for people! Those that use the peanut oil ... I'm assuming I can rebottle, and use next year right? or would the oil not be good 12 months from now?

Lastly ... Outside of the Creole Butter -- Anyone use any special type of "Rub" ? Edited November 21, 2012 by xRUSTYx

[TripleDigitRide]

[quote name='xRUSTYx' timestamp='1353458493' post='848968']Well ...

I picked up all my supplies today!

(1) Turkey Fryer - $75
(4) Gallons of Peanut Oil - $50 (last 4 gallons at Walmart)
(3) 16oz Bottles of Creole Butter! Only $3.50/each with Injector at Walmart. They only had 3 left, and I bought them all!

All in all, spent close to $150 ... Hope its worth it!

I did have a question for people! Those that use the peanut oil ... I'm assuming I can rebottle, and use next year right? or would the oil not be good 12 months from now?

Lastly ... Outside of the Creole Butter -- Anyone use any special type of "Rub" ?[/quote]

I fry turkeys a few times a year, so I've never kept the oil for a full year. I use the same oil for three turkeys. After each use, I use a funnel lined with a few layers of cheese cloth when pouring it back into the jug. The oil will last longer is stored in the dark. I usually just put the jug back into the box it came in.

I use Tony Chacheree rub. I do my best to get as much under the skin as I can.

[xRUSTYx]

Thanks TDR!

How do you know whether or not Peanut Oil goes "Bad"?

I bought 1 of those (3) Gallon jugs and 1 (1) Gallon jug. We plan to cook a 10-12 lbs Turkey. I've looked online, but results are inconclusive. From what I have seen, 1 Gallon should cover about 3.5 lbs worth of bird. So, I should be good with just the (3) Gallon Jug but bought an extra just in case. In your experience, how much Peanut Oil do you use?

Thanks for the info on the rub! I'll research now!

[runco]

I quit frying a few years ago, but I re-used the peanut oil for many years. Just filter it to catch all those bits and pieces. I still have close to 2 gallons, would use again if wanted to risk it. Edited November 21, 2012 by Runco

[TripleDigitRide]

[quote name='xRUSTYx' timestamp='1353459692' post='848972']Thanks TDR!

How do you know whether or not Peanut Oil goes "Bad"?

I bought 1 of those (3) Gallon jugs and 1 (1) Gallon jug. We plan to cook a 10-12 lbs Turkey. I've looked online, but results are inconclusive. From what I have seen, 1 Gallon should cover about 3.5 lbs worth of bird. So, I should be good with just the (3) Gallon Jug but bought an extra just in case. In your experience, how much Peanut Oil do you use?

Thanks for the info on the rub! I'll research now![/quote]

Based on the research I've done, it should be good for about 6 months or so after being used. I use mine within that time frame, so I can't say how you'd know if it's gone bad.

I usually fry a 14-15 pound bird, and 3 gallons has always been enough. If you put it back in the jug, you'll lose some, so keep that 1 gallon bottle to make up the difference next time.

[TripleDigitRide]

You should be able to get the rub at Kroger or Wal-Mart.

[Guest Aces&8s]

[quote name='Mark A' timestamp='1352347165' post='841630']I used to deep fry my birds. Good flavor, quick, frees up oven space.

Then I tried a big easy cooker. Much easier to use, safer and I don't have to filter oil. The turkey fryer does a mean shrimp boil...[/quote]

I have been looking at the Big Easy, Mark... it gets good reviews. Did you go with the electric or propane version, and what is the cook time like compared to an oil fryer?

Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk 2

[Lumber_Jack]

My mother-in-law just bought an indoor electric turkey fryer....we'll see how this goes.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Lived in new orleans a couple of years as a kid. Loved the food but don't recall hearing of turducken back then, only read about it the last few years. Couple of new orleans style restaurants in the area now, but never ate at em. Might call and see if any of em have turducken, just to see what it tastes like.

[url="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken"]http://en.m.wikipedi.../wiki/Turducken[/url]

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Strain the oil and put it in a fridge and it will last a lot longer. Probably a couple years.

I know it sounds perverted, but I feel more comfortable with all that oil on top of a flame outside than all that oil
on electricity. Must be the one or two times I've seen grease fires. I had one episode with the oil that really
concerned me, but that was because I didn't drain the bird well enough before putting him in the grease.

I'm sold on deep frying turkeys. A few years ago I thought I would never say that.

[Shug]

Guess I'll chime in now. I have both an electric and a gas cooker. The electric is easier to mantain temp. I use them both outside, it depends on the weather which I use. Yes you can reuse the oil. Filter it good and store it in a cool place. I've found that after I remove the bird I toss in a cut up potato, it cleans the oil. If the oil is a peanut blend I use it twice. Full peanut I use three times. Alot of times I save enough to cook fish in. One of the main things is not to get into a rush. I inject and rub the turkey at least one day early. Also take it out of the fridge a couple or hours before time to cook it. These are just somethings that I've learned....Lately I've been considering a Char-Broil Big Easy infrared cooker. Got a buddy that loves his, he says no more oil for him Edited November 21, 2012 by Shug

[Shug]

Another reason to cook them outside beside burning your house down, is you don't have that cooked grease smell all over your house for days. If you have never cooked one or been around someone that is cooking one go check out Deep frying turkeys on You tube. You will learn to respect it quick

[Guest 6.8 AR]

My first attempt was a Bloomin' Onion and in a small pan of grease on the stove. Boy, I got that wrong!
You need a lot of hot oil. I perfected it later, after I got a turkey fryer. I love those better than turkey.

[JAB]

Well, xRUSTYx, did you try it? If so, how did it work out?

[xRUSTYx]

Hey JAB,

Yup -- We tried it and it was a huge success.

We injected & rubbed the Turkey the day before. Used a whole 16oz jar of the Cajun Marinade -- Next time around, I'll probably only use 8oz.

Otherwise ... We cooked the turkey till it was 145F at the deepest part of the breast, and she was good to go. Roughly 2.75/3 minutes per lb

[JAB]

Awesome! Glad it worked out well.

I tried something different, as well. I was inspired by a smoked turkey leg that I had in Maryville at the Foothills Fall Festival recently. Now, I normally don't like dark meat turkey or chicken but these had apparently been 'cured' and smoked and they were delicious. Tasted more like the best ham I had ever eaten than dark meat turkey.

Well, I got ahold of some Morton Tender Quick cure and a recipe from the 'net - 1 cup of Tender Quick, one gallon of water and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. I gave it my own twist by adding a little molasses, some anaheim pepper powder (ground, dried anaheims that I home grew) and a few, other spices. Let 5 turkey legs (they cost me roughly $1 apiece at UGO) brine in the mixture for about 24 hours, poured the brine off and let it sit in the fridge for another couple of hours so any excess could drain off then put them on the smoker for about six hours. Turned out great! I'm having one of them for lunch, today.

I also smoked a venison hind quarter (in a braising liquid) and it turned out great, as well. In fact, leftovers from that are getting made into stew for supper. Edited November 26, 2012 by JAB

[TripleDigitRide]

Congrats! I fried two over the weekend. I use two bottles of creole butter per turkey. Not sure how many ounces see bottle.

[xRUSTYx]

[quote name='JAB' timestamp='1353961059' post='850914']
Awesome! Glad it worked out well.

I tried something different, as well. I was inspired by a smoked turkey leg that I had in Maryville at the Foothills Fall Festival recently. Now, I normally don't like dark meat turkey or chicken but these had apparently been 'cured' and smoked and they were delicious. Tasted more like the best ham I had ever eaten than dark meat turkey.

Well, I got ahold of some Morton Tender Quick cure and a recipe from the 'net - 1 cup of Tender Quick, one gallon of water and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. I gave it my own twist by adding a little molasses, some anaheim pepper powder (ground, dried anaheims that I home grew) and a few, other spices. Let 5 turkey legs (they cost me roughly $1 apiece at UGO) brine in the mixture for about 24 hours, poured the brine off and let it sit in the fridge for another couple of hours so any excess could drain off then put them on the smoker for about six hours. Turned out great! I'm having one of them for lunch, today.

I also smoked a venison hind quarter (in a braising liquid) and it turned out great, as well. In fact, leftovers from that are getting made into stew for supper.
[/quote]

Interesting!!! May have to try this next!

I've never been a good cook, but cooking meat, I'm pretty good at! I also seem to enjoy it for some reason! LOL ... Something about patience + a couple beers while cooking it makes me happy

[quote name='TripleDigitRide' timestamp='1353962076' post='850925']
Congrats! I fried two over the weekend. I use two bottles of creole butter per turkey. Not sure how many ounces see bottle.
[/quote]

Thanks TDR! 1 jar was too much for mine it seemed. It was literally pouring out! Not sure how you get 2 jars full in! I'm gonna try half next time!

[TripleDigitRide]

[quote name='xRUSTYx' timestamp='1353962497' post='850928']

Interesting!!! May have to try this next!

I've never been a good cook, but cooking meat, I'm pretty good at! I also seem to enjoy it for some reason! LOL ... Something about patience + a couple beers while cooking it makes me happy



Thanks TDR! 1 jar was too much for mine it seemed. It was literally pouring out! Not sure how you get 2 jars full in! I'm gonna try half next time![/quote]

Pouring out of where?

[RED333]

Congrats Rusty!!!
Yep we did 2 for Thanksgiving, my Brother and is family had never had it, loved it.