Banish Bone-Dry Birds This Holiday Season: Deep Fry Your Turkey Instead

How many times have you sliced into a tasteless, bone-dry turkey wishing your fowl had not run afoul in the oven? This holiday season, try frying your bird instead.

(PRWEB) December 11, 2003 --How many times have you sliced into a tasteless, bone-dry turkey wishing your fowl had not run afoul in the oven? This holiday season, try frying your bird instead.

"Frying is one of the best ways to get a moist, delicious turkey in a really short period of time. The skin will be crispy, the meat will be juicy, and -- depending on how you marinate it-spicy," says David Lauterbach of BriansBelly.com, a web site that extols the joys of food and the men who eat and cook those dishes.

"Deep frying a turkey is not difficult, but like all good cooking endeavors it requires some hardware, preparation and care to do it right," says Lauterbach.

If you're just getting started, look to purchase a turkey fry kit that includes all the essentials: a large pot, burner, turkey stand, lift hook, fry thermometer, marinade injector and basket. The fry basket will turn that one-hit kit into a multi-tasking fryer you can use anytime. Pick an outdoor location away from buildings to set up your fry station; never do this indoors.

Turkey frying originated in New Orleans, so most chefs season the skin with a dry Cajun spice rub after injecting a garlic and butter marinade. The injection method shortens the amount of time needed to season the bird, and the process of applying dry rub -- aside from seasoning the skin--helps the marinade mingle with the meat.

A 15-pound turkey is about the maximum size bird you want to cook like this. Aside from being unwieldy, larger birds need more oil; and as fry time goes over an hour the skin could be overcooked. The average fry session requires about five gallons of peanut oil. Peanut oil is re-usable, healthy, tastes great and has a very high flash point -- meaning that it is the least likely to smoke or flame up if the oil gets much hotter than the recommended 350 degrees fahrenheit. Fry time is approximately 3-1/2 minutes per pound.

For a more detailed guide to deep frying turkeys, be sure to visit Brian's Belly ( http://www.briansbelly.com ).
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