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How To Deep Fry a Turkey

Learn how to Deep Fry a Turkey with our simple recipe. Make a Deep Fried Turkey for your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and wow your family and friends with our juicy and tender it turns out.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword deep fried turkey, fried turkey, how to deep fry a turkey, thanksgiving, turkey
Prep Time 1 day
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 10
Author AJ Maudsley

Ingredients

  • 1 15-18 lb Turkey
  • 4 Tbs Kosher Salt
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
  • 3-4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme (leaves stripped & finely
  • chopped)
  • 1-2 Springs Fresh Rosemary leaves stripped & finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
  • 3-4 Gallons Peanut Oil

Instructions

  1. FIRST YOU WILL WANT TO PREPARE YOU BIRD FOR FRYING.
  2. Remove turkey from the package and rinse thoroughly.
  3. Remove any remaining pin feathers.
  4. DETERMINE HOW MUCH OIL YOU WILL NEED TO USE BY USING THE WATER METHOD
  5. Place turkey in your frying pot head side down and fill pot with water until turkey is just fully submerged or leg bones are barely seen.
  6. Remove turkey and remember where the water line is. This gives you exactly how much oil you will need to add to your pot so that it doesn’t overflow and risk an oil fire.
  7. HOW TO SEASON YOUR TURKEY FOR FRYING (DO THIS THE NIGHT BEFORE)
  8. Pat turkey dry with paper towels.
  9. Place on a cooling rack in a cookie sheet
  10. Combine salt, garlic powder, pepper, thyme and rosemary
  11. Spray or cover turkey with vegetable or canola oil.
  12. Rub herbs and spices on all surfaces of the turkey making sure to separate the skin from the breast and add rub inside as well as the cavity.
  13. Place in refrigerator over night
  14. Remove from refrigerator and pat dry and liquid that has accumulated on the bird.
  15. You can rinse the brine off but it is not necessary. If you choose to do this, make sure you dry the turkey extremely well as water will cause hot oil to splash and spit.
  16. READY TO GET FRYING? HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL DO NEXT
  17. Add your oil to the line you had pre measured and heat to 325° F. Once oil is to temp, turn off your burner and SLOWLY add your turkey to the oil breast side down. The slower the better. I usually take almost a full minute to get my turkey fully submerged in the oil.
  18. Once turkey is in the oil, turn your burner back on and bring oil up to 350° F. This may take some time but don’t worry, your turkey is still cooking.
  19. General rule of thumb is cook for approximately 3 1/2 minutes per pound. So a 15 lb Turkey will take about 52 minutes to cook. A 16 lb turkey, 56 minutes and so on and so forth.
  20. At about 7 minutes prior to your designated done time, turn off your burner, slowly lift your turkey out and insert an internal read probe thermometer (I use the Thermoworks MK4- link) into the thickest part of the breast. You’re aiming for a temperature of 160° F. If needed, put turkey back in and turn burner back on and repeat until you reach 160° F
  21. At 160° F, remove your turkey and place it on a cooling rack for 20-30 minutes. During this time, the temperature will rise to 165° F and your turkey will be ready to carve.