Turkey Fryers are Evil!!!!

http://www.ul.com/consumers/turkeys.html

There is a cool video of what can go wrong while frying a turkey. That place looks like a fun place to work.

From the article:

A longtime food favorite in the southern United States, the delicious deep-fried turkey ...

Bzzzt.

Some other Southerner correct me if I'm wrong, but I never heard of a deep fried turkey until about 8 years ago, at the outside. That's hardly a ``longtime food favorite''.

I have to back Bitt up on this one. They seem to have increased in popularity only in the past few years.

Some of the guys I work with were stationed at Ft. Rucker in UCLA (Ugly Corner of Lower Alabama) and they use to have turkey frys down there, and most of them have been retired for 15+ years. No clue how long ago they were at Rucker (since the military tends to move people around quiet a bit).

For the record, I didn't hear about them (or even consider the idea) until a couple of years ago when one of them invited me over for it..

They seem to have increased in popularity only in the past few years.

The Costco effect, I think. Once they start carrying something....

My friend has one and has used it for several holiday meals over the past 2-3 years. OK, so he burned down his garage, but it was the best turkey *I've* ever had!

"Some other Southerner correct me if I'm wrong, but I never heard of a deep fried turkey until about 8 years ago, at the outside. That's hardly a 'longtime food favorite'."

No, I'd never heard of this until I got married. Then I found out this is the only way my wife's family eats turkey. I was initially revolted until I finally tried one and haven't looked back since.

This was introduced to my family about 4 years ago when my sister was married. He, my brother-in-law, fryed one for us and we have been eating fryed turkey every thanksgiving and christmas since.

They really are good. I suggest everyone try it at least once. I doubt you will turn back...

My roommate is a good ol southern cooker, and so we've got a turkey fryer at my house now. I have yet to try it though.

He makes damn good pies though. Mmmm...pecaaaan....aaaggghhh

Mmmmm... They best one I've had was made at a Popeyes Fried Chicken. I know, I know... fast food, but it was GOOD. BTW, It wasn't really fast, you had to order a week in advance and it was a whole turkey.

Also, has anyone else had a turduckin? Mmmmm.... Especially with oyster dressing.

Also, has anyone else had a turduckin?

AHHH! Madden!

Personally, I really dislike fried turkey. I much prefer a standard oven roasted/baked/whatever turkey.

And, BTW, for those of you that don't know, a fried turkey is not breaded or battered like fried chicken. It's just deep-fried.

Fried Turkey? Wow, never even heard of that. Well, frying makes everything better (spoken like a true overweight American). I still want to try those fried Twinkies that I heard about all summer, but I never made it down to the fair where they supposedly had them. Maybe next year.

I went to the Minnesota State Fair a couple of years back, and the big thing there was deep fried candy bars. Alas I didn't try one, as I didn't feel up to having a heart attack that day.

Actually the deep frying seals the juices into the bird. They're really juicy and don't have a "fried taste" to them. The frying time isn't near long enough to get it as greasy as fried chicken. Fastest way to cook bird. About 38 minutes for a 14 pounder. Any bigger and it won't cook as well. 12 to 14 pounds is the optimum size... Peanut oil too, smokes less if you get it too hot.

Yeah, i can back you up on that.

how about the TurDuckEn though? a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a quail or pheasent. Now that's some southern goodness.

I don't anybody over here in the UK deep fries their turkey. Not that I've heard of anyway...

Is there anything left that can't be deep fried? I've tried deep fried ice cream which was interesting. Just in case anybody wonders how you can fry ice cream, you have to dunk the ice cream block into batter first and then quickly deep fry it.

- Trevor

Its not a southern thing, I beleive its more of a cajun thing, correct me if Im wrong, a good friend of mine from the bayou in Louisiana fried the first one I had ever seen, and he said he been doing all his life. I think this falls under many things that come from the south so they are deemed southern things

Yeah, but cooking large fowl that quickly leaves a good chance that there will still be salmonella when you're done.

Can you say ``turkey tartare''? Good! Now can you puke your guts out and die? Even better!

Yeah, but cooking large fowl that quickly leaves a good chance that there will still be salmonella when you're done.

(Methinks I detect a fellow hohophobic)

Not to worry, if you stick the nozzle of a firehose into the turkey's Great Void, you'll eliminate about 90% of the salmonella burden, ITIS.

Can you say ``turkey tartare''? Good! Now can you puke your guts out and die? Even better!

Cooking fast doesn't mean undercooked. Oil just keeps the heat on more effectively. Oh, and healthy adults don't die from salmonella. They just wish they had!

hohophobic

Okay, I'm at a loss as to that word. I am a serious puke-o-phobe, though.

Cooking fast doesn't mean undercooked.

No, it doesn't. However, it does mean that there becomes a much narrower window between undercooked and overcooked. It also means that it's possible to overcook the outside while undercooking the inside.

hohophobic - (adj) An unrational fear of Hostess Ho-Ho's. See: "Twinkie-tremors" and "Ding-Dong doldrums".



-Zeke

Fair enough. But what does that have to do with deep-frying turkeys, salmonella, or projectile vomiting?

No idea. It's getting late and I'm getting punchy.

-Zeke

Okay, I'm at a loss as to that word.

In this context, hohophobe would be someone whose concerns about Meleagrididaeical safety are amplified by the premature approach of a particular overblown, overcommercialized winter holiday characterized by an overabundance of electric shaver advertisements.

OK, that's me ("I'm Jim and I'm a hohophobe!"...."Hi, Jim!"), but that may not be you.

I am a serious puke-o-phobe, though.

Puke-o-phobes should really join the Natioinal Association to Say Bad Things About Staph Food Poisoning. Membership in the Salmonella Action League is open to puke-o-phobes but is really intended for diarrhea-phobes.

No, it doesn't. However, it does mean that there becomes a much narrower window between undercooked and overcooked. It also means that it's possible to overcook the outside while undercooking the inside.

Good point WRT the "narrower window", but I don't think it bears too specifically on salmonella risk except that you run a higher risk of an overcooked turkey if you indulge a little paranoia (and maybe a little higher disease risk if you ignore undercooking risk) . Salmonella is an enteric colonizer and winds up as primarily a surface threat. There are pretty clear guidelines on thawing, holding and cooking that, if followed, can reduce the risk to near zilch regardless of cooking method used. OTOH, if you cook a partially-thawed, salmonella-ridden turkey, there isn't any specific cooking method that will protect you. No substitute for a good meat thermometer, and, sure, quicker cooking in a fryer probably requires a little more attention. Much of the risk nowadays comes from improper prep and unintentional transfer of bugs to other foods like salads.

FWIW, I have never had turkey near as good as the ones that came out of a fryer. Of course the peanut oil can cost twice as much as the turkey...but it was worth it.

I wonder if you can combine a fryer with "beer can chicken"?

but cooking large fowl that quickly leaves a good chance that there will still be salmonella when you're done

I have to disagree. Recommended cooked temperature for turkey is 180F the oil should be between 180 and 200F. The oil fills the chest cavity of the bird as well as surrounding it. A 12-14 pound turkey will definitely be at least 180F throughout after 38 minutes in hot oil. that's why I mentioned bigger birds may not cook properly, but a 12-14 pounder is very safe. That is assuming you do defrost the entire bird first.
Of course no one says you have to eat it or believe it is safe to eat. Lots of people think a smoked chicken or turkey isn't safe either because it will have a pink ring which has nothing to do with the doneness, it's actually the smoke and salt creating a chemical reaction.
I've done probably 100 deep fried turkeys, no one got sick I know of...

I'm leaving work early, right now, to go pick up our turducken, made by Hebert's (that's pronounced "hey-BEARS"). We're getting the "standard" model: a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, stuffed with cornbread dressing: First we brown beef, pork, and turkey giblets. Sauté onion, bell pepper, and other vegetables with that special Cajun seasoning. No, it does not taste like giblets. It is roux based. We mix this wonderful stock with cornbread to create a great Cajun spiced cornbread dressing.

There's a fantastic article in the NY Times all about turducken. I had it for the first time, last year, at a friend's house, and now we're doing one for family and friends. Yum.

Fair enough. The first one I ever saw was cut open and had large portions of uncooked meat in it. I've been turned off ever since.

Perhaps I should have said ``a greater chance'' instead of ``a good chance''.

The first one I ever saw was cut open and had large portions of uncooked meat in it. I've been turned off ever since

YIKES! I can't blame you then, sounds like it was too big and not cooked long enough, or not 100% thawed.
I won't eat those baby corn ear things because I saw my brother hurling them up once when I was 4 years old... I still won't eat them to this day. First impressions go a long way, don't they?

I think that it was too big and the oil was too hot. In addition to sealing in the juices, I think it can also create a skin that works as a heat insulator once it becomes thick and inpermeable enough.

I have a friend who cant touch rasberries because of eating too many as a kid - he's like 51 now. Of course, I can't stand butterscotch (even the name makes me nauseous) ever since I puked my guts out on them about 22 years ago.

you bastard. color me jealous. i miss the family turducken. i think we got ours from Hebert's too!

"That is assuming you do defrost the entire bird first."

My wife has told me repeatedly that the bird might explode if you don't defrost it first. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but the thought is pretty scary.

I'm sure not pretty things will happen if you throw a frozen bird in one of the fryers. Intense heat + intense cold == not good usually.

In reply to:

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I'm sure not pretty things will happen if you throw a frozen bird in one of the fryers. Intense heat + intense cold == not good usually.

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I heard a story about someone who once worked at a KFC or similar fast food outlet, who decided when they got bored to toss some ice cubes (from the ice dispenser) into the deep fryer when the fat was all nice and hot to see what would happen.

Apparently, so I was told, nothing happened at first, then after a short (not sure how long) time, the whole fryer began to boil and rumble which got louder and more intense, then the whole fryer load of hot fat erupted and exploded into the ceiling and coated everything around the place with a layer of nice hot fat.

Not sure if it caused a fire, but the fire alarms were triggered, and maybe the sprinklers.

And the whole deep fryer was ruined - something like $40,000 dollars worth of damage all told.

Not sure what happened to the guy who tossed the ice cubes into the fryer - I'd guess he's not working there anymore - if hes lucky, if he's unlucky he probably had years of plastic surgery ahead.

Like I said I only heard this third hand, but adding water/ice to hot fat is generally a recipe for disaster.

They must have put a whole bucket in there. I remember tossing a couple cubes in the fryer when I worked at a resturant in high school with no problems. Now throwing the halloween pumpkins off the roof that was dangerous.

When I was at school, my chemistry teacher used to do a demonstration of why putting water in a pan of hot oil was a bad idea.

He'd take a small pan of boiling oil, and then (with the aid of a long pole), empty a test tube of water into it.

Usually, there'd be a jet of flame tall enough to hit the ceiling. Needless to say, he made his point.

while frying a turkey

Normally I'm all over food threads on the BBS, but I'm still almost completely dumbstruck on this one at the idea of deep-frying a whole turkey.

One of the local papers here has an advert in this week for a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a pheasant, though they don't call it a turducksant but a "turkey ballentine" (OCF and Larousse would call this a "ballotine" or "galantine", and only the last is in OED). Presumably US turduckens and turducksants are boned and rolled, which is what ballotine or galantine implies?

Peter

the "standard" model: a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey

Of course, there were Yorkshire Christmas Pies, but they seem to have become extinct at the end of the nineteenth century. Shame.

Peter

just my 2p (or 2c)
Being from sunny England, the idea of deep frying a turkey or a chicken was OMG all that fat, greasy meat.
Having since moved to Texas and tried it, I can never go back!

"Normally I'm all over food threads on the BBS, but I'm still almost completely dumbstruck on this one at the idea of deep-frying a whole turkey."

Believe me, this is definitely a "don't knock it till you've tried it" kind of thing. Like has been said before in this thread, the frying locks in the juices so what you end up with is juicer meat. You don't (or at least I don't) eat the outside "fried" part, so the only real difference between a traditional turkey and a fried one is the amount of flavor and juiciness. Of course, my wife's family being of Cajun roots means they inject Cajun flavoring before frying, but I'm sure this isn't strictly necessary. I just introduced the concept to some coworkers who thought the idea was strange to say the least, but after trying it they are all true believers now.

Believe me, this is definitely a "don't knock it till you've tried it" kind of thing.

Oh, I don't doubt that it's delicious! I was more dumbstruck at the sheer scale and danger of the undertaking.

You don't (or at least I don't) eat the outside "fried" part

Oooh, isn't that the best bit? I imagine it would end up like turkey-flavoured pork crackling. Mmm...

Peter

I was more dumbstruck at the sheer scale and danger of the undertaking.

If there ain't danger involved, it ain't true Cajun cooking...

[Foxworthy] I've seen my relatives hit boiling pots with a wooden spoon, saying "Geet back in there!" [/Foxworthy]

"Oh, I don't doubt that it's delicious! "

Ah, my misunderstanding then.

In the "For What It's Worth" category, we also have one of those ShowTime Rotisserie cookers, and it does an awesome job of cooking turkeys as well (though much less exciting and dangerous). They come out just about as tasty as the fried ones do, and my wife still uses the flavor injection to make it taste more "Cajun."

I was more dumbstruck at the sheer scale and danger of the undertaking.

To get the fryer to do what they did, you basically have to read the instructions that came with the unit very very carefully. Then, take everything those instructions told you to do and do the complete opposite. You actually have to work at screwing it up as much as they did. Frying turkey is no more dangerous than cooking other kinds of food (except for maybe rattlesnake - catching them is the tricky part ).

> I'm leaving work early, right now, to go pick up our turducken...

Well, Peta has a bone to pick with you then (so to speak):

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/4615352.htm

If there ain't danger involved, it ain't true Cajun cooking...

Ive never heard more true of a statement, and just so those who arent from around anyplace cajun, if you are offered some true cajun gumbo, dont do one of two things:

eat it or ask whats in it.

pick one or the other, dont do both.

Tim's Cajun Kitchen in Hunstville has some good seafood gumbo and gator. The gator heads surrounding the trim of the dining area are kind of intimidating though

You haven't had a tru Edinburgh night out until you've had a smoked sausage supper with salt and sauce (*), deep fried Mars bar for dessert and a litre of Irn-Bru to wash it all down with.

(*) For those who have never been to Edinburgh, there is no sauce which can compare with Edinburgh Chippy Sauce. A wonderful brown sauce unlike anything I've tasted anywhere else around the world. I've even been called upon to take bottles of the stuff over to relatives in Australia and Europe. Mmmmm - feels like lunchtime:-)

Well, suffice to say the turducken was mighty fine, although the true winner of our Thanksgiving was Paul Prudhomme's chicken & andouille sausage gumbo. We followed his recipe pretty closely, including using his "Meat Magic" seasoning (really, it' s just salt and chili powder, but anyway...). We only diverged at the end, adding some more cayenne to heat it up, and some more salt, to tweak the taste. Marvelous.

It's all about the roux. You get that right, and you're golden.

Since we're on the subject of cajun food, try these if you dare.

Pecan Pralines:

3 cups white sugar
1.5 cups light brown sugar
1 can evaporated milk
a pinch of salt
5 Tbs of unsalted butter
2 Tbs of vanilla
2 cups of pecan chips (or 3 cups of halves)

First, melt the butter in a small glass in the microwave set at low power. I usually add the vanilla to the butter here so I can dump it in when it's time.

OK, add the sugar, brown sugar, milk, and salt into a 2-3 quart pot. Boil this until you reach the soft ball stage. (I'll explain later) Once you reach the soft ball stage, add the pecans, vanilla, and melted butter and remove from heat. Mix well, but don't take too long. Drop this by the spoonful onto wax paper layed out on the counter. Let cool, peel, and enjoy.

Soft ball stage: If you have a candy thermometer, soft ball is at 240-242 Farenheit. I hate thermometers, So I use the glass of water method. When you think you're getting close, drip 1 drop of the praline mixture into a glass of water. If it makes a ball and does not fall apart, you're pretty much there. If it collapses, keep on going. This is the hardest part about making pralines. If you quit boiling too soon, they never solidify, too long, and the're hard, which is not usually desireable for real pralines. They'll taste fine, just be too hard.
Too-soft pralines (runny) are a great topping for ice cream, btw!

Paul Prudhomme's chicken & andouille sausage gumbo

Mmm, I've made that from his cookbook a couple of times. Cooking the roux that hot is pretty scary though -- I'd never do it in a skillet, only in the bottom of a big, deep stockpot-type pan.

Peter

I heard a story about someone who once worked at a KFC ... who decided ... to toss some ice cubes into the deep fryer ... then the whole fryer load of hot fat erupted and exploded into the ceiling...

I have thought about this for a while, and I think I know what happened.

The ice would be heavier than the hot oil, and it would sink to the bottom, where it would melt into water. The water, being even heavier than the ice, would all run to the lowest part of the fryer where it would remain, until it absorbed some 540 calories of heat per gram of water, at which point it would all flash over more or less instantaneously into steam (possibly even super-heated steam, given the increase in pressure caused by the weight of the oil above it). That steam would assume a volume many times greater than that of the water from whence it came, and a pressure many times greater than ambient and would displace the oil very quickly as it escaped to a lower pressure environment.

Does this sound right?

tanstaafl.

deep fried Mars bar

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2558221.stm

England fights back in the international frying-the-implausible contest...

Peter

Does this sound right?

That sounds perfect. We need to try it. I think my friend still has enough post-turkey peanut oil, and we have plenty of propane. We could rig a block and tackle and lower a full or half-size block of ice from the 7-11 in there -- kind of like a Super Zerk for the Post-Stoned Age.

If anybody knows what a Zerk is, it's OK if you don't admit it.

There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

Hehe, I was like, wait-a-minute!