TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
W hen most people think of Thanksgiving dinner, the turkey is often front and center, and rightfully so. Now, I wasn’t there, but I assume some sort of turkey was present at the first Thanksgiving between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. So, it has earned its place in the spotlight from a longevity standpoint. Over the years, I have had turkeys prepared in many ways. There is of course oven roasted, smoked, and our focus for this article, fried turkey. Thanks to our Cajun brethren, frying turkeys for the holiday season really became popular in the late 80s and early 90s, and in my opinion, this is the best version of this cooked bird. Let’s jump in, but first, there are some safety concerns and tips to go over. Safety and Equipment Prep—Ray I’m sure everyone has seen a video of a turkey fry go up in flames. This may occur if the bird is still frozen or excessive oil causes it to spill over. Turkeys and frying pots come in all different sizes, so it can be tricky to get the correct amount of oil. Here is a tip to make sure it’s not you this holiday season ending up in a viral video. It is very simple and will guide you in using just the right amount of oil. Either before or after the brining process, place your turkey in the empty cooking pot, legs up. Add water until the bird is fully submerged and is covered by an extra half inch of water. When you remove the turkey, the water line in the pot will drop. Make a mark on the pot at that water level with the turkey out of the pot. Now you can discard that water, dry the pot, and fill with oil up to the mark you made. This will give you the perfect amount of oil every time for safe cooking. The other tip that will help reduce the potential of an out-of-control fire is when you are putting the bird in or taking the bird out of the grease, turn your flame off to the burner and close the valve at the propane tank. Once the bird is in the grease, you can relight your fire, provided you did not have any major grease spillage. It is also important to set your frying operation up away from any buildings, decks, or trees. FRIED TURKEY INGREDIENTS • 1 whole turkey (10–14 lbs, completely thawed) • Peanut oil or vegetable oil • Bayou Brine by Chef J’s BBQ Provisions (or brine of choice) • Tony Chachere’s Creole Style Injectable Butter (or similar injectable marinade) • Dry rub seasoning—salt, garlic, pepper, and celery salt
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COMMUNITY & CULTURE
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