Falling Out of Love with Hate, Part 4: The Thermomixed Turkey Fryer Edition

David Ryan

David Ryan is a boat builder and USCG licensed master captain. He is the owner of Sailing Montauk and skipper of Montauk''s charter sailing catamaran MON TIKI You can follow him on Twitter @CaptDavidRyan

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9 Responses

  1. dhex says:

    the only issue with deep frying turkeys are the jackanapes burning their houses down and possibly their neighbors as well. never had it, seems tasty enough.Report

    • David Ryan in reply to dhex says:

      It is delicious. Any poultry we’ve tried works. Whole chickens. Whole turkey breasts. Of course you can do traditional friend chicken too. Dredge the chicken parts in seasoned flour and in they go. When they’re golden brown, they’re ready.

      When I realized it was just a nearly industrial version of what my mother used to serve, I tried a whole beef roast. It worked, but nothing was added; if anything the beef roast was less tasty than if we had oven roasted it.Report

      • Glyph in reply to David Ryan says:

        I have had deep-fried turkey and it is delicious. Meat crack.

        I bought & used one of these last year – while it is not quite as fast as using oil, and I don’t know if it could be used as a seafood steamer, the bird was damn good (I have also done dry-rubbed beef roasts in it, also great), and it is a lot safer/easier than working with gallons of oil (uses propane, no oil purchase or disposal required).Report

  2. It does seem that, regardless of the taste merits of the deep-fried turkey (I’ve not had one. I’ve been to places where it’s been done but have been a vegetarian well over a decade now.), it’s an _odd_ choice for _Thanksgiving._ I mean, you have to cook it outside, and then it’s actually sort of a fast process, relatively speaking. I mean, that and the occasional screwup torching his garage, but frankly I’m OK with that and even think maybe we should traditionally fry turkeys on Independence day or somethin’.

    I typically have a lot of folks over and grill a turkey for the others — which, yeah, you have to do outside, but once it’s up and going you basically are still inside having wine and olives with the guests and then you pop out every half hour or so, and it’s cooking, and there’s a big production. I guess you could do something similar. It’s just harder to get the same festive thing, no? A couple times it’s turned out the prepondeance of guests have been vegetarian and then there’s been a lot of struggle to come up with something similar, where you pop it in the oven as the guests are arriving, and you all relax while its smell fills the place, then a couple hours later (at least) you pull it and it’s a big presentation and you continue to sit with wine and appetizers and chatter as it cools/finishes cooking and you all sort of drift in to the table. I’m sure you _could_ do that well with a fryer — maybe even better since there’s less absolute variance in the cooking time. But I’ve not seen it done well. Maybe just best to save the fried turkey for those informal party-in-my-garage occasions, like a pig roast for a smaller crowd.Report

  3. That, and the big vats of Wesson stacked at the front of the grocery stores for sale in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving are, really, just a bit”ewwwwww.”Report

  4. Stillwater says:

    Siva was onto something in his “have to tell you about it” comment. But what he was onto is just the same.old.thing. People get excited about stuff other people aren’t doing, and they like to talk. Which leads me to this …

    The only reason I can see to get a turkey frier is to can pour manygallons of water into the boiling oil after bird-reclamation. I’ve done that on a small scale out in the wilds, on river trips, with bacon grease in a beer can. I’m really drawn to the pyrotechnic potential a turkey fryer offers.

    I’ll be sure to tell you about it if I manage to do this. It’s like climbing a mountain!Report

    • Burt Likko in reply to Stillwater says:

      The combination of superheated steam, boiling oil, and fat-fueled flame that would erupt within seconds would be not merely visually spectacular but also an excellent way to flash-fry yourself into third-degree burns over a significant percentage of your body.

      For a preview, find the videos of firefighters demonstrating why the turkey has to be totally thawed, and notice how far away from the fryer they stand when they lower the thing in.

      Stay safe out there, dude. The difference between a beer can with some grease in it and five gallons of oil in a wide-mouthed pot is the same as the difference between a playful tabby cat and a hungry Bengal tiger.Report