Fried Turkey

[aeromorris05]

I just cooked my first fried turkey today with a cheap Charbroil "oil-less fryer." I brined the 15lb bird for ~18hrs, shoved a few sprigs of rosemary from the garden up it's backside, and dropped it in the fryer basket. Two and a half hours later, deliciousness happened.

Who knew this thing worked so well?! I'd never heard of it until it was recommended by a coworker. I'll never do a bird in the oven again!

 

[bigfunky]

I smoke my turkeys, they come out much better than in the over, so juicy and tasty!

 

[Brentr]

Do you have any pics of the turkey? My neighbor picked up one form Home Depot yesterday and I am curious to see how it works. I still do the deep frying in the oil.

 

[aeromorris05]

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures but it looked every bit as good as the turkeys you see in magazines. Very even golden color. Which is surprising given there's no temperature adjustments required. We did a pair of ~6lb chickens a week or so after Thanksgiving and they turned out just as tasty but were a bit of a challenge. I stacked the birds when I should have stood them vertically side by side. Other than the increased cooking time, they came out great.

I think we might do a ham for Xmas. I'm not sure how I want to pre-treat it. I'm a big fan of honeybaked hams but brownsugar & peppercorn crusted ham is pretty solid too. Decisions, decisions.

I've been nominated "Official Meat Preparer" for all holidays. My intention was simply to try something different but I couldn't be happier with the results.