Has anyone deep-fried a turkey?

We are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year and will be roasting a whole bird the traditional way, but my wife gave me a deep fryer for xmas last year and so I also want to fry a turkey breast. (We will have about 15 people, so we'll need the meat!)

I have read the instructions that came with the fryer and the mongo jug of peanut oil, but some questions remain:

How long does it take to heat up the cooking oil to the recommended temperature (325 degrees)? It's peanut oil, if that matters. I need to know when I should start so that it gets done by mealtime!

The fryer instructions came with a guideline - 4 minutes per pound of turkey - is that typical? Since I will be cooking just a breast, does that change anything? And what is the danger of overcooking? (I.e., will it be totally ruined if it's in 5 minutes longer than recommended?)

Thanks for any advice!

It's going to be delicious.

There are several factors affecting the time it will take for the oil to reach temperature. First is the amount of oil you use. More oil means a longer time frame to heat. You won't need as much to do a breast, as you will to do a whole turkey, and therefore it won't take as long to heat if you use a reduced amount. Second is how hot a fire you have. This will depend on the design of the burner and how high you turn the heat. Last is the outside temperature. You MUST do this outside, and away from the house. If its cold and/or windy it will take longer to heat the oil than if it's nice out. I'd figure at least an hour to heat the oil. Remember that the temp will fall when you put the cold(er) turkey in, so it's best to heat the oil to about 350 up front.

Four minutes a pound is about right for a whole turkey. It should take less for a breast. I'd plan on about 3 minutes per pound, and try to make arrangements for pulling the breast and using a meat thermometer to check the temp as you get close to the time. Going over a few minutes isn't likely to ruin it, and deep frying will make it more juicy than normal, but there's not a huge margin of error. I'd take it out when the temp is between 160 and 165. Then cover it with foil and let it rest before carving.

It's quick and easy, but be careful. If the burner tips when the oil is on it, you're in deep trouble. Keep kids and pets away, and lower the breast in slowly. The moisture in the meat will cause the hot oil to bubble and rise, so slow is the only way to go. Don't put the fryer on any surface you're not willing to get (hot) oil on. No matter how careful you are, there will be drips at the least. These will stain what they hit, at a minimum, and can be dangerous if they hit exposed flesh, or something flammable. I usually use the concrete driveway.

Most cookers come with a device that look like a coathanger to lift the whole bird into and out of the oil. I'm not sure what to do with a breast but you'll have to come up with some way to pull it out. Don't assume you can just stick a fork in it and pull it out of the oil. That won't work. Putting it into a metal mesh basket with a handle might work. Lower that in (wearing heavy gloves) with the breast inside. You'd proably have to fish for the handle with a long fork, and then pull it out the same way. Remember that the oil is going to drip, so have a cookie sheet or something handy to put the breast on.

Good luck, and Happy Thanksgiving

The kettle I have includes a frying basket WITH a coat-hanger type thing for raising/lowering the basket so I should be set there. And I've got a spot picked out for it far from anything flammable, as the instructions warn. My main concern is the timing, not knowing how long the whole process will take from heating the oil to cooking to "resting" to carving! But you've given me some good estimates. Plus if I get done too soon it can go in a pan and sit in the oven to stay warm.

Oh and I'm in Minnesota, and our forecast temp for tomorrow isn't supposed to crack 30, so an hour to heat the oil sounds pretty reasonable!

Thanks again!

You need to heat the oil hotter than 325 because when you put the turkey breast in it will cool the oil. 350 is a good starting point. You have lots of leeway because the smoke point on peanut oil is over 400 degrees.

To be really sure it is done you need an instant read thermometer to insert. It should be done at 165 degrees.

Now for a twist. If you want it really juicy and not dry you should brine it for a few hours.

Just google for brine recipes, they are all over the place but basically it is:

1 cup kosher salt
1 gallon water
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix all that together.

Place in a container (I use an ice chest) add another gallon of ice and water mixed so that you wind up with two gallons. Add pepper corns if you like.

Let it soak for a minimum of 6 hours before cooking.

Some folks say you need to keep the temperature below 38 F but with all the salt in there bacterial will not survive in that environment anyway.

Do not sue me if it turns out badly. Google is your friend.

Alton Brown did it on one of his episodes too. I picked up an injector at the grocery store today, but the brine sounds like a winner as well.

I watch Alton also, here is his recipe. Rather than bake I just fried ours. Also, he uses vegetable stock for 1 gallon of the brine, I am a cheapskate, so I just used water. The critical ingredient is the water/salt ratio. Notice he adds another gallon at the end for a total of two gallons.


1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.
A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.
Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

Put the turkey in the fryer and fill it with water a day ahead of time and mark the water line so you know how much oil to use. I inject the turkey a day ahead of time with Italian dressing. I fry it for 3 1/2 minutes a pound and then 4 extra minutes. It is delicious but the oil costs more than the turkey. I strain and reuse the oil for other stuff. Fry some potatoes in the oil and they will soak up any leftover taste from turkey, fish, etc. Be careful. The oil can cause 3rd degree burns if it splashes at 350 degrees. Enjoy.

But it was from Costco, so it wasn't that bad. Can't wait to do this!

I've always been intrigued by this, and my only hesistation is that I'm a total klutz and I'm afraid I'll set the neighborhood (and myself) on fire. If the turkey is really great, though, it might be worth getting the setup (and letting someone else do the tricky part).

UL has a website, complete with videos on turkey fryer safety.

VERY important: turn OFF the flame when you lower the turkey in. The initial moisture that boils off instantly can cause oil to spillover, and if the flame is on, THAT'S what causes the thing to become a giant fireball.

Now for me it was not a big deal because not only did I make sure the breasts were as dry as possible, I also didn't have as much oil as a whole turkey would take, so there was less risk of overflow.

Once the turkey is back in and submerged, and the oil is not in danger of spilling over, THEN turn the flame back on.

Just be careful, be attentive, and have a grease fire rated fire extinguisher handy JUST IN CASE! :)

The amount of oil necessary to cover 2 breasts took only about 25 minutes to heat to 350 degrees. Then to cook, I used a meat thermometer to periodically check on the doneness, rather than relying on a minutes per pound formula. It ended up taking about 50 minutes to cook two 5 or 6-pound breasts. So more like 5 minutes per pound. I kept the oil at a very steady 325 the whole time. You really do need to hang around and keep an eye on it. Didn't have any flareups or anything, but to maintain a steady temperature takes tweaking.

Anyway, the meat was delicious. I had injected one with garlic oil and it had a really nice taste to it.

Oh and while they were cooking the smell was fantastic. Made me wish I had had a pack of tater tots to throw in there when the turkeys were done!

A definite thumbs up on that experience!

I am pleased you had a great experience!