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My Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without a deep-fried turkey. At one time, it was a southern thing, then it took the country by storm.
My mom and dad deep fried their Thanksgiving bird for years before the world caught on. When you deep fry your turkey, it’s so moist and tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
I have to admit that at first, I was a little hesitant to deep fry my own. I mean, that’s mom and dad’s job. Also, the six o’clock news was full of stories about people setting their decks on fire because they didn’t know how to properly deep fry a turkey. It can be downright scary if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Then it happened. I found an electric fryer made specifically for deep frying turkeys inside. Yes! You no longer have to head to the deck to deep fry your turkey. Let’s all do a happy dance.
I use the Butterball Indoor Electric Turkey Fryer. It’s da bomb!
Why deep fry your turkey?
- It’s easy.
- It doesn’t take as long as roasting a turkey.
- It frees up oven space. I have double ovens and I still don’t have room to be roasting a turkey all morning.
- Your turkey will be moist (no more dry, chewy turkey).
- It will be crunchy.
- Oh, so tender.
- It’s delicious!
Let’s get started!
How to Deep Fry Your Turkey
I usually choose a Honeysuckle White Fresh Turkey. They’re available at my local Kroger store.
Make sure your turkey is completely thawed. Here’s how to do it. (I always use a 12 lb. turkey. It fits perfectly in my turkey fryer.)
Remove the giblets. (I won’t take the time to tell you about the first time I cooked a turkey in the oven and forgot to remove the giblets from one end) Blush Blush.
I use the giblets to make giblet gravy, but you can do with them as you please. Just don’t leave them in the turkey. Check both ends!
Pour peanut oil into the deep fryer. There’s a slash on the inside of my fryer for a guide. Actually, there are two. Fill up the oil until it’s even with the top slash – not the top of the fryer. Turn the fryer to 375Âş F.
A light will come on when the fryer is ready (if you use the same fryer I use).
Meanwhile, pat that bird completely dry.
Rub the turkey with mom’s deep-fried dry turkey rub. Don’t skip this step unless you just want salt and pepper, but that’s kinda boring.
Spray the basket with cooking spray and place the turkey inside the basket. Using the lifter, slowly lower the turkey into the hot oil. Be careful! I always get my husband do this part and he uses heat resistant gloves in case the oil splatters.
Lay the lifter over on its side and set the timer. I always deep-fry my turkey for 4 minutes per pound. For a 12-lb. turkey, it takes 48 minutes.
Helpful Hint: I always use Peanut Oil When Deep Frying a Turkey
Yes, it’s a little pricey, but it’s the best oil for deep frying. Period. Peanut Oil has a high smoke point and neutral taste. It’s also low in saturated fats and high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. I buy the big jug from Walmart. You’ll use most of it in your deep fryer.
Have you ever deep fried a turkey? It’s really easy.
More Thanksgiving Day Recipes and Free Printables
Grab Mom’s Deep Fried Turkey Rub recipe by clicking here!
Have you downloaded a FREE thanksgiving-planner? You still have time!
You may also like my Thanksgiving Day Menu and Cornbread Dressing Recipe.
Here are even more Thanksgiving Day Side Dishes.
Cozy Rustic Thanksgiving Table
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27 comments
Deep Fried Turkeys are always tender, juicy and delicious. For many years we had both roasted and deep fried for Thanksgiving. We’ve had roasted and smoked for the last several years but I think it would be great to go back to the deep fried. We also use only peanut oil, it’s the best!
I totally would never have thought of frying turkey but what an interesting idea and I bet it tastes delicious as well as been quicker than cooking in the oven.
Frying a turkey sounds a bit intimidating but you make it seem totally doable. It sounds like this is a great way to ensure that the turkey stays moist and tender inside.
I have never tried to fry a turkey, I have issues with frying food in my stomach. It is always looked so good to me I would love to try a couple bites of it just so I can taste it. I will give this post over to someone that is interested in trying their turkey.
This looks so good! I have never deep fried a turkey but yours look amazing. I will have to try this sometime because many people rave about turkeys being deep fried.
Silvia
http://www.lovelysilvia.com
My father in law tried to deep fry the turkey for Thanksgiving one year. It didn’t go well. He needed to read this post!
I have never had deep fried turkey before!! This sounds amazing, I may have to try this out for Thanksgiving!
Ugh, that all looks so delicious! I actually fried a turkey, one time. It was a little scary, and we fried it on the back patio, but it turned out really good ans tasted great!
I would love to have deep fried turkey. I don’t think I’ve ever had it, but maybe one year we’ll invest in a deep fryer just for this purpose. It sounds really good.
I am hosting Thanksgiving this year and I would absolutely LOVE to try deep frying a turkey this year. Does it make a huge mess? That’s my biggest concern since we have a brand new house.
Nope – no mess at all! The deep fryer we had outside was a pain to clean, but the electric one I use inside is a breeze and it doesn’t make the house smell, either.
I always wanted to fry my turkey. It looks fabulous. This year will give it a try.
I’ve had it twice and it’s so good. This year we are talking about how we are going to cook it. This might be a good choice.
That is a great way to have turkey. I’ve never tried that method, but I am now convinced I should. The turkey looks so juicy inside and golden crispy outside.
I’ve never tried a deep fried turkey before but they always look delicious. Maybe this year!
I’ve never had a deep fried turkey and was always scared to make one before thinking it would catch on fire lol. This looks awesome to fry it in.
Every year I say that I am going to deep fry a turkey and I never do! Thanks for the simple instructions!
We have friend turkey for Thanksgiving and it is what everyone always wants. They don’t touch the regular turkey until all of the fried turkey is gone. This year we need at least two of them, they are so freaking delicious.
A deep fried turkey taste so much better than a turkey you cook in the over I believe. It comes out so juicy and it takes less time to cook. This sounds and looks like a great meal. The stuffing looks amazing and so does the stuffed potatoes. The for sharing the information.
We’ve never deep fried our turkey! It seems like it’d be SO yummy though. I’d definitely consider trying it, especially since you made it clear that it’s easier than I thought haha!
Deep fried Turkey’s are the absolute best. I’ve never tried it myself but my son makes them and they are drool worthy.
That looks so delicious. I have never try them before but would definitely love to try one day 🙂
this turkey looks delish, now I want a deep fryer. I like to do this.
Deep fried turkey is so, so delicious but a lot of people don’t realize how good it is because they’ve never tried it. But, once is all it takes to be thoroughly hooked!
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I wanted to fry a turkey for Thanksgiving this year. So, I did some research and bought this exact same fryer before I even found your website…kudos to me. I used your mom’s rub (👍🏻) on a 16 lb. turkey. Following your instructions and the instructions that came with the fryer, I planned on 4 minutes per pound for a cook time of 64 minutes. My first time with the fryer so I didn’t really know what to expect (you can always order pizza). After an hour I checked the temperature and it read 204 degrees, which is fine for my smoked brisket, but I thought Thanksgiving was going to be turkeyless. Everything I read said turkey was done at 165 degrees. As it turned out, the turkey was excellent. The family wants one for Christmas. All of this for a couple of questions. Is that normal? What temp should I expect when pulling the turkey? It was so good I would do everything exactly the same. Just want to be sure and hope it’s not beginners luck.
I always buy a 12 lb. turkey and it takes about 45 minutes to cook. As a general rule when deep frying a turkey, cook dark meat to an internal temperature of 175Âş F to 180Âş. White meat should be 165-170Âş. Glad you enjoyed the rub and thrilled that your turkey was excellent!