About How Much Oil for a Fried Turkey


 
S

Stone

TVWBB Super Fan
I hope it's ok to post a non-smoking question here. I'm going to fry my first turkey this year. I expect it will be about 15-18 pounds. My pot is 8 gallons. About how much oil do you think I should plan for? I know that I need to check by putting the turkey in the pot and filling with water, but should I buy 5 gallons of peanut oil or is that over-kill? I don't think I'll have much use for extra.

Thanks.
 
Depends on the shape of the pot. I have a tall narrow one which uses less oil than my other one which is wider. Usually a 3 gal jug works for me on the narrow one.

Tim
 
Too much oil can be a disaster. Here's how you know how much to use.

- put turkey in empty pot
- put just enough water in pot to totally submerge turkey
- pull turkey out of pot, letting as much water as possible drip back into the pot
- mark the water level in the pot; this is exactly how high you need to fill the pot with oil, so that turkey will be totally submerged when yuo put it back in the pot

MAKE SURE TO DRY THE BIRD before it goes back in the pot
 
I don't like frying turkeys that big, but the size/shape of your pot may be bigger than mine. I've found that a 12-lb turkey takes about 4 gallons of peanut oil for my pot (which is fairly standard). Here's a few hints: fry a couple of turkeys b/c oil is expensive and if you do it well, there won't be much left of the first bird. Second, have the oil temp about 20 degrees higher than your cook temp before dropping the cold bird in. Lastly, (and this is the best hint ever), when your oil is hot and you're about to drop the bird in, extinguish the flame. You can relight once the bird is in the oil and you avoided the whole burning the house down issue if you accidently put too much oil in the pot.
 
Stone,

I have fried turkeys the past couple of years and Timothy and Jim have given you good advice. I like to check my oil level as described by Jim a day or two ahead of time. This will give you lots of time to air dry your bird. It is critical that there be no water on (or inside) the bird when you submerge it in the hot oil. I usually do this procedure right after I pull the bird from the brine. This helps to rinse the brine off the bird and allows lots of time for air drying. IMO you are better off doing two 12 lb birds than trying to go with a larger single bird. The larger bird will take longer to get to the correct internal temp and your skin may overcook as a result. Cooking this way yields a great bird very quickly (around 40 mins for a 12 lb bird) but it requires a lot of prep and clean up time and is pretty unsafe. The results are good but I don't find them that much better than a traditionally cooked or smoked bird. For these reasons, I have decided not to do fried turkeys any more.

Other Safety Tips:
· Turning off the flame as B Stone suggested can save you a lot of grief if anything goes wrong - hydrocarbons and open flame - not a good mixture


  • Make sure your bird is completely dry - I use paper towels inside the cavity and under the neck flap
· Use a very stable burner rig - one with a square bottom is better than the three legged varieties


  • · Fry your bird outdoors - NOT IN YOUR GARAGE
· Set up on level ground and clear anything flammable, anything you love (especially kids/grandkids), and anything you can't live without from the immediate area (I use about a 20' radius)
· While the bird is in the oil, you must have your eyes on the cooker and the thermometer. Don't be distracted by the game, the wife, a bathroom break, or anything else - have an assistant that can fetch things you may need or spell you on fryer watch


  • Make sure you remove the giblets - I actually forgot this the first year - fortunately the little paper packet didn't burst and release a bunch of liquid into my hot oil

I hope these tips help. Have a great and safe cook...

Regards,

John
 
I usually cook 2 12lb birds. I have my pot marked for a 12 pounder. I think they cook more evenly and they are done in about 40 minutes. I also use a bout 4 gallons. I went with a smaller pot early on to save on oil.
 
About 45 mins, but that's rough. On yeah: take the temp about 25 degrees higher than where you plan to cook at since the cold bird will instantly lower the temp. Hopefully, it'll lower on to the ideal temp.
 
Whenever this topic comes up, someone always suggests that you put the turkey in water in the pot, remove the turkey and then mark the water level. I'm kinda curios. What do you use to mark the water level?

Bill
 
Bill Freiberger said:
Whenever this topic comes up, someone always suggests that you put the turkey in water in the pot, remove the turkey and then mark the water level. I'm kinda curios. What do you use to mark the water level?

Bill
Click to expand...

I just scratched a mark on the inside of the pan. I always fry the same size turkey so I reuse the same mark.
 
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