Heresy

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Don't get me wrong on this, I use my WSM at least once a week, but this may be viewed as heresy on this site, but do any of you guys ever deep fry turkeys for Thanksgiving? And if so, what do you inject your birds with. Sorry if I?m rocking the boat with this one.
 
As a matter of fact, I do fry a Turkey for Thanksgiving. I inject it with a mix of Italian dressing, OJ, butter, and a few spices and let it sit overnight uncovered in the fridge to crisp up the skin. Sometimes I rub the outside of the bird with cajun seasoning, sometimes not.
I fry at 350 for 3.75 minutes per lb and wind up with one tasty bird. Very moist, very juicy, and very flavorful. I'll post the marinade in the recipe section.
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Mark WAR EAGLE!!
 
Last Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a joint dinner with friends at their home. Our host deep-fried a turkey and I brought a brined and WSM-roasted one. Although the fried bird was very good, the general consensus was that the smoker-roasted bird was the better. The deep-fried bird had been soaked overnight in a solution containing liquid seafood boil seasoning. On my next turkey, I brined using the same thing and then cooked in the WSM-- came out really good.
 
I have fried my turkey for the last two Thanksgivings and have gotten good reviews from the critics, but I would like to try different spices this year (I used a creol butter flavor both years). I would like to try to cook a bird on the WSM but would be afraid to do it for Thanksgiving for fear of it not turning out right. Basically I am chickening out and going with what I know I can do.
 
Mike,

Do a practice run before Thanksgiving, it's only October 15th, then you can get your practice session in and be ready for the big day. You know, turkey isn't just for Thanksgiving anymore.
 
Chickening out on turkey, eh? /infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

It's not difficult at all. You can read a detailed description of exactly how my last holiday WSM turkey cook went here. Give it a shot, or get a small turkey and do a practice run.
 
A 9 pound bird only took 3 hrs to cook? How was the skin when it was done?
 
It only took about two hours, actually-- the 12-pounder at Thanksgiving took about 3, but due in part to some temp problems. I usually don't eat the skin, but it looked like this. (Actually this pic is from last Turkey Day, rather than the Christmas one.) On my next one, rather than wait for my temp to stabilize at my target cooking range, I intend to put the turkey on as soon as I assemble the cooker, and see if the initial 450-500* temps for 15-30 minutes make a difference on the skin.
 
It was rather subtle, but definitely noticeable. Most of the spiciness associated with boiled seafood down here is related to how much cayenne is dumped into the pot in addition to the boiling spices-- more for crawfish and less for shrimp. The seafood boil spices are primarily clove, allspice, pepper and bay.
 
I have a can of Old Bay in the pantry, and, to my mind, it doesn't say "poultry" when I open the container and take a whiff-- more like "shellfish".

But, having said that, I've gone to the pantry and returned with the can. Sniffing... OK, maybe chicken-- turkey, I don't know.

The label recommends crabs, shrimp, chicken on the front, and goes on, on the back, to include french fries, popped corn, baked potatoes, deviled eggs, casseroles, hamburgers, pizza, "meats", poultry, and fish. But then, they're trying to sell the stuff, aren't they?

Ingredient list: celery salt, spices including mustard, red pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, cloves, allspice, ginger, mace, cardamom, cinnamon, and paprika. Hmm... four or five of those sound familiar-- no wonder it says "shellfish" when I sniff it. OK, maybe turkey's not such a bad idea after all.
 
Fry'n turkeys isn't heresy it's cajun!!!
Loved fried turkey use either Zatarains or Old Bay as part of the injection, wounderful stuff!
Will smoke one also cause you can't have enought.
Jim
PS: if you want a injection recipe let me know.
 
Cajun Injection
3 sticks of butter
3 Tbsp garlic juice
3 Tbsp onion juice
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 Tbsp Zatarains Crab Boil concentrate
1 tsp cayenne

This enough for a 12 to 14 pound turkey
If you have a juicer make your own garlic and onion juice (much cheaper).
Melt butter mix in rest of ingredients and blend well.
You can adjust garlic, onion, cayene and crab boil to taste.
If you don't have Zatarains, Old bay can be used, start with one or two Tbsl.
Injecting 12 hours or more before does improve flavors.
Jim
 
If I remember correctly, that crab boil comes in liquid and powder form, do you use the 2T of the liquid or powder?
 
Mike
Zatarains I'm talking about is the liquid concentrate. If you get the packets and boil them up, you will want to use more than 2 Tbsp of that liquid.
Jim
 
Have any of you guys ever brined a turkey brfore you fried it? Could that work, or would all that soaked up water make the oil boil out of the pot (unlike an unbrined bird that only violently bloils when you first put it in the oil).
 
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