My Turkey Fry Setup

[PCMancini]

Want to share this pic of my frying pot. This this my basic setup for frying Turkeys on Thanksgiving (and a few other times a year).

• My fryer pot is a beer keg, top cut off and handles added (by a machine shop).
• My stove is from Bayou Classic.
• The lid is a standard one I got from a restaurant supply store.
• I also use Bayou Classic frying stands that hold the turkey vertical and make it easier to snag out of the oil, as well as a Thermoworks Smoke to monitor the oil and an Mk4 to test for doneness.

Advantages are that the keg/pot is a beast, never going to break, can hold larger turkeys (I have done up to 20 lbs) and heats up and holds heat very well. The Bayou Classic stove has a regulator for controlling the flame and heat. One other big advantage is I can use this same pot to steam crabs, lobsters and even clams if I am doing alot and I have a steamer bottom for that.

The biggest disadvantage is that it requires two 35lbs boxes of peanut oil to fill. As these run upwards of $40 each box this is not insignificant.

I usually do 2 Turkeys for my family and 3 or 4 for friends/neighbors. They bring their Turkey and a 6-pack, I do the work. Most of them use it as a second bird for their meals. Looks like this year I will be doing less as most around here are scaling back.

Cheers everyone and have a great meal this year.

Paul

 

[Tony-Chicago]

Thanks for the info and pic. Nice to learn. 70 pounds of oil! 62 quart keg? Room for turkey and no overflow huh.

 

[Larry D.]

Nice! For those of you who are using the standard, smaller pot, a suggestion based on my own experience: after you have heated the oil, turn off the burner before you lower the bird into the pot. Relight it after the turkey is safely in the pot. That way, if you do happen to overflow the oil (which does occasionally happen) you will only have an oily spill to clean up, rather than a fireball and all that goes along with it.

 

[PCMancini]

Thanks for the info and pic. Nice to learn. 70 pounds of oil! 62 quart keg? Room for turkey and no overflow huh.

Thanks! What I do, regardless of pot size, is 1.) make sure turkey is completely thawed and has sat at room temp for an hour. 2.) shut off the flame (as noted elsewhere.) 3.) lower the turkey into the oil VERY slowly. Even with a large pot, I can get overflow if not careful.

Thermoworks has a very nice procedure with times/temps etc. https://blog.thermoworks.com/turkey...ox&utm_campaign=Nov2017-Deep-Frying-Turkey-cs

 

[Tony-Chicago]

Shut off gas is a very smart idea. Thanks. How long does it take to cook?

 

[PCMancini]

Shut off gas is a very smart idea. Thanks. How long does it take to cook?

I usually fry-cook about 35-45 min depending on size of the bird. I check the breast temp at 25 min.