Creole Cooking Guide: Deep-Fried Turkey

Introduction

Photo courtesy of scubadive67

Fried turkey?! Now that sounds like soul food to me! Although it might take some extra time, lots of cooking oil, and a bit more effort than usual, fried turkeys are well worth it, and a welcome change from the same ’ole baked variety.

Believe it or not, fried turkeys are a pretty new phenomenon in Creole cooking. I’d have to guess that maybe ten years ago now somebody in Louisiana with a big crawfish pot decided to get creative with some poultry. Whoever started the trend, it has since taken over, and ten out of ten agree- a fried turkey is just about as good as it gets!

So, before you make your own fried turkey, you’re going to need a few pointers:

#1: You WILL need to thaw the turkey beforehand! This is VERY VERY important because frying a frozen turkey will cause an explosion of hot oil that could potentially injure yourself, and any innocent bystanders. ALWAYS thaw the turkey beforehand!

2. You will need a large stew pot or crawfish pot as we call ’em. Not only does it need to be big enough to fit the whole turkey, but big enough to use it as a deep fryer, and of course- a couple of gallons of (preferably) vegetable oil.

3. A fried turkey always comes out better if you use a boneless and skinless turkey. It’s not a requirement, but does make cooking time a lot faster, and the end result better. If you’re not using a boneless turkey, you might want to cut the drumsticks off prior to cooking, and add the stuffing after its finished. Its optional whether you want to remove the skin or not. I find that removing the skin helps the flour stick better, and gets more of the spices into the meat.

The Recipe

Flickr Photo courtesy of nukeit1

Equipment:
1 Large Stew pot or crawfish pot, and basket (see picture above)

The Turkey:
1 Turkey
Cooking oil

Seasoning Rub:
10 cloves of crushed garlic
3 Tbls Ground Mustard Seed
3 Tbls Black Pepper
Red pepper and salt to tolerance or Tony’s Chachere’s to taste.

Butter or margarine

Tri-meal:
4 Cups of Flour
2 Cups of Corn Meal
1 Cup Bread Crumbs
w/ Tony’s Chacheres taste or Red Pepper and salt to tolerance.

Egg Wash:
6 eggs and cup of milk

First, If your turkey has its innards, set them on the side if you actually eat the stuff (yuck!). You won’t find me giving you a recipe for it! LOL!

Second, cut the drum sticks off if you are using a turkey with bones, and make sure your bird is properly thawed. Dab up any excess water with a paper towel.

Third, heat up the grease to somewhere between 360-380 degrees F, and move on to spicing up your bird. (DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THE OIL!)

Next, Mix together the seasoning rub adding either softened butter, or margarine to it so you get a consistency that will work well as a rub. Cover the bird with it inside and out and afterwards, coat in a thin layer of flour, pour egg wash over the top, and coat with the tri-meal mix.

Last, before placing the turkey in a fryer, inspect the turkey for any wet spots in the flour, shake off any excess tri-meal, and arrange the turkey, and drumsticks on the frying basket. When lowering the turkey into the pot of oil, do so slowly, with gloves on, and not with your face to close to the fryer.

Usually a whole turkey will need to cook for somewhere around 20 to 30 minutes. Although, as a general rule, cooking time should take approximatly four minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches above 170 degrees F.

As a word of advice, I usually check the turkey every five to ten minutes, and a great indicator of when it is almost done is when the drumsticks start to float.