🛢️ Deep-Fried Turkey (Outdoors Only)

Ingredients

• 11 lb Whole turkey, 12 lb or less, completely thawed, neck and giblets removed, not stuffed
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Paprika
• ½ tsp Cayenne pepper, for a little heat (optional)
• 3 gallon Peanut oil, roughly; measure first (step 3). Canola or another high-heat oil works too

Nutrition

Steps

You’ll need: outdoor propane turkey fryer with a 26- to 30-quart pot, basket or rack, and lifting hook, deep-fry thermometer, food thermometer, fire extinguisher rated for grease fires (Class B or K), long oven mitts or grill gloves, and safety glasses, sheet pan with a rack for draining, paper towels.

1. A word first: the National Fire Protection Association discourages home use of gas-fueled turkey fryers, because oil spills and boil-overs start fires. If you fry, follow every step here and the fryer maker’s instructions, or roast or smoke the turkey instead.
2. Use a turkey of 12 lb or less (USDA). It must be completely thawed and never stuffed: ice or water in a frozen or wet bird makes hot oil boil over violently. Take out the neck and giblets and pull off any pop-up timer, plastic or wire.
3. Measure the oil the day before, with water. Put the turkey in the empty fryer pot (in its basket) and add water until it’s covered by about an inch. Lift the turkey out and mark the water line: that’s how much oil you need. Pour out the water and dry the pot and the turkey completely.
4. Pick the spot: outdoors, on flat, level ground, well away from your house and other buildings, wooden decks, trees and anything that burns. Never use a fryer in a garage, on a porch, or under a roof or covered patio. Set the propane tank as far from the burner as the hose allows.
5. Keep a fire extinguisher rated for grease fires within reach. Never use water on an oil fire. Keep children and pets well away from the fryer the whole time, and afterward too: the oil stays dangerously hot for hours.
6. Pat the turkey very dry, inside and out. Mix the salt, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne and rub it over the skin.
7. Fill the pot with oil only to your mark and heat it to 350°F (USDA), watching the deep-fry thermometer. Never leave hot oil unattended. If the oil starts to smoke, turn off the gas.
8. Put on the gloves and glasses. Turn the burner off. Then lower the turkey into the oil very slowly, neck end down, on its rack or basket. When it is fully in and the bubbling has calmed, relight the burner following the fryer maker’s directions and bring the oil back to about 350°F.
9. Fry about 3 to 5 minutes per pound (USDA), so 35 to 55 minutes for an 11-lb bird. Stay with the fryer and keep watching the oil temperature.
10. Turn the burner off. Lift the turkey out slowly and let the oil drain from the cavity back into the pot, then set it on the rack over the sheet pan.
11. Check the temperature with a food thermometer in three places, not touching bone: the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the thigh and the innermost part of the wing. Every spot must read at least 165°F (USDA). If it isn’t done, lower it back into the hot oil the same careful way (burner off) and fry a few minutes more.
12. Let the turkey rest 20 minutes before carving, so the juices settle (USDA). Tent it loosely with foil; it stays hot for 40 minutes or more. Let the oil cool completely, for hours, before you move it or pour it back into its containers for disposal.

🌡 Safe temperaturesTurkey 165°F. Check the thickest part with a food thermometer (USDA). More on food safety.