Texas Deep-Fried Turkey Recipe

Two ways of producing a tasty and juicy turkey are to use an injection sauce (which is essentially what the brand Butterball does by injecting butter into the bird) and to cook the turkey as fast as possible to minimize it drying out.

Deep frying a whole turkey quickly cooks it by delivering intense heat to all surfaces of the bird, both inside and out.  This means 18lbs whole turkey can be fully cooked in about an hour.  Furthermore, the hot oil quickly liquefies the fat and removes it from the bird, thereby significantly reducing the fat of the cooked turkey.

By injecting the turkey with a Cajun butter sauce and then deep frying, one will have an unforgettable Texan culinary experience.

Some people like to also use a rub when frying. I love using rubs, but, in my experience, frying burns and removes a lot of the rub producing a bitter taste.  Injecting the seasoning via a butter sauce allows the flavors to remain at their original intensity.

For the Injection Sauce:

·        2 cups butter

·        2 T onion powder

·        2 T garlic powder

·        1/4 cup KA Hot Sauce

·        1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

·        2 ½  T KA-Ranch Cajun Cowboy

·        7 fluid ounces Lone Star beer

For the Turkey:

·        3 gallons peanut oil for frying

·        1 (18 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed

Directions:

1.     Melt the butter in a microwave or in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and beer. Mix until well blended.

2.     Use a marinade injecting syringe and inject a small amount of sauce all over the turkey including the legs, back, wings, thighs and breasts.  My rule of thumb is to inject in a pattern so that every slice bite of meat will benefit from the flavor of the sauce.

3.     When it's time to fry, make sure you know where the oil level should be once you immerse the bird in it.  Some frying pots have lines already imprinted on the side which are fairly accurate.  If yours does not, the first thing you want to do before you start this recipe is to put your turkey into the pot and cover the bird with cold water.  Pull the turkey out and scratch a line into the side of the pot where the top of the water is.  This is your mark to fill the oil to.  If you have come to this step and your bird is already injected and ready to fry, simply place it into a cold pot and cover it with the oil until it is submerged.  Then remove the turkey and keep it in a safe place until the oil is hot.  DO NOT over fill the oil!  Doing so can cause the oil to pour over the top of the pot and ignite when it contacts the propane flame.

4.     Heat the oil to 325 degrees F .  Very slowly lower the turkey into the hot oil slowly using the hook that comes with your deep-fryer.  The turkey should be completely submerged in the oil. Cook for 3.5 minutes per pound of turkey. The turkey is done when the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F.  I normally have a clean, flattened old box on which to set the turkey to drain for a few minutes once I take it out of the oil.  Allow to rest on a serving platter for about 20 minutes before carving.