Brining a Turkey

[CHenry]

FWIW, there was a topic on deep-frying turkeys on the local news today.

One main point they stressed was to DRY the THAWED turkey before frying ('cause water splatters like crazy in hot grease).

Another was to make sure you use the proper amount of oil, so it won't spill-over when you SLOWLY lower the DRIED AND THAWED turkey in.

And finally... in case something goes wrong, don't do it in or near any structure you don't want damaged.

Every year there is some houses burned down from this...doing it in the garage or under the eve is NOT a good idea.

 

[dennishoddy]

FWIW, there was a topic on deep-frying turkeys on the local news today.

One main point they stressed was to DRY the THAWED turkey before frying ('cause water splatters like crazy in hot grease).

Another was to make sure you use the proper amount of oil, so it won't spill-over when you SLOWLY lower the DRIED AND THAWED turkey in.

And finally... in case something goes wrong, don't do it in or near any structure you don't want damaged.

Good advice, and the #1 thing to do that NONE of the TV turkey fryer experts say is that just prior to dropping the dry'd turkey into the oil, turn the dammed burner OFF! That takes the chance of a boil over fire to zero. You end up with a mess, not a fire.
When it gets in the oil and is resting on the bottom, relight the burner.

 

[MacFromOK]

Good advice, and the #1 thing to do that NONE of the TV turkey fryer experts say is that just prior to dropping the dry'd turkey into the oil, turn the dammed burner OFF! That takes the chance of a boil over fire to zero. You end up with a mess, not a fire.
When it gets in the oil and is resting on the bottom, relight the burner.

That's an incredibly common sense idea.

I'll refrain from asking how it came into your possession...

 

[Apogee]

Good advice, and the #1 thing to do that NONE of the TV turkey fryer experts say is that just prior to dropping the dry'd turkey into the oil, turn the dammed burner OFF! That takes the chance of a boil over fire to zero. You end up with a mess, not a fire.
When it gets in the oil and is resting on the bottom, relight the burner.

That's exactly what I do, takes 30 seconds, prevents disaster every time.

 

[dennishoddy]

That's an incredibly common sense idea.

I'll refrain from asking how it came into your possession...

It wasn't from a fire, trust me. Its a simple technique that everybody should have thought out before they started frying turkey or anything else. Fire needs three things, Fuel, Oxygen, and a source to start it. Cut out one, and your golden.
That being said, with my wife's FIL in memory care, and DIL Father dying of colon cancer, we aren't having thanksgiving this year in the traditional way. Won't be a good holiday, but that's how life goes.
You deal with the worst, and move on to the future.

 

[MacFromOK]

That being said, with my wife's FIL in memory care, and DIL Father dying of colon cancer, we aren't having thanksgiving this year in the traditional way. Won't be a good holiday, but that's how life goes.
You deal with the worst, and move on to the future.

Prayers and best wishes, Dennis. With my wife's dementia, ours won't be all that great either.

 

[dennishoddy]

Prayers and best wishes, Dennis. With my wife's dementia, ours won't be all that great either.

Sad to hear that. We move on.

 

[Jeff405]

Injecting > Brining.

 

[dennishoddy]

Injecting > Brining.

We had some cajun contractors working at the power plant awhile back. They told me to start injecting the turkey three days before cooking and not doing it from the skin side.
Inject from the cavity side, and if you're careful, you can see the needle pushing up the skin, injecting at that time. The skin retains the marinade.

 

[tRidiot]

I think I'm going to make some butter infused with cajun seasoning with my sous vide, then inject it into my brined turkey. I like the idea of injecting from the inside of the cavity that sounds like a good idea. I actually have Thanksgiving off this year, so I should be able to help the wife make dinner for the first time in a number of years, I think.