Do you roast or deep fry your turkey?

[Dancing Fire]

I have never tasted deep fried turkey are they good?

 

[cflutist]

Convection Roast using the oven's probe, usually done in 1.5 hours and perfectly moist.

 

[TooPatient]

I had deep fried at a relative's house one year. It was good but it wasn't great. I prefer the traditional roasted.

For a hilarious (but serious) warning about frying turkeys, go find Alton Brown's Good Eats -- "Fry Turkey, Fry"


If you roast it right, it is deliciously moist and flavorful. I see no need to add any extra fat!

 

[VRBeauty]

We sort of alternate. Deep fried, if done right, is very moist... but it tastes a bit different (to me) than roast turkey... it tastes a bit more like ham. Frying is a really fast way to cook a turkey, but you do end up with a lot of leftover oil. TooPatient - I'm not sure that you're actually eating any extra fat. If so, it's probably because there's less fat cooking off.

Convection Roast using the oven's probe, usually done in 1.5 hours and perfectly moist.

Hmmm... my parents' house has a convection oven but we've never tried cooking the turkey that way. Maybe we should give it a try!

 

[lknvrb4]

My SIL always does a brine and then bakes it, the best turkey by far.

 

[dk168]

I only eat turkey under duress!

DK

 

[NTave]

I don't think there is that big of a difference. I don't care for turkey anyway, but my ex husband did fry one and it was ok. We do the traditional roasted. I think the biggest flavor difference comes from frozen vs fresh. My family does opt for a fresh free range veg fed bird, but eh. They are all fowl.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Roasted, with lots of yummy veggies and drippings for gravy. I am a big fan of the delicious Thanksgiving scent it creates in the house too.

 

[cflutist]

Speaking of turkeys, this is what happens when dear hubby leaves the front door open while chasing a wild flock of turkeys down the street. Some of the chicks decide to invade our house ... pooped on my desk in my office, ran all the way down the hall to hubby's office, also found some in the front bathroom. Lesson learned, never leave the front door open when chasing turkeys or deer away from our front yard.



Here are some of the turkeys in our neighbor's front yard:



Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

 

[telephone89]

Wild turkeys! How cool!

I do mine brined and roasted. I have never deep fried it, and I would be terrified to.

 

[momhappy]

For the past couple of years, my oven space has become more difficult to manage (with the addition of more family and therefore, more food), so we decided to give the deep fried turkey a try. I don't know which is more wonderful: the yummy, moist bird with crispy skin or the fact that not roasting a bird, frees up my oven space I was worried about our homemade gravy & stuffing because I added the turkey roasting liquid (turkey drippings, turkey stock, etc.) to my stuffing and gravy. However, I learned an alternative method that work almost just as well. I let the turkey neck & some of the other giblets simmer in a pan on the stove in some turkey stock and we use that for our gravy & stuffing instead.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Speaking of turkeys, this is what happens when dear hubby leaves the front door open while chasing a wild flock of turkeys down the street. Some of the chicks decide to invade our house ... pooped on my desk in my office, ran all the way down the hall to hubby's office, also found some in the front bathroom. Lesson learned, never leave the front door open when chasing turkeys or deer away from our front yard.



Here are some of the turkeys in our neighbor's front yard:



Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Ahhhhhhhahahahahaha!

 

[distracts]

Neither. We smoke them. And they're considerably better than fried turkey. We used to smoke one and deep fry one but everyone liked the smoked so much better than now we just smoke two. Our turkeys have been brining for two days and get put in the smoker tonight. They'll slowly smoke all night and get taken out to rest tomorrow morning. They'll still be warm when it's time to serve them.

I'm sure my husband would sous vide them if we had a sous vide that could keep enough water heated.

 

[AprilBaby]

My neighbor deep fried the turkey one year and ended up deep frying the entire house. The deck went on fire at 2 am. Never fry a turkey on a wooden deck!

 

[ponder]

My neighbor deep fried the turkey one year and ended up deep frying the entire house. The deck went on fire at 2 am. Never fry a turkey on a wooden deck!

Luckily my mother in law always insists upon roasting one turkey each year, the rest we fry (usually 4-6 birds). One year DH could not get the oil to come up to temperature. He took the lid off the pot and the oil ignited. The flash fire shot 10feet up in the air. The thermometer had stopped working and the oil was so hot that ignited when the air hit it as he lifted the lid to check the oil. Luckily no one was hurt and we had a bird in the oven. The oil was ruined and the neighborhood smelled like burning plastic. You have to be really careful when frying. Always on a non flammable surface and never under a patio or in a garage, people burn their houses down like that. DH won't even do it under high tree branches anymore. Plus we now have 2 thermometers.

 

[ponder]

My neighbor deep fried the turkey one year and ended up deep frying the entire house. The deck went on fire at 2 am. Never fry a turkey on a wooden deck!

Luckily my mother in law always insists upon roasting one turkey each year, the rest we fry (usually 4-6 birds). One year DH could not get the oil to come up to temperature. He took the lid off the pot and the oil ignited. The flash fire shot 10feet up in the air. The thermometer had stopped working and the oil was so hot that ignited when the air hit it as he lifted the lid to check the oil. Luckily no one was hurt and we had a bird in the oven. The oil was ruined and the neighborhood smelled like burning plastic. You have to be really careful when frying. Always on a non flammable surface and never under a patio or in a garage, people burn their houses down like that. DH won't even do it under high tree branches anymore. Plus we now have 2 thermometers.

 

[lyra]

No muss, no fuss roasting. We cook turkey throughout the year. During the summer we grill it on the barbecue. We do not ever do brine. We don't do anything fancy. Always comes out perfect.

 

[canuk-gal]

Speaking of turkeys, this is what happens when dear hubby leaves the front door open while chasing a wild flock of turkeys down the street. Some of the chicks decide to invade our house ... pooped on my desk in my office, ran all the way down the hall to hubby's office, also found some in the front bathroom. Lesson learned, never leave the front door open when chasing turkeys or deer away from our front yard.



Here are some of the turkeys in our neighbor's front yard:



Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

That is pretty darn funny! We have partridges and ducks running around our yard all the time, but none in the house. Just the neighbour's cat.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Gypsy]

Speaking of turkeys, this is what happens when dear hubby leaves the front door open while chasing a wild flock of turkeys down the street. Some of the chicks decide to invade our house ... pooped on my desk in my office, ran all the way down the hall to hubby's office, also found some in the front bathroom. Lesson learned, never leave the front door open when chasing turkeys or deer away from our front yard.



Here are some of the turkeys in our neighbor's front yard:



Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

My uncle has wild turkeys all over his property. We call them the Turkey Mafia, they are bold, mean and unafraid of humans and will attack if they feel like it. I'll admit I am afraid of them. I've seen the damage a determined one can do to a car up close and personal.

 

[Gypsy]

Brined and roasted. We tried a bunch of fancy brines. They all taste the same. Now we do a basic brown sugar, water, pepper and salt brine (that's it) then we follow this recipe for the rest of it: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-turkey-recipe4.html except we use a meat thermometer.


Turns out very good. You have to mind the temperature of the meat, and if you have a large bird (not a ten pounder) pull it out before and let it get up to temperature on the counter so it doesn't overcook.

 

[HollyS]

Deep fried turkey is very tasty. We roast ours, however.

Smoked turkey is done a lot in Texas, but I'm not a fan.

 

[NOYFB]

Neither. DH and I are vegetarians, so we eat this instead. http://fieldroast.com/product/hazelnut-cranberry-roast-en-croute/

It's delicious!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Speaking of turkeys, this is what happens when dear hubby leaves the front door open while chasing a wild flock of turkeys down the street. Some of the chicks decide to invade our house ... pooped on my desk in my office, ran all the way down the hall to hubby's office, also found some in the front bathroom. Lesson learned, never leave the front door open when chasing turkeys or deer away from our front yard.


Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Cf...which one is your Thanksgiving dinner?...

 

[lyra]

Neither. DH and I are vegetarians, so we eat this instead. http://fieldroast.com/product/hazelnut-cranberry-roast-en-croute/

It's delicious!

That looks pretty good. I would try something like that, except for the hazelnuts. DH, DD and I are allergic to hazelnuts.

 

[distracts]

Oh, I forgot the most important part - after the brining but before the seasoning, the turkeys are slathered in rendered duck fat. Apparently this is essential. My husband could tell you all the reasons why but all I know is it makes it taste awesome.

Brined and roasted. We tried a bunch of fancy brines. They all taste the same. Now we do a basic brown sugar, water, pepper and salt brine (that's it) then we follow this recipe for the rest of it: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-turkey-recipe4.html except we use a meat thermometer.

I think our brine is primarily apple cider. And then it's roasted on applewood. So it's very appley.

Smoked turkey is done a lot in Texas, but I'm not a fan.

Come to our Thanksgiving and you'll change your mind.

 

[TooPatient]

My neighbor deep fried the turkey one year and ended up deep frying the entire house. The deck went on fire at 2 am. Never fry a turkey on a wooden deck!

Luckily my mother in law always insists upon roasting one turkey each year, the rest we fry (usually 4-6 birds). One year DH could not get the oil to come up to temperature. He took the lid off the pot and the oil ignited. The flash fire shot 10feet up in the air. The thermometer had stopped working and the oil was so hot that ignited when the air hit it as he lifted the lid to check the oil. Luckily no one was hurt and we had a bird in the oven. The oil was ruined and the neighborhood smelled like burning plastic. You have to be really careful when frying. Always on a non flammable surface and never under a patio or in a garage, people burn their houses down like that. DH won't even do it under high tree branches anymore. Plus we now have 2 thermometers.

We had thought about trying to deep fry one year. Alton Brown convinced us that it was a bad idea -- Fry Turkey Fry

Includes just exactly the bad things you both mentioned!

Since then, DH is happy with roasted turkey.

 

[msop04]

I'm from the South, so you know we're gonna fry a turkey -- it's the juiciest, best tasting preparation IMO, but you HAVE TO BE CAREFUL! In the last few years, I've become a fan of smoked turkey as well...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!!

 

[the_mother_thing]

I'm from the South, so you know we're gonna fry a turkey -- it's the juiciest, best tasting preparation IMO, but you HAVE TO BE CAREFUL! In the last few years, I've become a fan of smoked turkey as well...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!!

Ditto, though I did roast mine today only because I had it roasting while we were visiting family the first half of the day. When I fry a turkey, I usually inject it with marinade 36-48 hours in advance and OMG! I injected the one I roasted today, and it was also delicious. And so juicy & tender it was falling off the bone when carving it up. But I missed that awesome fried flavor.

I can't stand a dry turkey; reminds me of rice cakes. LOL

 

[msop04]

I'm from the South, so you know we're gonna fry a turkey -- it's the juiciest, best tasting preparation IMO, but you HAVE TO BE CAREFUL! In the last few years, I've become a fan of smoked turkey as well...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!!

Ditto, though I did roast mine today only because I had it roasting while we were visiting family the first half of the day. When I fry a turkey, I usually inject it with marinade 36-48 hours in advance and OMG! I injected the one I roasted today, and it was also delicious. And so juicy & tender it was falling off the bone when carving it up. But I missed that awesome fried flavor.

I can't stand a dry turkey; reminds me of rice cakes. LOL

HA! Right?!!

Your injected/roasted turkey sounds delish! Sadly, I'm working today, and the "Thanksgiving Dinner" they brought for us was... lacking.

I'm just a bit southeast of Bham, AL (but from southeast TN originally) -- what fine Southern area are you from JoCo??

 

[ame]

I have never tasted deep fried turkey are they good?

Nor have I, but I've seen lots of people light their lawns on fire.

I've only had it "baked in the oven" whatever that qualifies as. "NORMAL." lol I have never made one, ever, I have no idea how.