Everybody loves turkey at the Thanksgiving table, but let’s face it, turkey can be dry. Dry as your grand-pappy’s scalp! That’s always been the biggest complaint I’ve heard about turkey; dry, dry, dry. Well this recipe fixes that problem!
I’ve been frying turkeys for 30+ years. I think I was the first person in my little south Georgia community to ever fry one. My buddy Waldo and I were sitting around one boring, rainy Saturday afternoon. Couldn’t go fishin’, it wasn’t huntin’ season, there was nothing to do. “Let’s fry a turkey!”, I quipped. He just looked at me and said “Let’s fry a WHAT?” He thought I had lost my mind, but a couple of hours later, we had gathered up everything we needed to give it a shot.
There was no internet, no way to look up a recipe, the only reference I had was a short TV segment I had seen a few months before on people from Louisiana actually doing the deed. I thought it was cool. I thought it must taste pretty good because, well it was fried!
Over the years I learned a lot of what NOT to do when frying a turkey. You can really get into a fix pretty quickly mixing hot grease with fire. This isn’t anything someone should attempt without taking the proper precautions.
Let’s go over some of the things NOT to do…
Ok so now that that’s out of the way, here’s my favorite way to fry a great, big, juicy turkey for your Thanksgiving feast.
First the rub:
4 tbsp. Salt
4 tsp. Garlic powder
4 tsp. White pepper
2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Onion powder
Liberally rub the seasonings all over the turkey and drop into enough peanut oil heated to 350° and fry for about 4 minutes per pound.
May your dressing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
Amen and pass the gravy 😉
