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This is a guest post written by my wonderful and charming husband who is always looking for ways to make me happy. I hope you enjoy!:)

Every family has their traditions for the holidays, and this family tradition started seemingly forever ago. Our foray into slowly lowering a well-marinated, twelve-pound bird into a simmering kettle of oil began several years before we had even started our family. Well before our kids were born, we used to spend our evenings doing whatever we wanted. Not that we would trade what we have now for anything, but it was pretty awesome. We would do all sorts of things like make fanciful, gourmet-style dinners and then relax with a glass of sweet Reisling while chatting about what we wanted out of life and making a list of things to make while watching The Food Network.

The Night Everything Changed

Our tradition started one fateful evening while watching one of our favorite shows ‘Good Eats’ with host Alton Brown. Maybe you’ve seen or heard of him, but if not he’s a quirky, food-loving, mad scientist-type with a knack for inspiring you to shake-up your Top 10 Go-to Recipes list. A tradition was born in our family that night as he transformed our mindset from simply being comfortable just eating the typical dried-out Thanksgiving bird to setting the bar amongst all of our family and friends with nothing less than the juiciest, most flavorful, tender, golden-brown skinned delight you’ve ever had on your overfilled plate. We discovered the power of the Deep Fried Turkey. We started our journey with his basic deep fried turkey recipe.

Standing the Test of Time (and saving mom time too)

We used to eat dry, oven-roasted turkey just like everyone else but after tasting the difference, we’ll never go back. It’s not just how amazing the turkey tastes though. After years of doing this, we’ve realized when Dad takes care of frying the turkey; Mom actually has enough time to do all of the other things she needs to be able to do and still keep her sanity. Plus, Dad gets to get out of the house and away from crazy Aunt Ellen (just kidding Auntie E). Everybody wins. You just can’t put a price on that. It alleviates a whole lot of unnecessary stress, and the holidays are more enjoyable for everyone because everyone is pitching in. It’s like a well-oiled bird, errrr… machine.

It’s an Investment in the Family

It took several years to perfect the workflow and the system, but we have it down to a science now, and we want to share with you the process, tools, and timing that works so well for us so that you too can transform your Thanksgiving and be the hero this coming holiday season. Sure, you will need a few things, and it’s a little bit of an investment up front, but it’s so worth it and the equipment will last many holidays to come. In a decade you’ll look back and realize how smart you were for making the investment. Help us help you; you’ll thank us later.

The Tools of the Trade

There are some things you absolutely need in order to pull this off safely and fortunately, you can get almost all of the equipment either online or at your big box store. Some of the other stuff is for exceptional quality and making life easier. Either way, you want to make sure you have all of it for the best possible outcome. (You can find most of these Turkey Frying items on Amazon)

• Deep Frying Kettle with Lid
• Deep Frying Burner
• Bird Stand & Holding Hook
• Heavy Gloves
  (preferably that cover up to the forearm)
• 20 lb. Propane tank (new/full)
• Long stem grill lighter (I buy mine at Menard’s for $2 each)
• Marinade Injector
• Funnel
• Mesh Metal Screen Strainer
• 5-gallon food grade bucket (or medium-sized insulated cooler)
  (I get mine cheap from Menard’s or Lowe’s)
• Thermometer for Oil Temp (Infrared thermometer recommended, long probe thermometer works too)
• Meat Thermometer (Can also use long probe thermometer in a pinch – they’re not extremely accurate though)

The ‘Ingredients’

• 12-14 lb. Fresh Turkey
• Marinade (here’s 5 to choose from.)
• Peanut Oil (3+ gallons of a peanut oil blend recommended for best results)
• Kosher Salt
• Brown Sugar
• Ice

You Might Need These, Too

• Baking Tray
• Small Mixing Bowl
• Paper Towels
• Dish Soap
• Scrub Brush
• Plastic Grocery Bag (or even better a plastic bin/tote dedicated to this endeavor)

Prepare for Glory

I’ve broken the process down for you into six easy-to-remember steps:

1. Pick it up (secure the turkey)
2. Juice it up (brine and marinate)
3. Set it up (preparing the battle station),
4. Fry it up (hops and bubbles),
5. Carve it up (defending the meat),
6. and lastly Clean it up.

Step 1 – Pick It Up (Secure the Bird)

Now, the first step is to make sure you have the bird and make sure it is mostly thawed in the refrigerator about 48 hours before the day you’re going to cook it. If you’re buying a frozen bird, make sure you have enough time to thaw it a full 24 hours before cooking time. We’re going to make a brine and put the bird in the brine overnight the night before we cook it.

Okay,  so you secured the bird and have a plan for everything you’re going to need? Good. We need to make a schedule for everything that is about to happen over the next 24-48 hours. That deserves a trip to the fridge for a cold beverage of your choice.

Step 2 – Juice it Up (Brine and Marinate)

Brine Time

About 24 hours before we’re ready to cook the bird, we’re going to put our mostly thawed bird into our clean 5-gallon bucket or cooler and fill it with enough lukewarm water. Put the bird in first, and then fill it with just enough water so that the bird is submerged, usually about 2/3  full. We’ll take the bird out and set it aside on our baking pan while we make the brine. Add equal parts (1 to 2 cups of each) brown sugar and kosher salt into the lukewarm water and mix it together. We now have our brine. We add the bird back into the brine and add enough ice on top and cover it to keep the water nice and cold overnight. We don’t want to re-freeze the bird with ice, just keep it cold overnight and into the morning while Dad helps mom sweep the floor, wrangle the kids, and run to the store for those last-minute fifteen items that were forgotten. 😉

Marination Station

A few hours before you’re ready to start cooking the bird, we will need to remove the bird from the brine. Before you set your bird on the bird stand, you’ll want to remove any plastic, twine, and the giblet bag that is usually stuffed inside of the turkey. You don’t want to deep fry these things on the bird. You’ll then set the bird on the bird stand which you’ll use to lower the bird into the hot oil later. We want the bird to acclimate to room temperature before we fry it up, and we want it to be marinating while it returns to normal temp. Pour your marinade into a small mixing bowl and draw the marinade into the injector. You’ll want only to draw marinade from the bowl so you don’t contaminate the rest of the marinade in the bottle. You can always add more into the mixing bowl if need be. Inject the marinade into every meaty muscle that bird has to offer. Make sure you especially focus on the breast, the thighs, wings, and all of the other large surfaces. Try to get as much into the muscle as possible, but you don’t want it dripping out excessively onto the skin.

Step 3 – Fill It Up (Preparing your battle station)

While the bird is marinating, you can get everything else set up. Selecting your location is important. Deep frying can be dangerous, so it’s best to do it outside away from anything you don’t want to catch on fire. For your first time, it’s best to setup your burner and connect it to the gas tank outside and away from the garage. Being that we have done this dozens of times now, we are confident in our ability to do it safely (with a dry bird) that we usually do it in the garage. Doing it outside can make it a little trickier to modulate your oil temperature, so you will just need to check it more frequently. Keep a fire extinguisher handy. While it would be terrible to have to use it and potentially lose the bird in the process of extinguishing a fire, it would be worse to lose your home. Especially around the holidays.

I set up a nearby card table out in my garage with all of the tools and equipment I need. Set your kettle on the burner, and fill the kettle with good quality frying oil. Most kettles have a visible fill line that you want to stay below to prevent boilover.

Step 4 – Fry It Up (hops and bubbles)

Light the burner and bring the temperature of the oil up to about 250 degrees (F). For starting out, a long probe metal thermometer is just fine but I’ve had several stop working over the years so I bought an IR Thermometer as my primary measuring tool. You could use both the IR thermometer to get a good idea of what the oil surface temperature is and the probe thermometer to gauge the internal turkey temperature.

While the oil is heating up, this is a good time to open a cold, hoppy beverage and lightly pat the bird dry with some paper towels to remove any excessive moisture. Remember, oil and water don’t mix. When you add high temperatures into that equation, you can get deep fried fireballs and a fire hazard.

Once the oil temperature is at 250 degrees (F) you’ll want to use your holding hook to slowly lower the bird on its metal bird stand into the hot oil. Once the bird is in the oil, start your timer. Then bring your oil temperature up to a max of 350 degrees (F). Throughout the duration of cooking the bird, you’ll want to check that temperature to make sure it is not exceeding 350 degrees (F) so that the skin doesn’t burn before the meat is cooked. I follow Alton Brown’s recommendation of 35 minutes for a 13-14 lb. turkey, or about 2.5 minutes per lb. I check the bird by lifting it up briefly, using the hook, at the 20-minute mark, the 30-minute mark, and then about every other minute afterward. I look for the outside of the bird to be a dark, golden-brown, but you don’t want the skin to be burnt or charred. Again, make sure the temperature stays under 350 degrees (F) to avoid charring.

Depending on the size of the bird, somewhere between that 30-35 minute mark when the skin is dark, golden-brown and I think it might be done. I will pull the bird up out of the oil and set it on the dry baking tray and use the meat thermometer by sticking it into, but not through the breast meat and verify I am at or above about 151 degrees (F). Once the bird is at that temperature, take the bird out and set it on the pan. The bird will continue to cook outside of the oil (“carry-over”) and you’ll want to probe the meat and watch for it to reach the target ‘good-to-eat’ temperature of 161 degrees (F).

Step 5 – Start the Clean-up

Part 1: While the bird is resting to the ‘good-to-eat temperature, you can turn off the burner and start letting the hot oi cool, try to rinse/hose off all of your tools and clean everything that may have gotten messy or greasy. It’s best to do this now because after carving and eating the turkey, you’re not going to want to do much else. 🙂 I put all the tools back into the rinsed 5-gallon bucket and fill with hot soapy water to help minimize the amount of scrubbing later. Take the bird in to carve it up, while the tools are soaking and come back out to finish the last step of clean up after you eat.

Part 2: After eating dinner, the last thing I’ll do is wait for the oil to be down to about 100 degrees (F) and pour it back into it’s containers. I use the funnel and the strainer to minimize spillage and to keep turkey particles from going back into the oil container. I leave the last bit of dark oil (and any remaining chunks) at the bottom in the frying kettle and spray that out with the hose and then fill with soapy water and scrub it clean. Put everything away, and feel free to indulge in one more cold victory beverage if you’re so inclined. You’re all done. BOOM.

Step 6 – Carve it Up (Defending the Bird)

Once the bird has reached the ‘ready-to eat’ temperature of 161 degrees F, you’ll want to get the bird inside and ready to carve. When you do, you’ll likely start hearing “oooh’s” and “ahhh’s.” While your inclination is to be extremely proud of this glorious meat you’ve prepared, do not let these sounds of affirmation distract you. What’s really going on is that everyone wants to begin sampling the Turkey for themselves, and so your goal should be to carve the meat as quickly and as efficiently as possible before everyone starts eating it directly from the tray you’re carrying it on. Make sure to save yourself a small piece to sample at the beginning of the carving. After all, you’ll need to verify the bird is good to eat before serving it to your guests, right? If you need some tips on how to carve the bird, I suggest watching the short How to Carve a Turkey video by Alton Brown. As you carve the bird, transfer the cut pieces onto a serving tray for your guests to devour from there. After carving and eating, head back out to finish Step 5.

Was that worth it, or what?!

Since the first year we’ve been doing deep-fried turkey, we’ve always gotten a ton of compliments. And even those family members that aren’t into small-talk much, you always know they enjoy it too because that is the first bird that’s gone. For big family gatherings of 20 or more people, we’ll still do a bird in the oven too, but the difference is huge, and everyone goes for that deep fried turkey first. That deep fried bird will steal the show, no doubt, and it will save Momma the extra work of having to prepare everything. If you can take preparing and cooking the bird off of her to-do list, you’ll be a hit with her too.

While a lot has changed since those early days, before kids, our Deep Fried Turkey is a family staple of Thanksgiving, and we still do get The Food Network Magazine. We don’t have much time to watch the cooking shows as much anymore, but we’re so thankful that we discovered the incredible power of the deep fried turkey. We hope that you will too. Bon Appetit!

Want to be sure you have your ducks in a row for Thanksgiving? Download my free Thanksgiving Planner printable and get ready for the big day!