I've been waiting weeks for thanksgiving to get here... Mainly because I get to try out my Butterball Electric Turkey Fryer!! I've cooked tons of other things in it, including a whole chicken, but now is the true test of a turkey. It's amazing how many people I find that have never had fried turkey before (this includes my girlfriend and aunt that were here today). They really don't know what they're missing out on! It basically seals the juices in and gives it a nice crispy outside and one of the best parts is that it takes less than an hour to cook. 
When it comes to grocery sales Publix really is an amazing store. I picked up a 10 pound turkey (It really looks bigger than it sounds) for under $6. This is mainly because I have the smaller fryer that only holds up to a 14 pound turkey and I won't be having too many people over for dinner.
To begin I put my frozen turkey in the refrigerate to thaw out for a couple days. I pulled the turkey out last night, removed the packaging, pulled out the neck and bag of giblets, then I patted it dry with a paper towel.
While at the store I saw some Applewood Smoke flavored marinade that came with an injector, so I immediately decided to inject my turkey with some of this stuff. This was my first time using an injector to marinate anything, so I was pretty excited to see how it would come out. After unpacking the turkey I loosened up the skin from the breast, that way I can inject it from underneath the skin without poking holes in it (not sure if it matters, but the hope is that the juices wont leak out while it's cooking). I injected 3 places in each breast and once in each leg, thigh and wing.
While at the store I saw some Applewood Smoke flavored marinade that came with an injector, so I immediately decided to inject my turkey with some of this stuff. This was my first time using an injector to marinate anything, so I was pretty excited to see how it would come out. After unpacking the turkey I loosened up the skin from the breast, that way I can inject it from underneath the skin without poking holes in it (not sure if it matters, but the hope is that the juices wont leak out while it's cooking). I injected 3 places in each breast and once in each leg, thigh and wing.
I made my own turkey rub using salt, black pepper, garlic powder and paprika in relatively equal quantities. I then applied the rub in the turkey cavity and on the skin. To make sure the flavor stays on the turkey I also rubbed it underneath the skin directly on the meat. At this point I can already tell this is going to be one delicious turkey! I put the turkey in the fridge to marinate over night.
This morning I pulled the turkey out of the fridge and let it warm up to room temperature so it does drop the oil temp too much. I gave the bottom of the turkey one last pat down to dry it off before tossing it in the fryer.
My turkey fryer has a convenient temperature nob to turn it on. After turning it to its max setting of 375°F I wait about 30 minutes for it to preheat, then it's ready to go. Last night before prepping the turkey I put it in the fryer pot and filled it with water so I would know how much oil to put in it. Once the oil was heated to 375°F I unplugged the power cord from the fryer just in case I had an accident and carefully lowered the turkey into the fryer very slowly. Luckily I didn't even get one splash or pop.
I allowed 3.5 minutes of cooking per pound, so I set my timer for 35 minutes. After the time was up I couldn't believe how great it smelled in my garage where I was cooking it. I pulled it out of the oil and there sat a perfectly cooked turkey (my opinion is the only that matters).
Carving it was the moment I've been waiting for, so I could finally taste how amazing it turned out. BAM!! It was just as good as I imagined! Juicy, full of flavor and the crispy skin tasted delicious.
If you haven't had the pleasure of eating fried turkey yet I suggest you get on that right now. You're missing out!
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