SC - deep-frying a whole turkey

[Mordonna22@aol.com]

Huette von Ahrens wrote:
> 
> --- "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
> wrote:
> > In general, when not making specific recipes, I
> > usually use a 3-2-1 (ratio
> > of flour, fat, cold water) pie dough.  This may or
> > may not have a pinch of
> > salt added.  I've grown fond of a 50-50 mix of
> > Crisco and butter for the
> > fat, but the recipe works with almost any kind of
> > solid shortening.  I am
> > also willing to admit I am not the great pie baker.
> > My hands are too hot to
> > properly work the dough, but I get by.
> 
> ????  Tell me more about this!  I have always had
> problems with pie crust and I, too, have hot hands.  I
> always thought that I was just inept with pie crust.
> Why should hot hands be a problem with pie crust?

When you're using a rendered shortening (as opposed to something like
suet),  it is considered a good idea not to let your body heat melt the
fat before the actual baking, because it can have an adverse effect on
the texture of the pastry. See, the way it works is, you cut or break up
the fat into blobs, add liquid and mix to form the dough, which will
still have roughly spheroid blobs of fat in it. When you roll out the
dough these blobs flatten and form layers of fat between sheets of
dough, resulting in, when baked, a flaky crust. If the fat is melted
prior to adding to the dough (unless done intentionally as for a
hot-water crust, a somewhat different animal than your basic shortcrust,
you just get a greasy, soggy, gritty crust.

Standard househusbands' wisdom generally calls for ice water to be used
as the liquid to help with this, and you may want to use a pastry cutter
or even a fork to mash the fat into the flour, rather than the hands. In
cooking schools students are taught to use the hands for speed, but the
rule is generally that while your fingers can get into the dough, your
palm (a more "concentrated" heat source) should not touch the dough.   

HTH,

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com