SC - Deep-fried Turkey? OOP

[Stefan li Rous]

Magdalena vander Brugghe asked:
> I caught a bit of a food show on NPR last Wednesday, and they were talking about
> the dangers of a "new, trendy way of cooking turkey" - immersing it in boiling
> oil.  They were talking about things like setting your curtains on fire or burning
> yourself severely with splashing oil.  I figured this was a joke - deep-frying
> a whole turkey?

> So, my question is, WHY??  Why would someone want to deep-fry a whole turkey?
>  Does it cook faster?  Taste better?  Is a huge stock pot and 30 gallons of
> oil cheaper than a roasting pan?  I can't imagine wanting to maneuver a 25 pound
> bird into and out of a tall pot full of deadly-hot oil sitting way up on the
> stove.  And I'm certain that I couldn't lift the pot down to the ground after
> the oil was hot, put the turkey in and then lift it back UP there safely.  By
> then it would be a 50 or 60 pound tall pot full of deadly-hot oil.  Ouch!  Getting
> it in and out of the oven and flipping it over in the roaster is bad enough.

We did this several years ago for a family get-together. I can't remember
if it was for Thanksgiving or not.

Why? Because it does cook faster. It can taste better. Much juicer.

We did it on a "Cajun" cooker. A large propane burner with three legs.
It was done outside. You don't move the pot of hot oil. You get the oil
hot and dip the turkey in it.

The main problem is that for just one turkey it is rather expensive. That
much oil costs more than the turkey.

- -- 
THLord  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas         stefan at texas.net
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