Comments on: Turkey Fryers are a Huge Fire Hazard

Turkey Fryers are a Huge Fire Hazard

scarabic — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 20:49:52 -0800

for Thanksgiving tomorrow [12.7MB mpg file]. I've never eaten this delicacy nor seen one of these things used but after a moment's thought, it's not surprising just how dangerous they are. Be safe tomorrow, ye deep-fry eaters. [via Bifurcated Rivets]

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 20:58:05 -0800

This is an awesome post. But, yeah... wow... that's insane. I had no idea the UL was so cool.

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 20:58:08 -0800

If you'd ever tasted a deep-fried turkey, you'd realize it's worth the risk. ;) The trick is to make sure it's really dry, and coat the hell out of it with spices, which will wick away further moisture from the bird's surface.

By: 5MeoCMP

5MeoCMP — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 20:58:56 -0800

That's a pretty scary thing to see -- I have a turkey fryer, but it has 4 legs instead of 3 (and is actually stable). It's never seen oil, and never will; instead, it's my boil kettle for brewing in. :)

By: notsnot

notsnot — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:01:32 -0800

FIRE!!! Like Odinsdream said, neat to see the UL with a sense of humor.

By: L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg

L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:03:02 -0800

For those unable to view the video, a summary: Turkey deep fryers will kill everything you love.

By: stet

stet — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:03:08 -0800

"So, if you don’t want to listen to me … fine. But before you pour 3-5 gallons of perfectly flammable hydrocarbons into that big, wobbly, top heavy pot on Thanksgiving morn, you might want to think about what other products around your home can be connected with the words “engulfed” and “flames”." --Alton Brown That said, damn, does a deep fried turkey sound good.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:05:31 -0800

it's my boil kettle for brewing in. :) That's exactly the application that came to my mind when I saw it!

By: Evstar

Evstar — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:09:19 -0800

People deep-fry turkeys? What the hell?

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:16:50 -0800

Seriously, evstar. What a sick idea.

By: Evstar

Evstar — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:20:44 -0800

I'm sure it tastes about as good as fried chicken ever does. It's just totally unheard of 'round these parts (anywhere North of the border.)

By: eriko

eriko — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:25:00 -0800

When I first saw a turkey fryer, I gasped. Joe User is going to heat 5 gallons of oil to 350F, and then bad things are going to happen. Then I saw how much heat the burners could put out. There's a right way to build a turkey deep fryer. This ain't it. Turkey deep fryers will kill everything you love. See, folks, that there is genius. I could write ten paragraphs, and he nails it in eight words.

By: reverenddrjice

reverenddrjice — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:29:18 -0800

Lots of press about dangerous outdoor units but this unit never gets any attention. Indoor/electric unit, with built-in thermostat avoids issues of oil overheating. Website has a video as well...http://www.masterbuilt.com/

By: lundman

lundman — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:29:31 -0800

What the hey.. you can deep fry your Turkey?! that's just insane, and the whole thing too.. Insane Holioday while we are at it, "you guys" take it far too seriously! (Nu är det jul igen, nu är det jul igen..)

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:31:47 -0800

lundman - "you guys" can go deep fry a whale i know people who do this ... they never mentioned how dangerous it is ... i wonder if they know

By: emjaybee

emjaybee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:34:31 -0800

Deep fried turkey is sooo good, evstar. Seriously. No more dry white meat. If it weren't for fried turkey, I'd have to get through Thanksgiving on stuffing, rolls and potatoes, since I hate the green bean casserole, yams, fruit salads, and cranberry molds. But yeah, it'll kill you to make it. My family always starts up the fryer outside, next to the pool, with a hose handy and no other flammable stuff around. Still dangerous of course. No turkey related post is complete without a turducken link, though.

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:42:01 -0800

No more dry white meat. it is possible to cook a turkey in an oven without drying out the white meat ... i know, i've done it

By: jlkr

jlkr — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:42:51 -0800

A deep fried turkey is really good. Properly done, it's better than fried chicken; and far better than most oven-roasted turkey. We did a pair of them at a reunion -- must have been 9-10 years ago now, well before they became popular. We did a pair of big birds, two big pots, two big burners. Outside, in July. In a drought. We had really stable stands for those pots. (We'd used them the year before for lobster.) The head cooks still do turkeys that way, rather than roasting.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:55:02 -0800

Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without deep fat fried Ostmugooturduckeninrowkeetinch.

By: joseph_elmhurst

joseph_elmhurst — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:03:46 -0800

Umm....

By: joseph_elmhurst

joseph_elmhurst — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:06:04 -0800

Damn registration required. It worked in preview, I swear! Let's try another source. Umm....

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:09:32 -0800

Dry white meat is just the good Lord's way of telling you to put lots of glorious, wonderful gravy all over it. But deep-fried turkey is good, yeah.

By: maledictory

maledictory — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:11:13 -0800

"But yeah, it'll kill you to make it. My family always starts up the fryer outside, next to the pool, with a hose handy and no other flammable stuff around. Still dangerous of course." Well, dangerous insofar as you're fighting a greasefire with a hose...

By: mullacc

mullacc — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:25:22 -0800

The deep-fried turkey is great. It seems easier to avoid drying the meat out when frying. My parents also use it to boil crabs and lobster. For those that are struggling to imagine a deep-fried turkey - don't think KFC. We don't bread it. It looks like this.

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:28:48 -0800

saw this on crooksandliars.com last week. thought it was very interesting. especially like the outtakes, throwaway warnings that didn't make the cut. living in NYC, I was appalled to think what one of these badboys could do in an apt here, then remember, it's more a matter of how many fires occur from this culinary path.

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:34:46 -0800

"People deep-fry turkeys? What the hell?" "Seriously, evstar. What a sick idea." Well, not live ones. Usually.

By: wilful

wilful — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:46:11 -0800

don't you guys have some consumer safety authorities? There is no chance in hell one of those things would be legally able to be sold in my country. But I guess we're a nanny state.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:48:32 -0800

wilful writes "There is no chance in hell one of those things would be legally able to be sold in my country. But I guess we're a nanny state." You'll take my deep-fryer when you pry it from my gnarled, blackened hands!

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:53:10 -0800

Can you cook a turkey with white phosphorus?

By: troutfishing

troutfishing — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:57:05 -0800

I eat Turkey at thanksgiving.

By: wsg

wsg — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:57:07 -0800

Yes, fried turkey is good AND it cooks in a fraction of the time of roasting one. Also, people who know how to fry a turkey know that it must be lowered into the grease very slowly. This being said, I do not recommend trying frying one.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:58:50 -0800

it is possible to cook a turkey in an oven without drying out the white meat ... i know, i've done it Agreed. I'm kinda amused by all the "no more dry turkey!" comments. Roasting a turkey is kind of an art and I think lots of people have botched it up once or more. It's very American to say "screw it" and resort to deep frying the motherfucker in a firey vat rather than just learn how to finesse one's way through that artful roasting. I'm not saying either way... because I haven't tried. But I'll die happy if all I ever get is Mom's roast turkey.

By: troutfishing

troutfishing — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:59:06 -0800

I wonder about the PAH content ( PAH = "Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons" )

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 23:41:41 -0800

Well, not live ones. Usually. First you take a live quail, and shove it up the ass of a live duck. Then you take the live quuck and shove it up the keister of a live chicken. As the quucken waddles about, understandably enraged, you corner it and force it up the wazoo of a live turkey. Then you deep-fry that sumbitch.

By: Malor

Malor — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:04:56 -0800

Roasting really isn't a very good way to do turkey, because it does fundamentally dry it out. You can avoid the worst of the problems and make a really delicious turkey by putting it in one of the roasting bags. But the argument can be made that you are now 'steaming' the turkey rather than 'roasting' it. I'd love to try fried turkey. Maybe someday, if I have a really big paved area, I'll give it a shot. emjaybee: I think being next to a swimming pool may lead to a false sense of security. If there was a bad/out of control fire, I think the instinct would be to push the fryer into the pool. That would be bad for at least three reasons I can think of: A) Most fryers are electric units, and you're trying to shove it into deep water. Not bright. B) There will be a tremendous splash, which will throw hot oil in all directions. It won't have cooled down yet, because oil doesn't mix well with water. It could easily spread the fire further. Even if it didn't, people anywhere around would run the risk of severe, severe splash burns. C) It would play hell with the pool filters/equipment. Even if you avoid electrocuting anyone, or splashing flaming oil all over your backyard and frying various spots on your guests, you'll very likely have a big pool cleaning and repair bill. Personally, I think using the concrete area for frying is a good idea. But I think it might be best to cover the pool while doing it, to avoid (possibly fatal) temptation during emergency.

By: Hat Maui

Hat Maui — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:06:39 -0800

the trick is to test the liquid displacement of the given turkey you're going to fry beforehand -- simply fill your frycauldron (or whatever term of art you prefer) with water to the brim, lower the turkey into that, and then pour out the water until the level is right in the cauldron, ensuring a level such that the whole bird is not quite all the way submerged. there should be plenty of room between that level and the top of the pot (at least 8 inches, but a foot is safer). then you mark the water's level and only add oil sufficient to reach your mark. if you must use one of those walmart jobbies like they use in the demonstration, use a smallish turkey or just a breast, especially since it's easy to cook two birds or breasts in the same amount of time as one 20lb oven roaster. it's truly the best way to eat turkey IMHO (make that "most delicious way"), and it's not especially unhealthful, despite how "deep fried whole turkey" sounds.

By: bigbigdog

bigbigdog — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:07:08 -0800

Breast-down. That's all I'm sayin'. Safe and effective.

By: bigbigdog

bigbigdog — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:08:08 -0800

Well, OK, and rotate it 180 degrees the last 45 mins or so. But damn.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:12:53 -0800

Having a hose around and using a fryer next to a pool don't have to be incredibly stupid ideas. The hose shouldn't be aimed at the burning oil, but it could be helpful for extinguishing anything else that gets to burning. And while it ain't smart to push a burning fryer into a pool, the pool itself is not as as flammable as, say, a wood fence.

By: jjg

jjg — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:15:14 -0800

People deep-fry turkeys? What the hell? As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fry.

By: fshgrl

fshgrl — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:17:37 -0800

People deep fry turkeys indoors?? I had no idea- we do it outdoors on a hill sloping away from anything flammable, next to a snowbank. I discovered the deliciousness that is deep fried turkey several years ago and I will never go back- it's so quick! and delicious!

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:55:39 -0800

First you take a live quail No pheasant, peacock or swan? You Americans and your fast food habits...

By: freshwater_pr0n

freshwater_pr0n — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:58:13 -0800

Scary stuff. A certain tobacco-chawin', perpetually drunk redneck I know invites all of his friends over for a turkey fry (and lots of beer) every year before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then he leaves the buckets of oil and stray turkey parts to evolve in the backyard until August, when he cleans them out for the crawdad boil. Woo, doggie!

By: Cranberry

Cranberry — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 01:03:18 -0800

We had deep fried turkey a couple of times. The constant watching is the worst part - BORING! It is a whole lot easier to pop the bird into the enormous roasting pan, put on the cover and go do something else for as long as it takes. The white meat is not dry and the stuffing is safely cooked through. If your aesthetic sense requires a parched dark tan skin, simply remove the cover for the last half hour of cooking. Obvious disclaimer/ If turkey is too bland for you, you can alter the taste with cranberry sauce or jelly or relish. I just got a jar of cranberry-pepper sauce to contribute to the Thanksgiving festivities.

By: moift

moift — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 01:53:17 -0800

Protip: everything tastes good when you deep fry it. Except the shit they give you at Long John Silvers'. America. :eyeroll:

By: flaterik

flaterik — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 02:09:30 -0800

I've only actually fried a turkey when there was snow 1' away. It seemed rather safe. Also, the "don't be a jackass" rule seems to be one that's often ignored by joe-user in this case. No one can stress enough the importance of "don't be a jackass".

By: juiceCake

juiceCake — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 04:54:30 -0800

People deep-fry turkeys? What the hell? posted by Evstar at 12:09 AM EST on November 24 [!] I'm another who has never heard of this. MeFi is a great source of learning. For those of you talking about dry turkeys, have you not heard of brining the turkey. Spectacularly moist without the health risks of frying.

By: furtive

furtive — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 05:21:50 -0800

(obligatory) Metafilter: will kill everything you love.

By: atticus

atticus — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 05:43:17 -0800

do Americans really deep fry turkeys? i thought us Scots were bad with our mars bars and pizzas

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 06:17:11 -0800

*looks outside at blizzard-like weather* yeah, i'm sure a lot of people are going outside to deep fry turkeys where i live today

By: leftcoastbob

leftcoastbob — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 06:30:47 -0800

I have a convection oven which somehow roasts meat instead of baking it. The difference is amazing. Also, my family doesn't get things like three-wheelers or turkey fryers--I've answered too many horrendous 9-1-1 calls regarding these contraptions to allow them around my loved ones. We also have an artificial tree for the same reason. Sometimes the near and dear ones wish that I had gone into something like retail sales or accounting so that they could live in blissful ignorance rather than hearing the horror stories about the "fun" stuff.

By: warbaby

warbaby — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 06:58:58 -0800

Rub a brown paper grocery bag with butter. Put turkey in bag and staple shut. Roast. Eat moist turkey. For extra tender party-in-your-mouth goodness, brine the turkey and put a little brandy in the brine. But real manly men deep fry their turkeys. And it's good. Not as exciting as grilling with liquid oxygen, but close. Distant siren screams Dumbass Vern's been playing with Gasoline again

By: bonehead

bonehead — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:05:52 -0800

I too am startled by the number of dry-turkey comments. As juiceCake mentions, brining is laughably easy---even I can do it---and results in a beautiful bird.

By: warbaby

warbaby — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:09:11 -0800

You know you're a redneck if somebody in your family died immediately after saying "Hey, y'all, watch this!"

By: jennyb

jennyb — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:22:11 -0800

My in-laws deep fry a turkey every year and have for a loooong time (they are southern). I'm proud to say that they are very safe - they measure the oil using the displacement technique detailed above, use the fryer on a cement patio, lower the turkey in slowly and carefully using fireproof goves, and never leave the thing unattended. My father-in-law works for the forest service and is the most methodical, safety conscious man I know. That said, I hate being near the turkey fryer while it's doing its thing, and I don't really like deep fried turkey. Or, more accurately, I don't really see how it's any better than the roasted turkey my Aunt Edna makes. But I'm a yankee, so what can you expect? I'm avoiding the dry turkey pitfall this year by making lasagna for Thanksgiving dinner.

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:26:01 -0800

I'm intrigued - I really can't imagine how this would taste (er, other than greasy and disgusting like fried chicken). Not that I'm going to attempt to deep fry a turkey after seeing this - how are those fryers even legal? I have a convection oven which somehow roasts meat instead of baking it. Um, all ovens roast meat, just as all ovens bake bread.

By: Jon-o

Jon-o — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:35:50 -0800

I just don't see a bright side to using one of these deep fat turkey friers. If, on the off chance, your frier doesn't kill or maim you (as it appears to be designed to do), at the end of the day, you're still eating deep fried turkey. Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me.

By: Jon-o

Jon-o — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:40:17 -0800

The Deep Fat Turkey Frier: Brought you by the creators of the Hand Grenade Toaster Oven.

By: cusack

cusack — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:42:30 -0800

warbaby, that was a great link...

By: cusack

cusack — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:43:48 -0800

Appropo, there is a turkey fryer story on cnn at this very moment.

By: sotonohito

sotonohito — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:50:25 -0800

Roasting a turky and getting moist meat is not dificult at all. Don't use a roasting bag, that just steams it and turns it into nasty mush. Pull out the giblets, and determine cause of death (hmm, this turky had two hearts, no liver, and three gizzards... He, he's dead Jim). Rub the turky lightly with vegetable oil (olive oil adds a nice flavor, but anything will work). Add salt, peper, and garlic to taste. Put the turky in a roasting pan with a bit of water (a quarter inch or so to start things off) in the bottom and roast at 350 degrees until its done. Check the water level every once and a while and make sure that there is always a bit of liquid in the base of the pan. The result is a perfectly moist bird.

By: runningdogofcapitalism

runningdogofcapitalism — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:57:09 -0800

Cooking fowl in a bucket of saturated fat, heated to 350 degrees, which could burst an artery or explode into flames. Or both. I sense the liver-spotted hand of Darwin is at play here.

By: reverenddrjice

reverenddrjice — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:58:35 -0800

Emeril's Deep Fried Cajun Turkey

By: localroger

localroger — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:58:48 -0800

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned yet how I'm preparing our T-day turkey -- a water smoker. In about five hours I'll have a very moist, falling off the bones bird with wonderful flavor. Because I find charcoal a PITA I'm using a propane conversion kit which rocks.

By: mr.curmudgeon

mr.curmudgeon — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 08:13:02 -0800

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fry. WKRP reference! Well played!

By: maudlin

maudlin — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 08:46:54 -0800

Scared of dry turkey breast? If you're strong like bull, you can roast the turkey upside down for the first part of the cooking time, then flip it. Or if you're a wee scrap of a lass like me, loosen the breast skin from the meat so it forms a pocket, then slip in some turkey stuffing to make about a half inch inch thick layer that shields the breast and adds both moisture and flavour to the breast meat. Plus the cooked skin will have chunks of roasted dressing attached. It's goooooood.

By: Danf

Danf — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 08:49:42 -0800

Fryer smokes bird, now house in Eugene, OR.

By: Uther Bentrazor

Uther Bentrazor — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 09:20:46 -0800

In the outtakes reel, when they were showing the montage of things catching fire, a part of me was really hoping that the UL Logo they showed right after would catch fire too.

By: Cyrano

Cyrano — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 09:26:25 -0800

Hat Maui and jennyb are right on about the liquid displacement thing. It's probably not the kind of thing that falls under Common Sense until you've actually done it, but then it seems so obvious that you gaze in horror at anyone who doesn't do it. Plus if you're cooking outside without at least some chance of being horribly wounded, well, you should probably go back inside and use the microwave. Wuss. As for dry turkey. Well, there's always a brine. And beer can chicken, done right, is fabulous for moistnisity. They still sell those big cans of Fosters, right?

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 09:55:35 -0800

Cyrano writes "And beer can chicken, done right, is fabulous for moistnisity" You don't even have to use beer, I prefer a can of 7-up myself (also the secret ingredent in my to die for bannock).

By: maudlin

maudlin — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 10:03:13 -0800

*taps foot, waiting for Mitheral's to die for bannock recipe*

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 10:38:50 -0800

That shouldn't be *taps foot, that should be *dies. HTH. HAND.

By: Zinger

Zinger — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 10:48:43 -0800

No more dry white meat. I know this is akin to blasphemy, but I never understood why turkey became the meat of choice for this or any other holiday. It's usually dry and not very flavourful. Duck or goose is much more interesting. Pheasant or even cornish hens... (User prepares to hide from the turkey marketing association police)

By: fshgrl

fshgrl — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 10:51:52 -0800

If, on the off chance, your frier doesn't kill or maim you (as it appears to be designed to do), at the end of the day, you're still eating deep fried turkey. Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me. Seriously- it is so damn good and takes all of 45 minutes. Not greasy at all with perfectly moist and evenly cooked meat and no basting! I was introduced to this strange practice after moving to the States and I initially had the concerns you do but I've been won over. I leave it to the experts to perform the actual frying procedure.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 11:03:50 -0800

maudlin writes "waiting for Mitheral's to die for bannock recipe" Hmm, ever asked your grandmother for her bread recipe? Ok here goes (all measures approximate):

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 tablespoons grease (in order: bear, ungulate(deer, elk, moose), pig(bacon), that horrible white stuff in one pound blocks, butter I suppose)
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
50/50 cold water and stale 7-Up (open a few cans the night before).

For frying pan cooking: Mix flour, bp, and salt. Mix in grease. Heat a cast iron frying pan with a bit of grease to bacon cooking temperature. You want a slight coating, just enough to prevent the bannock from sticking. Once the pan is hot add cold water and 7-Up in equal proportions until ingredients form a firm dough. Form handsize cakes about 3/8"-1/2" thick and dust with flour so they don't stick to your hands. Lay the cakes in the pan ensuring their is enough room to move the cakes around. Giving the cakes a little nudge every once and a while cook until a firm crust forms on the bottom, say about 5-6 minutes. Turn the cakes over and cook the other side. If you have an open fire available and no frying pan (or to keep kids busy) make a firmer dough by adding less water/7-Up. Form the bannock into long thin strips which can be spiral wrapped around a stick. The bannock can then be cooked like hotdogs over coals. Serve hot with jam. If berries are in season add to suit but not so much that the bannock breaks apart. Basically the same recipe deep fries pretty good too but I've only eaten it that way never made it.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 11:19:54 -0800

Zinger writes "I never understood why turkey became the meat of choice for this or any other holiday. It's usually dry and not very flavourful." The problem is the modern supermarket turkey is an over bred freak of natur^H^H^H^H^H science that has had large breasts selected for to the point that it often can't even procreate itself. A heritage turkey raised with scratch room outside is wonderful eating but it is also rarely larger than 15lbs.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 13:24:23 -0800

Since, amazingly enough, some have actually deigned to disparage turkey as a meat, regardless of its preparation, I feel the need to say that I think it's the most fantastic game of all and I'd happily substitute it for every other meat in every other dish I eat all year long. Carne Asada burrito? Carne TURKEY burrito! BWAAAK!!!

By: Slarty Bartfast

Slarty Bartfast — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 14:39:13 -0800

CNN's Thanksgiving Day coverage: 2003: Look at what those redneck freaks are doing with a turkey and a deep fryer! 2004: Hey, this deep fried turkey thing actually tastes really great... 2005: Hundreds of people have burned down their houses trying to deep fry their turkey.

By: jlkr

jlkr — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 14:56:24 -0800

Zinger:I know this is akin to blasphemy, but I never understood why turkey became the meat of choice for this or any other holiday. It's usually dry and not very flavourful. Wild turkey is very good. Free-range domestic heritage turkey is also very good. They're also smaller than most people want to serve at a big dinner. A frozen Butterball turkey is really no comparison. They've been bred for size and breast size at the expense of flavor and brains and everything else (a school friend used to work at a turkey farm, and tells stories of the turkeys being too dumb to come in out of the rain).

By: darkstar

darkstar — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 17:29:48 -0800

Do not taunt the turducken.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 19:27:09 -0800

TURDUCKEN, I TAUNT THEE, SON OF A SILLY PERSON!

By: taosbat

taosbat — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 19:41:21 -0800

I read this post this morning. I'd never had deep-fried turkey. I had vaguely heard of it. Imagine my surprise when I got to dinner at my friends' and found one of those three-legged cauldrons on the back porch. They had both a traditionally-roasted turkey and a fried one...as well as a ham and a huge standing rib roast...Yassa! This was their first try with the fryer. My hostess is an old pro at traditional roasting. Her son bought the fryer a couple of years ago; but, he ended up doing a tour in Iraq with our local NG before he got to use it. The breast meat of each turkey was excellent and moist (if your turkey is dry, learn how to cook it); however, the breast meat of the deep-fry had a more succulent mouth-feel (so savory!) than I have ever experienced from a roasted turkey. The tip of the wing of the fried turkey was over-done. I think the fried turkey will only improve as my friends gain more experience with the technique. I also think it might be a good idea to find a safer (like safer sex?) way to do it. The video - and some of the above links ("We're gonna burn another house down," Schmerber joked.) - were pretty impressive. The folks I dined with know at least three people who own these contraptions. Of those three, one had burned their kitchen up with it.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 06:43:10 -0800

taosbat writes "I also think it might be a good idea to find a safer (like safer sex?) way to do it." Turkey fryers as linked in the video were obviously designed by a bean counter and not an engineer. If they just hung the pot from tripod instead of sitting it on top the pot would be nay impossible to tip over. It's like the fryers were invented by some guy with a hatred of thanksgiving and all those who celebrate it.

By: fungible

fungible — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 07:16:06 -0800

My brother said he deep-fried 15 turkeys with jalapeno this year. I hope he knew what he was doing. Question: Why can't you just cut the thing up and do it in pieces? Then you can do it in the kitchen, even. Next year's recipe: DEEP FRIED TURDUCKEN!! WITH CHILI PEPPERS!! AND A CREAMY CENTER OF PURE CRISCO!!

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 08:49:28 -0800

I receive a daily financial newsletter email that has unusual news stories attached. This morning's copy: In Eugene, Washington, a construction workers' tradition of cooking a turkey for an early Thanksgiving celebration went awry when the oil in their deep fryer caught fire, burning the house they had just finished building. Cement worker Henry Schmerber bought a new propane fryer for the occasion Tuesday and set it up in the garage of the vacant house. The oil inside overheated, spilled into the burner and ignited, workers said. Flames spread through the garage and up the front of the house, into a second-story room of the unsold home. The men fought the blaze with a fire extinguisher, to no avail. Eugene District Fire Chief Paul Dammen put the loss at $75,000. Luckily, it was insured.

By: chronic babe

chronic babe — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 13:56:31 -0800

this is the best holiday film ever.