Planning key to a tasty, fried turkey

When it comes to deep frying a holiday turkey, simple steps before, during and after can assure a safe and tasty experience free of such pesky annoyances as emergency rooms and firefighters.

Food and fire safety are two issues that should be seen to long before cooking time, according to veteran firefighter Florence Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff Delung and Butterball Turkey Talk Line supervisor and 26-year expert Marjorie Klindera.

For starters, Klindera said the ideal turkey for the job is:

• Completely thawed (a fire safety issue).

• Drained and wiped dry inside and out (yes, the cavity, too).

• Lacking giblets and a neck in its cavity (as if you’d forget).

• Not stuffed (a food safety issue).

The correct way to thaw the turkey is in the refrigerator — one day of thawing for every 4 pounds, Klindera said. To be even safer, she recommended giving it an extra day or two as the bird will be safe in the refrigerator for as many as four days after it thaws.

Seasoning the bird is a personal decision, Klindera noted.

“Turkey itself has a wonderful flavor,” she said.

For people who want to inject their bird, Klindera said there are many off-the-shelf products for that, including kits from Butterball that include both seasoning and injector.

When it comes to fried turkey, rubs need not apply, or be applied.

“Some people like to put things on the skin, but when you fry it, then it comes off,” she said.

Seasoning the oil also is a bad idea and possibly a fire hazard, Klindera said.

And as to the stuffing, the turkey won’t be in the cooker long enough to properly cook the stuffing.

To figure out how much oil should be put in the kettle, Delung recommended placing the turkey into the pot and filling it with water, then removing the turkey and noting how much water is left, then pouring that much oil into the pot.

For safety reasons, the oil level should be 4-5 inches below the lip of the pot, he said.

When the time comes to set up the cooker, find a level surface away from such flammable objects as wooden decks, homes and the like, Delung said.

Butterball recommends pre-heating the oil to 375 degrees and turning the burner off while slowly and gently lowering the bird into the pot — something that will help keep the pot from boiling over and exposing that oil to an open flame.

After the turkey is in the pot, fire the burner back up and get cooking.

Some key tools at this point in the process include:

• Food thermometer with long probe (for measuring the temperature of the oil and bird);

• A silicon oven mitt long enough to cover hand and forearm (in medieval days, they poured boiling oil on unwelcome visitors);

• Kitty litter (Delung likes it to throw on spilled oil to both clean it up and render it harmless).

The bird will need three to four minutes per pound to cook and should be attended constantly during the process, Klindera and Delung said.

The little red popup timer doesn’t always go off, Delung said. He prefers a meat thermometer plunged into the meatiest part of the bird with a temperature goal of 180 degrees. Butterball recommends a dark-meat temperature of 175-180 degrees and a white meat temperature of 165-170.

When it comes time to remove the bird, Klindera said to let the turkey hang over the kettle to drain most of the oil and then put it on paper towels to absorb the remaining oil. Butterball recommends letting the turkey sit for 20 minutes before removing it from the boiling rack and serving.

The Butterball turkey help-line is 1-800-BUTTERBALL, its Web site is www.butterball.com, and it offers mobile tools.