Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun. Today's question: How do you deep-fry a turkey? How long do you deep-fry a turkey? How much oil do you need to deep-fry a turkey? And, finally: Should you deep-fry a turkey? Spoiler alert: The answer is yes.
Come Thanksgiving, our annual celebration is to set up the deep fryer and invite our friends and their birds over to deep-fry turkeys, one after another. The last few years we’ve deep-fried eight turkeys for Thanksgiving. We could do more in the same pot of oil, but we run out of daylight and enthusiasm. This way we get friends over for a couple of hours, and then send 'em home.