If you've ever fried a turkey...

[slag]

May I suggest you smoke one instead? My inlaws fried 3 turkeys this weekend and all 3 came out overdone on the outside and done ok on the inside, but just paled in comparison to one smoked @ 300 degrees until internal temp was 170.

Fried turkey had its time, but its messy, potentially dangerous, and often times, the heat can be difficult to maintain as you get the large drop when the bird goes in, and then it takes 10 minutes or so to get the heat back up and it skews the cooking time. If you have even a little bit of ice left in the center, it makes it a lot worse as one of their turkeys had.

So..
fried turkey. Can be oily, not cooked in center, outside parts are overdone, messy, expensive, and overall meh

smoked turkey, not oily, done throughout evenly, not messy, not expensive (no oil, wood is cheap), and has a wonderful flavor.

 

[Tobolo]

Smoked at 300? That seems high to me. I usually do mine between 225-250 (it floats around). Takes about 30 min per pound and is oh so juicy. Id be afraid 300 would dry it out.

But yes smoked turkey > fried turkey.

 

[DesiPower]

how about oven, bake/roast?

 

[seepy83]

I've done both, and both can come out very well if you know what you're doing. Both can also be very safe if you aren't careless. Frying is not that dangerous if you take the proper precautions.

I would opt for my fryer over my smoker in cold weather. It was in the mid-30's F and very windy here on Thanksgiving day, and it took just a little over 1 hr from the moment I started heating the oil until the bird was done frying. I would rather spend 60-90 minutes monitoring a fryer in the cold than many hours trying to maintain the temp of the smoker.

 

[Kaido]

I'm planning on buying some on the cheap this weekend (from the post-Thanksgiving leftover bin) & smoking one, I'll see how it turns out!

 

[Oyeve]

Sorry, turkey sucks no matter how its cooked. Why couldn't the pilgrims find a nice f*cking steak? Or at least an oven stuffer roaster chicken. Turkey, bleh.

 

[smackababy]

I've done both, and both can come out very well if you know what you're doing. Both can also be very safe if you aren't careless. Frying is not that dangerous if you take the proper precautions.

I would opt for my fryer over my smoker in cold weather. It was in the mid-30's F and very windy here on Thanksgiving day, and it took just a little over 1 hr from the moment I started heating the oil until the bird was done frying. I would rather spend 60-90 minutes monitoring a fryer in the cold than many hours trying to maintain the temp of the smoker.

Proper precautions? You mean not doing it in your kitchen and not filling the fryer to the brim with oil? No thanks! I'd rather burn my house down.


Personally, I think turkey is bland no matter how you cook it. I have had it pretty much every way. I end up with a brine and roasting, simply because it is easy and everyone likes crispy skin that attend my Thanksgivings.

 

[slag]

Smoked at 300? That seems high to me. I usually do mine between 225-250 (it floats around). Takes about 30 min per pound and is oh so juicy. Id be afraid 300 would dry it out.

But yes smoked turkey > fried turkey.

Not dry in the least, but anywhere from 250-300 degrees is acceptable. I sat it in a shallow foil pan and added some water part of the way through and used it and the drippings to make a delicious gravy. In the past I've smoked it right on the rack and it works well either way.

 

[slag]

how about oven, bake/roast?

Also very desirable and bonus is the nice smells you get while it is cooking.

 

[Insomniator]

The main draw of frying is the time saved. Takes an hour and is perfectly safe if you know what you're doing.

I don't have time to maintain a freakin smoker for 8 hours.

 

[Jeeebus]

The main draw of frying is the time saved. Takes an hour and is perfectly safe if you know what you're doing.

I don't have time to maintain a freakin smoker for 8 hours.

Maintain for 8 hours? Put charcoal in, get up to 300 - 325, put turkey in, walk away, come back in 3 hours. PROFIT. Smoking isn't exactly rocket science.

 

[seepy83]

Maintain for 8 hours? Put charcoal in, get up to 300 - 325, put turkey in, walk away, come back in 3 hours. PROFIT. Smoking isn't exactly rocket science.

In warm weather, yes it's usually that simple (as long as a you have a decent smoker). If it's cold and windy weather, it's much more work to maintain temp.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I've fried turkeys a few years and had no complaints. What I do is evacuate my kegerator (converted chest freezer) to store 2+ turkeys when we celebrate at my house. I'll take my fryer pot and another one...fill them with a brine...then drop the turkeys in.

When you brine the turkeys overnight after thawing them, it helps verify that the ice has melted out of the inside. It also helps keep the turkey from getting oily or dry. After I fried the turkey the first year, brined and coated in cajun seasoning before frying it.....I've had requests every year since.

 

[Markbnj]

My sister and her boyfriend at the time did it once, and invited us. He was very particular about how it was done, and so there were no incidents and the bird was actually one of the best I have ever had: crispy and flavorful on the outside, and moist on the inside. However, it was way too much work for me to try to replicate. I'm good with old fashioned roasting.

 

[ponyo]

In warm weather, yes it's usually that simple (as long as a you have a decent smoker). If it's cold and windy weather, it's much more work to maintain temp.

It was 23 degrees when I smoked the Thanksgiving turkey. The only time I went outside was to place the turkey to smoke and when it was done. The smoker avg temp was around 330-340 degrees the entire time. $200 Weber Smokey Mountain smoker.

 

[Train]

My main concern with fried is the damn peanut oil makes me fart for two days straight afterward.

 

[Remobz]

Fried Turkey is overrated and past its time.

 

[seepy83]

It was 23 degrees when I smoked the Thanksgiving turkey. The only time I went outside was to place the turkey to smoke and when it was done. The smoker avg temp was around 330-340 degrees the entire time. $200 Weber Smokey Mountain smoker.

I also own a WSM, although I've never seen one priced as low as $200. I think I paid around $315 for an 18" about 5 years ago. I haven't found it that easy to maintain temp in cold weather, but I also prefer to smoke at 225-250, so you're probably loading up with a lot more fuel from the start if you're up at 330.

I'm not trying to argue with anyone...smoked turkey is great. I use my smoker a lot in the warmer months. But for me, personally, I'll take the fryer in cold weather.

 

[slag]

In warm weather, yes it's usually that simple (as long as a you have a decent smoker). If it's cold and windy weather, it's much more work to maintain temp.

I don't use a wood smoker for that very reason anymore. I used to have an offset firebox smoker that I made a baffle for because any meat near the firebox would char while the rest of it would smoke normally. It was a pita to keep it up to temps in cold weather. I gave it away and bought a nice electric smoker. Now, laugh all you want, but its insulated. I put a pie plate directly on the element and put 2 lumps of charcoal in it and a few chunks of moist wood and it will smoke for hours. Set it and forget it and it stays at the correct temp, even in cold wind, because of the built in thermostat. It really makes smoking meat that much more fun and enjoyable.

 

[waggy]

I love fried turkey. My BIL does it every year.

I prefer to grill it on my Weber.

 

[ElFenix]

Maintain for 8 hours? Put charcoal in, get up to 300 - 325, put turkey in, walk away, come back in 3 hours. PROFIT. Smoking isn't exactly rocket science.

don't let the womenfolk know that you don't have to maintain a good smoker, otherwise they won't let us all stand around drinking beer shooting the shit all afternoon.

 

[NetWareHead]

In warm weather, yes it's usually that simple (as long as a you have a decent smoker). If it's cold and windy weather, it's much more work to maintain temp.

I have a weber smokey mountain and I used it to smoke a batch of baby backs recently. It was in the 30s and windy and it had no problems keeping a temp with minimal tending. There are fan pages for this site that show guys in alaska smoking in sub-zero temps for hours. Some guys have even built a folding standing wind shield out of plywood and door hinges (think of those Japanese room dividers) that isolates the smoker from winds. The weber smoker IMHO is one of the better ones out there and doesn;t need as much tending as other smokers I've seen in use.

 

[NetWareHead]

I also own a WSM, although I've never seen one priced as low as $200. I think I paid around $315 for an 18" about 5 years ago. I haven't found it that easy to maintain temp in cold weather, but I also prefer to smoke at 225-250, so you're probably loading up with a lot more fuel from the start if you're up at 330.

I'm not trying to argue with anyone...smoked turkey is great. I use my smoker a lot in the warmer months. But for me, personally, I'll take the fryer in cold weather.

Have you tried the "minion method" with your weber? Best way to manage the fuel and extend it for those hours long smokes.

 

[alkemyst]

There has always been smoking turkeys, not sure why it's become so popular this year.

However; just as your in-laws screwed up frying a turkey, one can screw up smoking a turkey as well.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Smoked at 300? That seems high to me. I usually do mine between 225-250 (it floats around). Takes about 30 min per pound and is oh so juicy. Id be afraid 300 would dry it out.

But yes smoked turkey > fried turkey.

It's one thing to cook a tough piece of meat low and slow. It's another to cook poultry unneedlessly low and slow. There's the new wave of BBQ folks who are smoking at high heat in competitions vs low...but that's another conversation.

I started mine off (16lb) around 350 but chose not to maintain that temp, as it was going to get done sooner than expected. Yanked it off around the 4 hour mark when the breasts hit 160ish. Plenty of comments that it was the best turkey they've had, but there's still some improvement that could be made in my mind. As cheap as turkey still is, won't hurt to get another bird and stick it in the freezer for sometime next year.