The quickest and (In my opinion) best way to cook a turkey is to DEEP FRY IT!
Coming from my hometown of Monterrey, N.L. in Mexico. I've never heard of frying the entire bird as an option for turkey, that is until I moved to Houston and got to experience my first Thanksgiving feast and I've never looked back!
Here is a basic how-to recipe, you can customize your turkey's flavor by mixing different herbs and citrus into the brine or rubbing your favorite spices on the turkey 30 mins before frying, Enjoy!
Ingredients:
7-8 quarts of hot water
1 lb kosher salt
1lb brown sugar
1 bag of ice
1 (15-16lb) turkey, giblets removed
4-6 gallons of peanut oil (enough to cover the turkey by 2 inches without reaching the max fill line on your fryer pot)
Place the hot water, kosher salt and brown sugar into a large enough container and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve completely. Add the ice and stir until the mixture is cool.
Gently lower the turkey into the container. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure that it is fully immersed in the brine. Cover and set in a cool dry place for 8 to 16 hours.
Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. (this is where you can add extra spices to uniquely season your turkey)
Place the oil into a 28 to 30-quart pot and set over high heat on an outside propane burner with a sturdy structure. Bring the temperature of the oil to 360 degrees F.
Once the temperature has reached 360, slowly lower the bird into the oil and bring the temperature to 350 degrees F. Once it has reached 350, lower the heat in order to maintain 350 degrees F.
After about 40 minutes, check the temperature of the turkey using a probe thermometer. Once the breast reaches 151 degrees F, gently remove from the oil and allow to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes prior to carving. The bird will reach an internal temperature of 161 degrees F due to carry over cooking.
