Deep fried turkey is a delicious and popular holiday dish. Learn the easiest and safest way to make it at home with this step-by-step guide and tips for a perfectly crispy and juicy bird. The most unbelievably juicy and flavorful deep-fried turkey with the absolute crispiest skin you've ever tasted.
Frying a turkey is a favorite southern Cajun way of cooking, especially during Thanksgiving. It's a special occasion kind of treat cooked on decks and garages in the south.
You would think that it would make it somewhat greasy, but that is definitely not the case. The turkey meat is delicious moist inside with an addictively crispy flavorful skin.
Essential Safety Tips for Deep Frying a Turkey
- Never Use a Frozen Turkey: Y'all, this is the absolute most important rule. Make sure your turkey is completely thawed and patted bone-dry inside and out. Any ice or water hitting that hot oil can cause a dangerous fire!
- Find a Safe, Outdoor Spot: Set up your fryer on a flat, level surface, far away from your house, garage, or any wooden structures. Never, ever, ever, do this indoors!
- Don't Overfill the Oil: I'll show you the water displacement trick to find the perfect amount of oil, so you don't have a dangerous spillover.
Jump to:
- Essential Safety Tips for Deep Frying a Turkey
- Why This is the Best Deep-Fried Turkey Recipe
- Groceries you'll need: Ingredients
- Recipe walkthrough: Instructions
- Recipe variations and substitute ideas
- 🔧 Recipe Troubleshooting
- Necessary gear: Equipment
- More Thanksgiving turkey recipes I think you'll love
- 🧊 Storage
- Mel's kitchen notes
- Melanie Cagle
- Frequently asked questions: FAQs
- Deep Fried Turkey
- 💬 Comments
Why This is the Best Deep-Fried Turkey Recipe
- Using my Cajun injection recipe just takes it up a notch and deep-Frying turkey is an impressive treat, the whole family loves.
- You'll never taste crispier skin and juicier meat than when it's fried.
Groceries you'll need: Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities.
Recipe walkthrough: Instructions
This is an overview of the recipe steps. For more detailed instructions visit the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Hint: Make sure the turkey is 100% defrosted before adding to the deep fryer. This is the cause of many fires and accidents. Allowing the turkey come to room temperature (or close) also makes things safer.
Recipe variations and substitute ideas
- Salts - there are different types of salts could be used in the brine for flavor and for crispy skin.
- Beer - Can be good when added to the brine.
- Spices - good spices to use in the rub can be onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, black pepper, kosher salt, cayenne pepper...
🔧 Recipe Troubleshooting
- Defrost Turkey - making sure no ice remains is important to avoid the oil bubbling up too much when adding to the oil. Allowing to come to room temperature (or close) and patting dry with paper towels also help.
- Too Much Oil - Do the little trick I refer to in the recipe card below to ensure just the right amount of oil is used.
- Turkey Brine - this will help create juicy meat.
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Necessary gear: Equipment
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
I use a turkey fryer especially made for the frying of a turkey. I have an affiliate link to the equipment I used in the recipe card below.
A propane tank will be needed for the burner too, as well as a syringe if you're injecting.
More Thanksgiving turkey recipes I think you'll love
I also wanted to share this recipe for a Leftover Prime Rib French Dip Sandwich, it's a keeper for the holiday season!
🧊 Storage
Once the Cajun fried turkey has cooled completely, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Deep fried turkey will freeze very well. Store in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Mel's kitchen notes
When preparing the turkey for the brine, keep the giblets and neck etc to make a delicious turkey giblet gravy.
About The Author
Melanie Cagle
Melanie is a professional cook, food photographer and Cajun food connoisseur. Since 2020 she has been sharing rigorously tested recipes and tutorials right here on this blog.
Her work has been featured on Fox News channels, Yahoo news, Southern Living and more.
Frequently asked questions: FAQs
Depending on the weight of your turkey, rule of thumb is 3-4 minutes per pound of turkey.
The most important thing is to cook to temperature, not time. You're looking for an internal temperature of 165°F in the thickest part of the breast.
See below infographic.
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Deep Fried Turkey
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Each Whole Turkey 12-18 pounds
- 1 Each Recipe for Turkey Brine
- 5 Gallons Peanut Oil Estimate
- 1 Each Recipe for Fried Turkey Seasoning Rub
Instructions
- Drop Turkey into frying pot and add water until it totally submerges the turkey.1 Each Whole Turkey
- Remove the turkey and mark where the water line ended up. Discard the water.
- Prepare the brine as per brine recipe and soak the turkey overnight in the refrigerator (24 hours).1 Each Recipe for Turkey Brine
- Remove turkey from the refrigerator and brine about 4 hours before cooking to allow to come to room temperature.
- Season and inject as preferred.1 Each Recipe for Fried Turkey Seasoning Rub
- Add the peanut oil to the fill line you marked previously and heat to 350°F.5 Gallons Peanut Oil
- Sit the turkey on the hook supplied with the frying pot. Carefully lower the turkey into the hot peanut oil. Never do this with a cold turkey as the hot grease can bubble up too much and cause a fire.
- Once the turkey is dropped into the oil, set your timer and cook for 3-4 minutes per pound. Roughly around 1 hour or so. The white meat of the turkey will be cooked once it reaches 165°F and the dark meat 175°F.
- Remove turkey and allow to rest about 30 minutes before slicing, to allow juices to remain in the bird.
Notes
Nutrition
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