Bacon Fried Turkey

How do take something great, like deep fried turkey, and make it better?

Wrap it in bacon, of course.

We did it this Thanksgiving and it tasted even better than it sounded. The turkey maintained its moist and tender texture while absorbing some of the bacon flavor. Both the kids and adults will fight over the chunks of bacon / skin that fall off in the bottom of the carving plate.

Here is what you need:

10 pound turkey, thawed
2 pounds bacon
3 gallons canola oil (peanut oil will work also)
cooking twine

You will also need a turkey setup.

In the kitchen, wrap the turkey in strips of bacon:

Tie up the turkey with cooking twine, securing the bacon to the turkey.

Set the turkey in the frying basket:

Preheat the oil to 400 F.

Slowly lower the turkey (in basket) into the oil.

Be careful here. The oil may splatter up and get you here. I recomend the following safety precautions be taken when lowering the turkey into the oil:

Long sleeve shirt
Leather gardening gloves
Safety glasses
Use a set of channel locks or pliers to grip the basket handle.

The turkey should cook for 3 1/2 minutes per pound.

You will need to monitor the oil temperature and maintain it at 350 F while it is cooking. This may require adjusting the flame every 5 minutes or so.

After the 35 minutes or so has passed, follow the same precautions you followed when you lowered the turkey into the oil (gloves, glasses, etc) and remove the turkey (in basket) from the oil. The turkey will stick a little to the sides of the basket. Jiggle it loose and slide the bird into a pan.

Remove the cooking twine, carve  and serve.

Delicious.

Turkey Frying Safety Tips

I regularly perform job safety analyses as part of my job, so when I started frying turkeys a few years ago I was very conscious of the hazards. The primary hazards are related to the 400 F oil used to fry the turkey. These include:

• 400 F oil can burn you severely.
• Oil can also catch fire it rolls over the side of the pot into the fire.
• A frozen turkey dropped into hot oil will explode causing both of the above

Over the years I have come up with the following precautions to take when frying a turkey.

1. Turkey must be fried outside.
2. Do not fry on a deck or porch.
3. Clear out an area to set up your fryer. Rake leaves and brush from around the fryer.
4. Remove any trip hazards (toys, oil bottles, etc) from around the fryer. You do not want anyone tripping into the oil.
5. Be mindful of keeping small children and dogs away from fryer. Barricade with lawn chairs if necessary.
6. Make sure your turkey is thawed before frying.
7. Wear long sleeve shirt.
8. Wear leather work or gardening gloves when working near the oil (lowering the turkey in or removing from oil).
9. Wear safety glasses whenever top is off of heated oil.
10. Adult supervision around turkey fryer at all times while oil is heating and while oil is hot.

Be safe and enjoy!