Happy early Thanksgiving Everyone!!! Biggest bar night of the year tonight.

Quick question. I deep fried a turkey last year and it turned out awesome. I used Peanut Oil. I also used the same oil about 4 or 5 other times to deep fry fish, potatoes, etc...

My question is, how many times can/would you use the same oil before replacing it with fresh oil? Peanut Oil can get expensive but I don't want my turkey tasing like fish either. So, if I cooked fish in it over the summer a few times, would you recommend replacing it for the turkey tomorrow?

Thanks.

 

If you used it to cook fish you will need new oil or you will have a fishy tasting turkey. The fish taste stays in the oil for this reason most restaurants have a separate vat for frying fish. I typically will only use the oil to cook 4-5 turkeys. after that the oil will start to have a burnt taste. You would be better off with new oil as turkey is a more neutral tasting meat and will pick up the other flavors. Get new oil and start the process over again.

 

If you strained the oil after each use and kept it refrigerated, then I'd say you will be good to go. I personally still would maybe buy new peanut oil to not risk a fishy taste on my turkey's. I deep fry two turkey's every Thanksgiving and then save the oil till Christmas and use it again. After that, I get rid of it. If the oil is not kept refrigerated it can get rancid.

Do you inject any seasoning in your turkey? Nice to see a fellow deep fryer here!

 

Thanks for the advice fellas. I wasn't aware that the oil can go bad if not refridgerated. Good tips for my future cooking.

I will plan on using new oil and then going forward, I'll make the preparations to save it for future use. I really appreciate it.

Yes, seasoning is key. We injected seasoning last year and plan on doing the same this year. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

 

Mmmmmmmm, deep fried turkey.

 

If the oil is bad it will smell bad, rancid oil smells, well, rancid. The oil itself hasn't gone bad, oil does go bad but it takes a long time, usually it just gets stale. However the bits of foods left over from previous fryings will definitely go bad if it's not refrigerated, even if you strain it there are particles that cannot be removed. I would buy new oil simply on the basis that most fish is generally oily and will impart some of that oil into the oil you're using to fry it in. Your turkey will most likely have a slight fishy taste if you use the same oil.

 

oil?

 

I had never heard of deep frying a turkey until I moved to the mid-west. I'm back now on the Left Coast now and I told folks here about deep frying turkeys . . . and they all looked at me like I was crazy.

What I have learned about deep frying turkeys is that it's a great way to burn your house down if you attempt it in your house. Evidently the process has a danger potential right up there with "Hold my beer and watch this."

As for keeping the oil around for a year or years . . . I get food poisoning symptoms just thinking about it.

If you must attempt cooking a turkey this way use fresh oil. Then rid yourself of it after one use.

(I'm sure there are those on this site who will tout the benefits of using synthetic oil, and then that will lead to arguments about whether Mobil1 or Royal Purple or Amsoil is best. I imagine cooking your turkey in Mobil1 will allow you to cook it using the same oil for years)

Yeah, that's it. Mobil1.

 

Ditto on the new oil-

I always strain the oil to remove as much particles as possible. I've never refrigerated the oil, and it never went bad. We swap it out every 2-3 years- but, we only Fry turkeys on Thanksgiving & Christmas. We keep the oil in a cool dry place.


I've been frying turkeys the last 10-years and as for storing the oil in the pot (as some will tell you is OK) don't do that. I did that for the first time last year (2008 - 2009). I re-used oil left in the pot from Christmas 2008 in 2009.

We have an outdoor turkey fryer, and after lighting it, the oil boiled up real pretty. The minute I dunked the bird, the oil foamed up like a shaken soda. Up and over the edge of the pot, and down into the fire. I quickly turned the fire off, simultaneously removing the turkey (other hand) before the whole thing erupted.

I spent the next day trying to get that greasy spot off my patio, and scrubbing the burned pot.

Bought new oil, and a new turkey. And fried one to perfection the next day.

We stored that oil, but we're not reusing it this year. I just forked over $25 for 2 gallons of peanut oil. We have a new Butterball indoor fryer. I will test it tomorrow.

 

I want to know how you like the Butterball indoor. I was thinking about popping for the XL big one for X mas.

 

I had deep-fried turkey for the first time about 3 years ago. Now, I wouldn't have it any other way on Thanksgiving.

 

The key to not killing yourself is to turn the fire off before you put the turkey in, and light it after you get it in. Also, instead of using that wimpy short handle that puts your hand a comfortable 6" away from the hot oil, we hang it from a 2x4 and drop it in with a guy on each side.

 

deep fried for 5 years in a row good ok new oil every time
bought a big easy oil less now but brine bird for 30 hours smoke for 3 hrs in bradley smoker then 3 hours in big easy (30# bird)had two meal no left overs 15 people
mitch

 

I was a skeptic at first- but it won me over. The only draw back is, you're capped at a 12# bird for that fryer.

But, we had a 12# fried, and a 18" smoked. The smoked was the big hit in 2009, but in 2010- the fried won the day. With 28" of bird on hand between the two, after nine people ate, we still have a good 22 pounds of bird left....

But, back to the fryer- If they have a larger one, go for it. But, if a 12 lbs turky will do- you won't be disappointed with the Butterball. I'm not happy about paying $136 for it- but, where it would have taken an hour or more for the propane fryer to heat the oil to 375, then 3-4 minutes per pound to cook- the butter ball did it in 30 minutes, plus the 3-4 minutes per pound.

1 hour, 20 minutes after pouring the oil, I was pulling the turkey out of the fryer.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrFakstsssg

You'll love it- and you can fry a turkey, right on your countertop.

 

Thanks for the review. They do make a 20 pounder now called the XL. However for most regular use the smaller one would be better for counter top space and more regular frying I should think. The XL would be nice mainly for the bigger holiday birds. I dunno... going to have to make a choice. The XL is now about $200 while the regular is down to $110.