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Test Kitchen Approved

Dad's Deep-Fried Turkey

Time: 38 hours

Yield: 10 servings

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About

Deep-frying your Thanksgiving turkey may sound like madness. Yet doing so yields impossibly juicy turkey that oven-roasted poultry simply can't beat. Dad's Deep-Fried Turkey infuses each bite with a balance of sweet, tangy, and earthy flavors that no amount of basting can replicate. Once it emerges from the oil, you'll find crackling, crispy skin over fall-off-the-bone tender turkey. You won't have to worry about filling the fridge up with leftovers this holiday because Dad's Deep-Fried Turkey has a reputation for vanishing!

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Ingredients

  • 3 cups light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 1/2 cups Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
  • 2 gallons cold water
  • 1 bunch thyme
  • 10-12 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 12 pounds turkey
  • 2 1/2 gallons vegetable oil

Directions

Step 1 -In a large stockpot, whisk to combine, the brown sugar, the Dijon, the cayenne pepper, and the salt.

Step 2 -Gradually whisk in the water. Then add in the garlic and the thyme.

Step 3 -Add in the turkey, then cover and brine it in the refrigerator for 35 hours.

Step 4 -In a turkey fryer or a large 18-quart stockpot, heat the oil to 400 degrees F. This may take up to an hour to heat up.

Step 5 -Remove the turkey from the brine, then pat it dry inside and out using paper towels.

Step 6 -Move the turkey to a frying basket, breast side up. Place the turkey into the hot oil, frying for 3 minutes per pound, for about 36 minutes total.

Step 7 -Lift the basket up and out of the fryer, then drain the turkey on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet for about 15 minutes.

Step 8 -Carve and serve!

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