Thanksgiving 2012 Results

Turkey Post-Brine

I'm a bit slow getting it up, but i wanted to post the results of my 2012 Thanksgiving Turkey Fry.

My wife and I had a bit of a miscommunication.  I mentioned to her that we could put some oranges and lemons in the brine if she wanted to.  She thought I said that she could stuff oranges or lemons in the cavity of the turkey for the frying. It was an understandable mistake. We've stuffed onions and garlic heads in the cavity of the bird before with great success.

When two sliced lemons hit the 350F oil, the oil started bubbling and frothing like crazy.

I was very thankful for two things: 1) the burner was off on the fryer, and 2) I was standing at the end of a long rope instead of holding an 18lb turkey with my hand.



After a minute of attempting to slowly lower the turkey into the fryer without a boil over, I gave up and lowered it fully into the pot. The pot boiled over for about 8 minutes while all the moisture from the lemons was cooked off, creating a big oil spot in the driveway.

Boil Over On Driveway

Turkey Frying

When the boil over ended, using my welding gloves, I carefully lifted the pot off the burner and we wiped it dry with towels. Then we wiped off the burner stand to get all the oil off it too.

We moved the burner stand about 5 feet and started it back up, carefully, to make sure it didn't catch fire and shut it back off. Then I lifted the pot back on the burner and carefully started it back up again.

No fires.

Lets Eat!

By this time, and with the added mass of the turkey, the temperature of the oil had dropped to 200F. By the time it finished its hour of cooking, it was back up to 310F.

Results:
They say "The first bite is with the eye." On that basis, it was a great success. The turkey looked fabulous with its caramelized skin.

Everyone else said they could taste the malt and the brine. Me, not so much. It was very different than the dry rub and marinade turkey of last year. With the dry rub & marinade, the whole turkey had a strong taste of marinade. The brined turkey had the marinade flavor, but it seemed diluted.

The overall conclusion of everyone, myself included, is that the brining was better than the dry rub. However, next time, I may not go with the stout malt wort. I may go cheaper with apple juice and brown sugar or something similar.