Deep Fried Turkey
Whole turkey in an apple cider and brown sugar brine then deep fried in peanut oil. Unbelievably crispy turkey skin, juicy meat, and deep sweet flavors. The wings are everything!
Ingredients
Turkey Brine
- 1 Fresh Turkey Butchered into breasts, leg quarters, and wings.
- 2 cups Apple Cider
- 2 cups Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Salt
- 2 tbsp Peppercorns
- 4 Bay Leaves
- 4 Whole Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Sprigs Rosemary
- 1 Orange Cut in Half
- 2 Gallons Ice Cold Water
Turkey Seasonings
- Salt and Pepper Enough to season the turkey very well, you will lose a lot in the frying process.
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 2 sprigs Thyme
Frying Oil
- Peanut Oil Enough to fill your pot up half way, never use more than half to start. You can always add a little if you need to after the turkey is submerged.
Instructions
Brine
- Start by making your brine. In a large pot, add apple cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, rosemary, and orange. Heat until boiling then remove from the heat. Add ice water to the pot and stir to quickly cool the brine. Let the brine cool to at least room temperature.
- Once the brine is at room temperature, add your turkey to the brine. Keep the turkey in the brine overnight.
- Because the turkey is broken down into smaller parts, you only need enough brine to cover the turkey; if you are only doing one turkey you may only need half of the brining liquid)
- Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Frying the Turkey
- Heat peanut oil until it reaches 350 degrees.
- Carefully, add turkey to the hot oil. The breast will take about 5 minutes per pound, the legs and thighs will take about 7 minutes per pound. The internal temp of the breast should be at least 165, the thighs and legs should be closer to 175.
- Lightly salt and pepper again as soon as the pieces come out of the oil.
- Let the turkey rest for at least twenty minutes before slicing.
- As soon as it done being sliced, add rosemary and thyme as aromatics.
Notes
If you are opposed to butchering the turkey before frying and would like to keep it whole then you will need to multiply the brine ingredients by 1.5 if using a 13-15lb bird. A whole turkey takes about 4 minutes per pound to deep fry but start temping at the 3 minute per pound mark (Example a 10lb turkey should take 40 minutes, start temping at 30 minutes).