I'm surrounded by restaurants that don't have a single unfried menu item, but most specialize in chicken and/or seafood. I don't think any offer turkey, but even if they did ....

But, thanks for the idea. I'll scan the local newspaper the next few days and see if I can spot any commercial offerings.

No problem. A few smokehouses around here seem to do this, but they can be hard to find. One we've used in the past was a word-of-mouth recommendation after asking several sources...grocers, BBQ places, restaurants, etc. Not sure if you have a guru at the local paper like we do here, but we have this lady named Jane Grieg who people send letters and emails to so she can track down weird and obscure stuff. She then publishes her work a couple of times a week in the local paper.

Failing that, there is this internet site:

http://www.cajungrocer.com/fresh-foo...c-1_15_24.html

I'm pretty sure this is where some of the turducken folks up-thread are getting some of theirs and they have a 10 - 12 lb. fried turkey for $50 plus shipping, no doubt. A little expensive for my taste...

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

We don't have a columnist of that sort here. It's a small town and a small paper. However, based on the pictures next to the columns, most of them enjoy their meals. If I can dig up the paper from last Wednesday, I can try calling someone out of the food section. At the very least, I ought to be able to line something up for Christmas if I can't arrange it for Thanksgiving.

In the smaller towns surrounding Houston a lot of the meat markets will offer a fried turkey. If you're in a less-populated area, try a retail meat market. If they don't do it, they should be able to recommend someone who does.

After brining and frying a 15lb bird 3 years ago, I'll never go back. It IS the best!

And here's a cheap and easy way to drain and filter the oil with no mess. It can be used again.

We use canola oil from Sam's or Costco. It has just as high a smoke point as peanut, and is a more neutral taste, and is cheaper. It also does not go rancid as easily as peanut oil.

I like roast turkey for the leftovers But since it's just me and my son this year, I'll probably go small and just do a turkey breast.

At Xmas, there'll be more family around so I might do the brine thing again; that was pretty good as well, although my first effort wasn't so successful as I'd hoped.

When I first read about turducken I thought I'm in heaven, what a great idea.

Reality on the couple we have tried is that the skins of duck and chicken do not get crispy as they are inside the turkey so that there have been just gobs of fat inbetween the meat. I like fat as fat is where the flavor is in meat but this was disgusting.

To answer the OP, smoked is ok but not for Thanksgiving IMO, loved roasted and fried but if I have to choose, I'll go with roasted as there are just so many warm fuzzies about a big roasted dinner. As bamavol states, the leftovers are awesome.

I remember in college, bunch of friends and I were out drinking after our repsective families had their Thanksgiving dinners. We went back to my house and proceeded to have an early morning feast, finished near all the leftovers, I was NOT a popular son that Thanksgiving!

Sweet Willie, you reminded me of one of my favorite Thanksgivings. I was probably 17 and the house was full of relatives I didn't want to spend time with. I hiked downtown and met up with friends. We hopped a freight train and lit up a monster spliff, jumped off when finished, right behind a Dunkin Donuts. After polishing off a dozen we went back to my house to finish off the leftovers. I was not a popular son for at least the rest of the year.

Copeland's (a New Orleans-themed chain in the southeast) touts its Cajun deep-fried turkeys, available by pre-order for enjoyment at home.

Though I did look at cajungrocer.com, my turducken is actually coming from this site (as it was about $10 cheaper here):

www.fmfoods.com

Also note that I'm getting the roll and not the birds proper, which I'm hoping doesn't have that fat issue going on with it. (I can feel my arteries clog as we speak.)

Mike

I actually prefer a slightly modernized roasted bird to any fried bird I have ever had.
I love a butter basted bird rendolent of sage,bay,thyme,and good fresh pepper.
I use a combination of methods-and it is very time consuming(but that is what I am paid for)which involves curing the bird in salt for a day,rinsing it,soaking it in buttermilk for a day-don't rinse just pat very dry,seasonng under the skin with a compund butter using the seasonings listed,seaoson the outside with just salt and pepper,,starting the roasting with the breast side down and flipping the bird at the 2/3 rds mark,and basting often. I do not stuff the bird but rather finish the last 1/3 of the roasting with the bird on top of the dr3essing mix.
I use a fresh,organic free range,smallish bird(10-12 lbs)and will roast two side by side if feeding a crowd.

Couple of questions for those who have fried turkeys.

1. I notice that most of the fyers are sold with peanut oil. Do you have to use peanut oil or can you use canola oil? My wife has peanut allergies so peanut oil is not an option.

2. Should I not try frying my first turkey on Thanksgiving? I am just wondering if it is easy to over cook and I risk having all my guests eating a meal of side dishes.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

PS Anyone ever cook a turkey on their Weber grill? Looks like it is similar to using the oven. I am just looking for a way to free up my over for more sides.

Have been looking for something like this. Thank you for the info. It will make clean-up easier.

the reason for using peanut oil is its high smoking point.
A commercial frying grease mixture will work as well-but check the ingredients panel to make sure you are just not buying hdrogenated penut oil.
I would truly advise against your trying this for the first time on a holiday-too much stress and rush,too many distractions,and a small error could have very serious consequences.
Yes-I have used a weber-pretty good results but I would advice a small bird and a large amount of fuel and wiggle room.

Great article on the smoking points of various cooking oils-with more discussion than one would care for-but these are engineers and we know how the love to discuss various projects!
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/a...f+Various+Fats