Behind the Scenes in Food Network Kitchens: Deep-Fried Turkey

Sometimes being married to a kitchen gadget geek has its perks. For our November issue of Food Network Magazine, we had to test Cat Cora’s deep-fried turkey recipe. Deep-fried turkeys have become really popular over the past few years and Cat’s is rubbed with a delicious Cajun spice blend. The turkey comes out crispy and really flavorful.

Our test kitchen is located in New York City’s Chelsea Market building, and the outdoor green space available to set up a vat of boiling oil is very limited to non-existent. Luckily, my husband, Paul, had a rather interesting solution to my deep-fryer problems: Why not fry it indoors? At first I thought he was crazy, but then he told me about this new (and safe) indoor turkey fryer made by MasterBuilt. It sits right on your counter, uses about half the amount the oil and has a safety magnetic break-away cord.

Even with all the safety features, I was still wary. I put on a big pair of rubber gloves and slowly and cautiously lowered to turkey into the hot oil (Tip: make sure your turkey is completely dry before frying. I let it sit uncovered overnight in the fridge to help). About 45 minutes later, I had no disasters, easy clean-up and a beautifully golden turkey. If you have the outdoor space and take all of the safety precautions, then deep-frying outside can be great. But if you are limited on green space and have enough counter space, deep-frying inside with this gadget can be an alternative.

Check out our Thanksgiving Turkey package: It's full of turkey tips and dozens of recipes, including several variations of deep-fried birds.

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