Do you roast or deep fry your turkey?

[Siwsan]

I prefer roasted, because I make a kick ass gravy with the drippings but I was outvoted, this year. So, because everyone STILL expects me to make gravy, I'm roasting a small turkey breast, stuffed with garlic, fresh herbs and veg, to get the makings.

My niece and I intend to enjoy wine and conversation while the guys are outside tending to the potential fire hazard.

[Beakybird]

1. I let it run free. 😁

[hlthe2b]

2. Heard too many horror stories to deep fat fry one...

so, roasted it is... or not at all.

[chillfactor]

3. Like many senior citizens like me.....

I can't afford to buy a turkey...….so I have no decision as to whether to deep fry or roast. My meal tomorrow is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple and I am grateful to have that.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. Turkeys are usually quite inexpensive

this time of year. And even a small one is good for many meals. You might want to double check at a local supermarket.

I bought two ten pound turkeys last week. Price was $.48/lb. One cost $4.98, the other $5.01. I have one thawing now, and will probably bake on Friday or Saturday. The other will stay in the freezer for a month or two.

[yellowdogintexas]

17. If your local supermarket carries them, Butterball

sells a twin pack of turkey tenders. They are about a pound apiece and look like a very pale pork tenderloin. Cook up in no time. Enough for a nice meal and sandwiches later. With a twin pack you can freeze one for Christmas.

If you were in Fort Worth I'd invite you to dinner.

[chillfactor]

34. Thank you for your suggestions but right now i have 78 cents in my account

I will survive...….many senior citizens don't even have what I have to eat.

[sheshe2]

27. ...

[Docreed2003]

4. We do both

We always deep fry the turkey and roast one for the exact reason you stated! Hope you have a great day!

[smirkymonkey]

11. We also do both.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Oh wait, can I say that as a liberal? I'm so confused these days.

[Freddie]

5. Roast in a tabletop roaster oven

Keeps the oven free for all the other stuff. Found out years ago that the turkey cooks a lot faster in one of those things. Dry turkey is why they invented gravy, right?

[Siwsan]

6. My grandmother used one of those roasters. Great memories.

The big thrill was running to the kitchen, waiting for her to flip open the top so we could see the turkey. That released the most amazing aroma. If I close my eyes, I can still see it - big, blue and with a little window.

I'm pretty good at roasting in a way that poultry in a way that doesn't dry it out. Which reminds me - time to baste.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. Roast. You can't make gravy with a fried bird.

[Siwsan]

9. That's what I keep telling them!!

Last year I went to Florida, to spend Thanksgiving with this niece and nephew. (They've now moved back to Michigan.) I had to go out and buy chicken wings and roast them, to get SOMETHING to use for making gravy so we wouldn't be resorting to a jar of something resembling gravy. I was pretty surprised at how good it turned out.

Next year I'm going to insist on roasting.

[Arkansas Granny]

12. The fried turkey is good and there have been times that we've cooked two birds.

I summer the giblets while the bird is in the oven and add that broth to the pan drippings for the gravy. I can hardly wait.

[Major Nikon]

23. You can make gravy with the stuffing that comes with the bird

Remove stuffing, chop neck into 1” pieces with cleaver. In a Dutch oven sauté pieces/parts and chopped root vegetables over medium high heat with 1/4 cup vegetable oil until all pieces are browned. Drain oil and reserve. Deglaze pan with 2 cups dry red wine and 2 cups water. Simmer until reduced by half. Strain everything reserving stock and giblets. Process giblets in a food processor or chop finely. In Dutch oven whisk 3 Tbs reserved oil with 3 Tbs flour over medium heat until flour just starts to brown. Whisk in reserved liquid and stir continuously until mixture comes to a boil. Add giblets.

[tirebiter]

8. I just do the traditional thing

I eat it when it’s put in front of me.

[sdfernando]

13. I will poach mine.

Then slather it with orange marmalade and top it with shredded corn husks....I'll call it a tumperky and through it out!

[Deb]

14. Steam in it's own juices til almost done then uncover to brown

Upside down if looks aren't important.

[yellowdogintexas]

15. when I fix one I roast it.

I'd never deep fry it because then I would have to deal with the oil. I don't even fry potatoes for that reason.

Usually we go to someone else's house and they fix the turkey. My contribution is chocolate pound cake, hot rolls and sometimes a side. This year my husband is churning up a couple of quarts of ice cream. Orange ice cream. He makes bodacious ice cream.

Too bad y'all can't smell this cake, damn it's divine. My husband's grandmother's recipe.

Tonight we are having a steak, roasted asparagus and maybe some roasted potatoes.

[MuseRider]

18. Chocolate pound cake and homemade orange ice cream.

This brought tears to my eyes. Mmmmmmmmm!

[shanti]

32. It does sound like a nice combination! n/t

[MuseRider]

16. Mmmmm.

I always brine and roast at least 2 birds depending on how many are coming. I used to routinely feed 20 but now we are down to 2 or 4. Still, gravy is my best thing. I can make gravy out of anything. I used to have my kids friends ask me to send some home with them. My birds will always be made so I can make the gravy.

I rarely eat much of it, I was a vegetarian but then I had to stop because of a GI issue that now seems to be clearing up? If it does this will be my last turkey to eat.

Have a great holiday. Sitting with a loved one drinking wine and talking while the men do the bird sounds really good to me.

[Siwsan]

19. The guys are brining the bird, right now.

I just finished baking 2 pies (apple and pumpkin) and roasting a small turkey breast for gravy drippings, and that will make lots of great turkey related dishes, later. I'll make the dressing when I get to the house, tomorrow.

They deep fried the turkey, last year. I do admit it was very tasty.

Here's wishing you have a great day, too! I'm hoping this is our last Thanksgiving without a baby in the family. My niece and her hubby are hoping to start their family, immediately, now that they are back in Michigan with family there for help and support.

[Buzz cook]

20. Use thighs for the gravy

as well as the neck. Makes a better flavor than breast meat.

[Siwsan]

21. I put a lot of veg, herbs and unpeeled but smashed garlic in the bottom of the roaster

I also butter baste and season and then put it on top of the veg/herb/garlic, while it roasts. And I keep it covered for most of the roasting time so it's very moist. I just checked the broth and the flavor is perfect. I grow my own herbs and garlic and they give a wonderful boost to the flavor.

When I roast a chicken, I stuff the cavity with herbs and small, smashed heads of garlic. It never fails to please.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

22. Roast. I can't imagine how large a container would be needed

to deep fry even a small turkey.

[Dagstead Bumwood]

24. Unfortunately many attempting to fry one

also fail to imagine the size of container needed, if the statistics on fryer-related fires are to be believed.

It's one of those things that sounds like a lot more trouble than it's worth, but I know people at work that have done it and swear by it. But, yeah, the fire hazard to this point has dissuaded me from trying.

[Major Nikon]

25. It's pretty simple, but lots of folks screw it up anyway

Put turkey in pot, fill with water until turkey is covered. Remove turkey. Measure depth of water. Use measurement to know how much oil to use.

Where people go wrong is they skip this step and think they know how much oil the turkey is going to displace. When they misjudge the oil tops the pot, runs into the fire, and ignites.

Those who do these things also don't take the precaution to get the hell away from the house, the pile of leaves, or anything else combustible, nor do they keep a fire extinguisher handy.

[jberryhill]

26. Sous Vide

[rainy]

28. Smoked it in a green egg:)

Last edited Thu Nov 28, 2019, 07:27 AM - Edit history (1)

[mr_lebowski]

29. Roasted ... on my Weber Charcoal Grill ... indirect method, bird in middle ...

Chunk or two of Cherry or Applewood on each side ...

Makes the best damn turkey you ever had, IMHO.

Put a foil pan in the bottom between the charcoal holders ... need a nice tall one so coal ash won't be likely to get into it. The gravy you can make with those smoked drippings is THE BOMB.

Lots of recipes on the web for doing it. One key though is to know your grill pretty well in terms of controlling temps. You do need to know how to keep a reasonably steady temp across the cook, which is usually around 4 hrs for 14lb bird IIRC. Otherwise it really isn't very hard. May have to add coals one or two times, esp. if it's real cold outside.

14lb is about the safe limit to be sure you won't hit the roof of the kettle, only real downside. I have done a 16lb but it was close.

[Wolf Frankula]

30. Roast, oven or spit.

That's the best way to cook a turkey.

Wolf

[ret5hd]

31. Is this some kind of euphemism?

[SeattleVet]

33. Neither.

The last few I made I did in the smoker. I have an electric one that sort of looks like a dorm-sized mini-fridge. I've used hickory and pecan woods so far, and both worked well. I think that turkey has a strong enough flavor that I may try mesquite the next time.

I split them in half and put the halves on separate shelves. I am able to use different rubs on each half if I want to. By splitting it in half it cooked much faster than I had anticipated the first time I did one. Meat always comes out juicy and almost falling off the bone.

We're going to a friend's place tomorrow for dinner, but I'll probably get a bird next week and smoke one then.

[lastlib]

35. YES. eom

[PJMcK]

36. Neither this year

We'll be driving from NYC to Maryland later today and I've got turkey sandwiches for the car ride.

Tomorrow, at my brother's, we're changing things up and I ordered a beautiful beef tenderloin. Who says you have to have turkey?!

[Siwsan]

37. True!

I skipped out on traditional Thanksgiving gatherings, for several years. As I recall, in 2017 I made lasagna. Last year was my first experience with a deep fried turkey. I still prefer the roasted, but I'm not hosting, this year.

We usually make a nice roast beef with roasted potatoes and yorkshire puddings, for Christmas, but last year I roasted a capon. Change ups can be a really good thing.