This recipe is near and dear to my heart. My Dad, Frank, started to fry turkeys for us in the early 2000s and never looked back. This was the recipe he used and passed on to me.

My Dad taught me the basics of cooking at a young age and is the reason why I love it to this day, he also designed my kitchen. He took so much pride in everything he made for us and used it as a way to show his love.

I won’t say that my dad’s fried turkey is superior to any other but everyone who’s tried it agrees it’s the best turkey they’ve ever had. Food has a way of making us nostalgic, as soon as I smell this turkey it brings me back to Thanksgivings spent with Dad. Cancer took him from us too soon but when we make his turkey it’s almost like he isn’t so far away.

I miss him every day but am so thankful to be reminded of him every time I take a step into my kitchen and every time I make his recipes.

TURKEY FRYING SAFETY

THAW YOUR BIRD. Watch a YouTube video if you don’t believe that this step is essential. We set our turkey in the fridge at least a week before we want to fry it. This gives it enough time to thaw so that we can inject it several days before fry-day.

FRY IT AWAY FROM YOUR HOUSE. Again, go watch a YouTube video if you don’t believe me.

MAKE SURE YOUR POT IS BIG ENOUGH FOR THE BIRD. You want to be able to submerge the turkey entirely with a few inches left over so that the oil can bubble up a bit. Most large fryers will state the maximum size turkey on the side, ours says it’s 18lbs but we try to keep it at 16lbs or under.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Injection mix. You will mix together 16oz of zesty Italian dressing, 1/4 cup Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning, 1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot. Depending on your injector, you may need to throw it into a blender so that the garlic bits in the dressing don’t clog it up.

Turkey. Pick one out that’s bigger than you think you’ll need for the number of people. You’re going to want leftovers.

Peanut Oil. This gives it the BEST flavor. They sell it in large quantities, ours came in a 3 gallon jug which is perfect for our fryer. You can reuse the oil several times.

METHOD

STEP 1: Once your turkey is thawed, you will inject it with the Cajun style marinade. Use it all up. When you get to the last bits, you can rub some on top and underneath the skin. Wrap in plastic and let it sit in the fridge for at least 48 hours before you plan to fry the turkey.

STEP 2: Preheat your peanut oil in the fryer to 375. Do not overfill the fryer, there should be a maximum fill line on the side. This can take a while depending on how cold it is outside, so keep that in mind. It took us about 45min on a 40 degree day.

STEP 3: Set your turkey upright onto the holder. Put on heat protectant gloves (a full sized oven-mitt works well), then SLOWLY lower the turkey into the oil. The oil will bubble up but shouldn’t go over.

STEP 4: Fry in peanut oil for 5 minutes plus 3 times your turkey’s weight in pounds, for instance a 14 lbs turkey would fry for 5 + ( 3 X 14 ) = 47 minutes. And now you can’t say you never used the order of operations. Sorry, math major over here.

STEP 5: Let the turkey rest for at least 30min. Then carve it up and enjoy! The skin may look charred in places but it will taste absolutely divine!