Out of the roasting pan Into the fryer

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One warm November afternoon, Rob Brookings quietly studied a pair of turkey cookers – those propane-fired lobster kettles that double as deep-fryers – on his friend’s driveway. He had rigged them to stay level and stable because the concrete was bumpy, and nothing ruins dinner plans quite like a capsizing cauldron of boiling oil.

Not that it’s ever happened to Brookings, but he knows it could, and he brought his own fire extinguisher just in case. He’s the kind of guy you’d want around if you had 35 pounds of hot fat bubbling and hissing in your backyard. He’d never set your deck on fire. He’d never put your shins in danger of third-degree burns. And he’d always turn out a tender bird. On time.

As the shadows grew longer in the driveway, Brookings checked his watch and then did the math – a half-hour to heat the oil to 350 degrees F, plus 31/2 minutes of cooking time per pound of turkey, or about 80 minutes total.

He ripped open two boxes of soybean oil from Sam’s Club and poured them into the stainless pots, splashing the bottom of his jeans in the process. Then he fired up the burners, stepped back and waited.

Guests would arrive at 5 o’clock, and if he planned it right, they’d get to see two turkeys – one plain, the other injected with a homemade teriyaki marinade – emerge from the fryers, which is quite dramatic. Better still, the meat would still be hot and juicy.

“They’re really moist, which is what I like about cooking this way,” Brookings said as he waited for the oil to heat. “It’s a different flavor than roasted turkey.”

That flavor has caught on in recent years. Though fried turkey has long been a treat in the South, celebrity chefs such as Emeril Lagasse and Martha Stewart introduced it to the rest of the country. Brookings and his wife, Denise, tried it nearly a decade ago, and they couldn’t believe how juicy – not greasy – the meat was. They bought a cooker for their camp on Phillips Lake, and since they started frying turkeys, their annual summer gathering has grown from 25 people to 75. Now they have three cookers.

This isn’t just a summer fling, though. Come Thanksgiving, there are usually two birds on the Brookings’ table – one stuffed and roasted for the traditionalists, the other fried.

The benefits of frying are many. It’s fast – an hour, tops, vs. three or four in the oven – and easy. The meat falls apart when you try to cut it, so

carving isn’t an issue. It does require constant supervision, however, and it can be a bit pricey if you’re frying only one or two turkeys. You can filter the oil through cheesecloth and reuse it within a month, for another turkey or fish and chips. But if you’ve injected the turkey with a marinade, it colors and flavors the oil, so it’s best to either throw it out or fry another marinated turkey in it.

Dusk had fallen by the time the plain turkey – a 17-pound Tom – took the plunge. The oil foamed like whitewater as Rob Brookings lowered the bird into the pot with a hook like an upside-down coat hanger. He dipped the bird to sear the skin, pulled it up for a few seconds and submerged it again.

The first of the guests had arrived, and as Rob chatted, he checked the time and watched the thermometer, adjusting the flame when the oil temperature fell. A few minutes later, a spattering sound signaled that the oil was too hot, so he adjusted the flame again.

In the kitchen, Denise pulled the teriyaki turkey out of the refrigerator. The day before the turkey fry, she used a long, wide, hollow needle that came with the cooker to inject the marinade deep into the breast, thigh and leg. Overnight, it had spread through the meat, and as she perched it on the metal frying rack, the turkey looked like it had lost a boxing match.

Rob didn’t seem to mind.

“Well, it looks good,” he said as Denise brought the turkey outside. “Let it drop.”

The oil sputtered and sparkled, and a cloud of steam billowed out of the pot. The sugar in the marinade caramelized immediately, and when Rob pulled the turkey out, its skin was black, but not burned. The aroma of French fries and Chinese food hung in the air, and as more guests arrived, they simply followed their noses to the party.

“Man, it smells good,” a man said as he lugged a 12-pack of Corona and a Crock Pot up the back steps.

But how would it taste? A few minutes later, just a tick after 5, the guests got their answer. Rob hooked the plain turkey with a gloved hand and pulled it out. Denise placed a small, metal drying rack atop the pot, let the oil drip off, and whisked the turkey inside.

Working quickly, she cut into the thigh.

“Yup, I think she’s ready,” she said as she looked under the skin. Then she took in the size of the bird and reconsidered. “Well, he’s ready.”

Denise chiseled the meat into rough chunks and loaded them onto one platter, then another. Crispy skin piled up. As fast as the pile grew, it shrank, as nibblers descended on the kitchen for a taste, then another. But this bird’s 15 minutes of fame would soon be over.

Outside, a small crowd had amassed around the second fryer, where Rob searched for the hook to pull out the teriyaki turkey. His work here was almost done.

“This is going to look burned,” he warned.

But it didn’t. It looked like an oil-rubbed mahogany sculpture, only it smelled better.

In unison, the onlookers whispered, “Wow.”

And they hadn’t even tasted it yet.

Fighting fire with fryer

Rob Brookings may make it look easy, but frying takes a little practice – and a lot of care – to get it right.

Safety is the primary concern, and the Bangor Fire Department offers the following suggestions:

. Set up the fryer outdoors at a safe distance from buildings and other materials that could catch on fire (this includes decks, garages and covered porches).

. Do not leave the fryer unattended.

. Keep children and pets away from the fryer.

. If your frying kit didn’t come with a thermometer, get one. Monitor the oil temperature constantly and adjust flame as necessary to keep it at 350 degrees F. If left unchecked, the oil will continue to heat until it catches fire.

. Don’t overfill the fryer with oil.

. Make sure the turkey is completely thawed before placing it in the fryer – this could take up to five days in the refrigerator.

. When handling the hot turkey or the fryer, use well-insulated gloves, pot holders or oven mitts.

. Keep an ABC- or BC-rated fire extinguisher within reach.

If you have any questions on fryer safety, contact your local fire department. For more safety tips, visit http://www.ul.com/consumers/turkeys.html.

Turkey Marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Dash black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 garlic clove

1/4 teaspoon ginger (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a high-sided, narrow container, such as a drinking glass. Stir until sugar dissolves. Inject into turkey using a store-bought marinade injector.