Massachusetts Fried Turkey

into the hot oil
fry bubble golden sizzle
one yummy turkey

One of my Dad’s favorite meals, if not his most favorite, is a turkey dinner.  Baking a turkey in the summer is a long hot visit to the kitchen.  However, if you fry the turkey, you get to cook it outside (I’m sure rotisserie grilling it or smoking it would be excellent too if you have the specialized equipment)!

It was my Dad’s birthday while I was home.  He decided he wanted a fried turkey for his birthday dinner, and since we have a fairly casual tradition in our family that the birthday person picks dinner for that night.

A little back story:
We tried to fry a turkey this past thanksgiving.  It was REALLY cold that day.  So it took several hours for the oil to almost reach temperature (we gave up waiting for it to reach the requisite 350F).  It then took much longer (close to 2 hours more), then it should have taken to actually cook.  Trying to fry a turkey in New England, on the sea coast, at Thanksgiving, might not be the best plan.

So here is the series of photos documenting Dad’s Turkey Fry!

We had one for corn and one for the turkey

My older bother cleaning corn

They injected the turkey on both sides with flavor marinade

Dad pouring the oil

It takes a LOT of oil to cover a turkey

I think the oil has to come up to 350F to start frying

Nathan and Dad lift the turkey from the platter

Nathan slooowwwly lowering the turkey into the oil.

Apparently a lot of turkey fry accidents happen when you drop the
turkey into the oil which causes it to overflow and catches the burner
and becomes a huge grease fire…plus there’s the propane tank right there.

Still lowering

And we’re there.
Did I mention that you should slowly lower the turkey into the oil.

Hot bath of corn goodness

This is what we did while the turkey cooked…Bocci  or lawn bowling.

Nathan taking a shot

Dad’s wining throw.

Look at that Turkey go!
I wouldn’t suggest cooking this anywhere close to small children or pets.
Unless the turkey was your pet…

Taking the Turkey Out of the pot. 
I just have to point out the fact that my dad is wearing a huge hot mitt on his hand, but no shoes!  Don’t try this at home.

One of the challenges about cooking outside is the lack of counter space!

Jan (Dad’s wife) is checking to see if the turkey is done by using a meat thermometer.

Turkey resting before being carved.
The burnt looking parts are at the flavor injection sites.  It tasted good though.

Dad carving the turkey

More carving of the fried goodness.

Nathan’s mashed potatos!

A great July Birthday dinner.

My plate.  Corn on the cob is so cool.

Just wanted to include a photo of their garden.
I’m so jealous that I don’t have a garden this year, so I’m living vicariously through Dad & Jan.  They always seem to have a really great vegetable garden!

Sugar

So now that I am cooking for one (as Chris has fled the country…haha), I’m experimenting a little with my meals.  I have recently made a wild mushroom strudel, based on the mushroom strudel recipe in the Moosewood Cookbook.  Oh, and a Russian appetizer called Mushroom Julienne that we enjoyed at several restaurants when we were in Moscow.  I’ve been on a mushroom kick for some reason. 

I have a huge crush on the fresh pasta case at my grocery store, particularly the mushroom and cheese tortellini (I’m sure all you homemade pasta gurus are cringing right now).  Makes a quick meal and is easy to prepare smaller portions. 

The other night I decided that, rather than just throw some butter and fresh Parmesan on my tortellini, I would “create” my own pasta sauce.  Thinking back to a recipe I found in the Silver Palette Good Times cookbook, I decided on a tomato tarragon cream sauce.  After improvising on the ingredients and preparation, it didn’t taste quite right…but I couldn’t quite figure out what was missing.  I used it anyway, theorizing that I could completely mess it up by trying to find the elusive missing ingredient.  And I was hungry!  It didn’t taste awful, just not quite what I had projected. 

After reheating the sauce for another lunch of tortellini, I tried it again.  This time I was standing at the kitchen island, and in my line of sight:  the sugar bowl.  Eureka!  It needed sugar!  I always forget that just because a recipe is savory, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t need  a little sugar.

Here’s my “recipe”:

• 1 can of diced tomatoes (if you use fresh, I think you need to peel them first)
• dried taragon to taste…I used probably 2 teaspoons (crush it with your fingers as you add it to release the goodness)
• touch of olive oil
• salt
• light cream
• sugar

1. Heat the first 4 ingredients.  Pour into blender or food processor to puree until smooth.
2. Return the puree back to the pan and stir in some light cream.  I probably used a 1/4 cup.  Although I would just add a little at a time until it tasted/looked light enough for me. 
3. Add sugar to taste.
4. Add to favorite pasta and enjoy!

The Great Rice Fiasco

Trying to make brown rice in the microwave sounds really easy, right?  Add water, rice, some olive oil, cover and cook…right?

Not so my friends.  I’ve never lit anything on fire in the microwave before.  I didn’t know it was possible…until now.  I’m not sure if I just had the time set too long or what, but the results are carefully documented in the following photos.  View at your own risk…

PS: My house still smells like smoke.

Here’s the dish (cover removed, but believe me, it was blackened):

Here’s the close up of the charred results…brown rice isn’t supposed to be this brown!