Delicious, juicy, and tender describe this Cajun-fried turkey. The dish has been on our Thanksgiving table ever since a genuine Cajun gave it to me 16 years ago!
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 8 hrs 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 9 hrs 35 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 whole turkey |
Ingredients
- 2 cups butter
- 7 fluid ounces beer
- ¼ cup onion juice
- ¼ cup garlic juice
- ¼ cup Louisiana-style hot sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
- 3 gallons peanut oil for frying, or as needed
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add beer, onion juice, garlic juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix until marinade is well blended.
- Use a marinade-injecting syringe or turkey baster with an injector tip to inject marinade into turkey, including legs, back, wings, thighs, and breasts. Place turkey in a large plastic bag and marinate in the refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight.
- When it’s time to fry, remove turkey from the bag and place into the cooking basket. Measure the amount of oil needed by lowering turkey into the fryer and filling with enough oil to cover it. Remove turkey and set aside.
- Heat oil to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Return turkey to the cooking basket and lower slowly into hot oil using the hanging device that comes with turkey deep-fryers. The turkey should be completely submerged in hot oil. Cook for 36 minutes or 3 minutes per pound of turkey. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- Turn off the flame and slowly remove turkey from oil, making sure all of the oil drains out of the cavity. Allow turkey to rest on a serving platter before carving, about 20 minutes.
- The injector and instructions for frying came with our fryer, which was good because the original recipe didn’t explain all the nuances of frying a turkey. It is well worth the learning process, though.
- You can place the turkey in an oven bag to marinate; do not use a kitchen trash bag.
- We strain the peanut oil after it cools and pour it back into the containers (I buy it in gallon jugs). It will keep nicely in a cool place, under 40 degrees F, or in the refrigerator until needed again.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of marinade ingredients. The actual amount consumed will vary. We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and specific type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 1036 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 346 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 91 g |
| Saturated Fat | 30 g |
| Sodium | 682 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 71 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I’ve been deep frying turkey’s on Thanksgiving for years. Always a hit with family and friends. That said, I had my turkey fry kit for a few years before I used it for the 1st time, it’s so dangerous having flame from the burner and hot oil!!! Don’t take chances, do it by the book, avoid the fire department and the ER on Thanksgiving! I like to inject with marinade of one type or another. Happy Thanksgiving.
This recipe was fantastic and the ingredients for the Cajun seasoning may be used for any meat recipe! Thank you!
Did my first deep fried turkey about three months ago, using this recipe. Zero complaints, lots of praise. Skin was a little blackened, but the heat on my fryer got away from me a little about a half hour in, so that’s most likely what happened there. Even though the skin was dark, it was still very flavorful. Used some Guava IPA for the beer, and omitted onion juice because I couldn’t find it anywhere, replaced with onion powder as a rub just before frying. Doing this again tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving!
I used this recipe last year and will again this year . Had about 20 family members and friends over, EVERYONE said best turkey they ever had!!!!! there were even a few who didn’t like turkey and ended up eating more than their share. Needless to say we had no leftovers!
This was a good and flavorful recipe!
I enjoyed this recipe, & my guests were happy with the bird. I felt like it was slightly overcooked, when I lowered the bird into the oil I noticed that the temperature of the oil dropped, so I turned the fryer up until the oil was back to 350, not sure if that was the right move???
Terrible waste of a $30 turkey and two days of prep
I’ve made this with 2 turkeys for each thanksgiving for the last 5 years and everyone always loves it and all the leftovers. I am VERY surprised this doesn’t have more 5 star ratings. It is superb. DO IT IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON DEEP FRYING A TURKEY. there is no better way.
A wonderful flavor. Better even 2 days later. Substituted 1 tbsp creole seasoning for cayenne due to kids/elderly. Finely box grated onion and elephant garlic then pressed to get juice. Took 1 large onion and 2 heads elephant garlic. Talk about fresh! Used white pepper. Injected 15 hours before cooking. Don’t know if I would go much longer before cooking as the meat was very tender. Too long and it may get grainy. Loved Mr. Barnett’s review. I cooked mine in charbroiled oil less turkey fryer as well. Awesome and very little clean up.
I do like this a lot, I altered between using it or Emiril’s Cajun blend, but this was very good also.
I haven’t fried a turkey since 1999 and it turned out better than I thought. I injected the turkey with Toney Chachere’s creole style butter marinade and rubbed creole seasoning under the skin. It was really juicy and flavorful.
I decided to purchase a “test turkey” before Thanksgiving to try this recipe. I followed the recipe with one substitution, I added 1 tablespoon of Tone’s Cajun Seasoning instead of the cayenne and the results were AWESOME! Very flavorful, juicy and just a hint of spice. I also sprinkled a little of the seasoning on the turkey and in the cavity. The family loved the results. This will be the first Thanksgiving that I will be hosting for 12-14 people and I expect this to be a hit. -ChefPierre
Haven’t tried this recipe yet. I will for Thanksgiving this year. I did want to point out an electric fryer with a closing lid is much easier and safer than the propane kind. Another advantage is you can cook inside. When you’re done there’s a release valve to empty the fryer and put the oil back in its original container(s). I’ve fried turkeys for almost twenty years and this is by far the safest and simplest way to go!
We made this for the first time a few years ago. It’s the only recipe we use now. For the beer I typically use Sam Adams or Guinness for the flavor. We inject the turkeys (we do 2 every Thanksgiving) the day before and let them sit for no more than 24 hours. If you’ve never fried a turkey, make sure you use peanut oil, any other oil will change the flavor. Typically you want to fry the turkey 3 minutes per pound. Make sure it is completely thawed out as well and despite the scare tactic that the news and fire departments like use, just don’t dropped the turkey into the fryer. Just lower it slowly. A 14lb turkey will take about 43-45 minutes to cook. This recipe makes them crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
This is by far my fav recipe for holidays! I don’t make anything else for thanksgiving and Christmas anymore!
Perfect…Fool proof!
Best turkey I ever had, very juicy and flavorful
Have used a very similar recipe for years. Some tips: to determine how much oil to use, place turkey in pot and cover with water. Remove the turkey and mark the water level; fill to this level with oil. Much less messy than submerging turkey in oil and removing. Also I have found that 3 1/2 minutes per pound is necessary due to fluctuation in the temp of the oil particularly with a gas fired fryer. Works best with 12-15 # birds. Hope there is no need to say this is to be done outside!
I have fried well over one thousand turkeys since the eighties. It is a wonderful way to enjoy the bird, but it doesn’t need to be so complicated. Oil heated to 350 F., 3 1/2 minutes per pound (the bird will float when it is nearly done). Peanut oil isn’t necessary unless you plan on cooking a whole bunch of them. Nor is injecting anything. Take a THAWED turkey (remove neck/giblets – pat dry – water is NOT your friend), trim off any excessive skin or fat, shake salt and cayenne pepper all over the bird (for extra heat, cover the insides with cayenne as well. Drop slowly into the heated oil (upright)and keep everyone away while it cooks (you would be surprised how normally intelligent people would reach in to touch the bird while it is in HOT oil). I always like to cook 10 – 12 # birds. I used a gaff to lift the bird when it was done, let it cool before slicing it up. Always delicious. I used to have six cooking at once, as many as thirty birds a night.
LOVE fried turkey. For Michael, I cut off the wings and legs and drop into the tub once the turkey is in. That way, you can remove when they are done. Hard to resist having a sample, though when they come out. Perks of being the cook.
We’ve discovered frying turkeys in Austin, Texas ten years ago. When we came to the Florida Keys, we discovered Mojo Criollo, the Cuban marinade. Strain this and inject. It’s soo much better than the commercial injectables! We spread a generous mixture of mustard, Tony Cachere’s cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce between the body and the skin and let the turkey sit overnight. I agree, measuring the amount of oil needed by immersing in water rather than oil is much more economical. Just make sure it’s dry before lowering it into the hot oil!