They say “the 3rd times the charm.” This definitely applies to the fried turkey Chris, my husband, made this Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, the 2 previous times were good. This 3rd time, however, was perfection. Before I get into the fried turkey, I thought I’d share details of the other food we served on Thanksgiving. Like most holiday get-togethers at our house, I take care of prepping the home for company while Chris takes care of the cooking. No complaints here! 🙂
1. Stuffed Jalapenos with Dates, wrapped in Bacon
Since we had the oil prepped for frying, we just dropped these stuffed jalapenos in the fryer until the bacon turned golden and crispy.
2) Caramelized Sweet Potatoes
Once boiled, the sweet potatoes were sliced and baked in the oven until caramelized. This is one of our favorite side dishes. Having the sweet potatoes sliced into rounds make them easier and more fun to eat. 🙂
3. Stir-fried String BeansÂ
The string beans were sauteed with shallots and garlic. With a little soy sauce added, this dish was delicious.
4. Fried Rice
Not the typical side served on Thanksgiving but we made this for the kids since they’re not big fans of stuffing. We simply made a small batch of good old Stove Top stuffing for the adults.
Now that we have the sides covered, let’s get to the star of the meal: THE TURKEY (I mean, THE FRIED TURKEY)
1) After immersing our turkey in a brine for 24 hours, Chris added powdered garlic, Italian seasoning, and Adobo seasoning to the cavity and exterior of turkey. This made the turkey extra tasty! By the way, we chose a 15 pound turkey. It was the perfect size for 9 adults and 5 children.
2) Once the oil reached a temperature of 250 degrees, our turkey was placed in the fryer. We had the oil reach a maximum temperature of 350 degrees. This made the difference because in previous years, we placed the turkey in fryer at 350 degrees. The turkey came out far more moist when placed in a temperature of 250 degrees rather than 350 degrees.
For safety reasons, we did this outdoors and made sure to keep a close watch of the pot during entire cooking process.
3) 45 minutes later, our turkey was D-O-N-E. If baked in the oven, our turkey would have taken at least 3 – 3.5Â hours.
4) Here’s the turkey all sliced and ready for plating. Don’t let the fried term fool you, this turkey is super moist and non-greasy. I’m not a big fan of turkey but cooked this way, I could eat it more than just once a year!
Naturally, holidays are about spending time with family and making lasting memories. It was great to have both my side of the family and Chris’s together at our home this Thanksgiving. At the beginning of dinner, we asked all the kids to share what they were grateful for this Thanksgiving. We were given answers like family, turkey, the world, and dogs. The “aww” moment came when Lauren, our 4 year old, answered with great certainty:
“ELLIE!” {Of all the answers she could have given, she chose to be thankful for her BIG sister. My heart melted for a moment…possibly longer.}
Did you have a favorite dish from our meal? Stay tuned for upcoming posts on holiday decor and tips. I can’t wait to share what I’ve been working on post-Thanksgiving. Like this post or have a comment? Thanks for reading. 🙂
This all looks amazing! I don’t normally eat turkey unless it’s in the form of lunch meat but your way just makes it sound delicious, so if I’m ever tasked with making a turkey I will surely make it your way. Thanks for the advice.
You’re welcome, Jennifer. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
YUM! I love all of these. The fried rice feels like a fun change!
Um delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Ah! I LOVE it. Kids are *so* wonderful like that. 🙂 The dishes look delicious! We bbq’d our turkey this year–smoked it and everything–and it was soo good! Next time, deep fryer. 😉
That sounds delicious!
I have always been afraid to fry anything. Ha! This looks really good though. I may have to get my dad to try this next year, Yum!
That does equal YUM! My husband is in charge of frying our turkey every year. It’s delicious. Great way to use the leftovers.
Oooh everything looks so yummy! I especially love the bacon-wrapped jalepenos 😀
I’ve never had fried turkey, but it looks so good! I’ll have to try it one of these years.
I’ve never had fried turkey but it looks DELICIOUS!
This all looks amazing and the bird turned out beautiful! I need to fry a turkey next year 🙂
Umm fried rice?? Yum!!! Turkey looks delicious!!! Totally crashing next year
Totally! We could do a “Friends Thanksgiving.” Would be fun 🙂
YUMMY!! Can we fry a turkey next time we visit, even if it’s not Thanksgiving? 🙂
Yes! Maybe we can try with chicken too :).
Wow. Your meal came out delicious. It has been years since I had deep fried turkey. I miss it.
This all looks so good. My husband would want to try the stuffed jalapeno’s. He likes them and bacon, so it should be a hit! You guys did a great job.
Thanks! He’ll love that appetizer. Maybe you should surprise him by making him some 🙂