Any turkey fryer experts?

I have a multi-burner portable stove that I use for chicken wings. The amount of time it takes the oil to heat up is entirely dependent upon the BTU rating of the burner(s).

Mine takes roughly 5 minutes to come to 350°.

Tips:

Do not exceed 350°, or the oil will burn and give an off taste to the wings.

Don't use the big tall pot for chicken wings, it's a disaster waiting to happen. Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get the shallow pans with fryer baskets. If you decide to use the big pot, there may be too much volume to quickly and evenly cook the wings. Remember the Turkey Carcass is hollow and it cooks on both the the outside and inside simultaneously. With a half pot of wings the temperature of the oil will drop quickly and the center mass will stay cold.

Keep a fire extinguisher close at hand. Obviously one that is rated for oil fires.

Keep the cookers away from crowds, away from vehicles, and away from anything flammable.

It is important to use a basket to drop the wings and take them out of the oil safely. I cook about 20-25 wings per basket.

Never fill the pan with too much oil. When the wings are dropped into the oil thy displace the volume in the pan, secondly the water content from the wings can cause the oil to violently boil. If the oil level is high in either case the oil can flow into the burner and create a violent oil fire.

When the wings start to float and they are golden brown, they are done. I prefer to never drop frozen chicken wings into the oil. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.

Save your brown paper grocery bags. When the wings are taken out of the oil, let them drain for a second, then dump them into the paper bag and shake to remove excess oil on the wings. A bag can be used 5 or 6 times before it will not remove surface oil on the wings.

Dump the wings from the paper bag into your warmed sauce, remove from sauce and then serve.

For wing sauce, I use straight "Franks" from the gallon jug. For medium heat, I mix 50/50 melted margarine and "Franks". I don't think a girl's soccer team would want anything much hotter.

When frying on a turkey fryer before the first cook, I will turn the flame off right before I lower the turkey into the pot of oil. This is just in case it boils over, it will not ignite. Then once the turkey is in the pot of oil, I'll relight the burner. After the first time you drop some in, you will know the level of the oil and mass you are putting in so it won't overflow.

If you're only going to cook wings you might look into a fish fryer setup rather than a turkey fryer. I have the one below and it works great. Of course I also purchased a separate pot for frying a turkey when I want to.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-Outdoor-Aluminum-Cooker/dp/B000291GC0"]Amazon.com : Bayou Classic Outdoor Aluminum Fish Cooker : Fish Fry Pots : Patio, Lawn & Garden[/ame]

When I fry wings I use a smaller pan with a strainer basket in it. I have seen these sold seoeratly at places like home depot and lowes. My recipe for fried wings is pretty simple, soak them in Texas Pete wing sauce overnight, drop them in 350 degree peanut oil for 12-15 minutes until the skin gets crisp, drain then eat.

Hmmm...

although I have to say I'm getting a little nervous thinking about a bunch of 8 year old kids running around a vat of hot oil

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I think of the games and tourneys my son attends. Kids running around, soccer balls flying everywhere and I think maybe you are correct in having second thoughts. Now, if you can find an out of the way area to set up, go for it. During games, tourneys, etc charcoal grills are banned for the same reason. Even though it is a city park and they have charcoal grills set up, only gas is allowed during those events. Some parents take their RV and set up away from the general area and bring their cowboy woks, burners, fryers, smokers etc, but they are away from the larger crowd.

Or, some nicely marinated or seasoned wings on a gasser with maybe a wood chunk for some smoke, isn't a bad thing either. If you do go with the fryer, I also recommend using the smaller frying pot and strainer. It really is helpful. Lastly, have an oil fire rated extinguisher or two present.


Bob

The best way to fry wings is to double fly them. Cook first at a lower temp, and then a brief re-heat and crisp at high heat (350 ish) will give you a wing that is crisper on the outside and not over cooked on the inside. The first cook can be done days or weeks ahead, and the final crisping will only take a few minutes per batch which is good if you are feeding a bunch of hungry kids. The first cook can also be in the oil, or in a smoker, grill, or oven. Smoked than fried makes a great tasting wing with awesome crispy skin.

Safety is definitely a concern with a big vat of oil. I prefer to use a burner that sits low to the ground, but you will definitely want to fence it in with folding tables, cars, walls etc. so that no kid can get within 3-4 feet of the fryer while it is hot. Also, if you are traveling, keep in mind you will have a lot of hot oil that stays hot a long time and will need to be transported back home or disposed of on site.

aawa said:

When frying on a turkey fryer before the first cook, I will turn the flame off right before I lower the turkey into the pot of oil. This is just in case it boils over, it will not ignite. Then once the turkey is in the pot of oil, I'll relight the burner. After the first time you drop some in, you will know the level of the oil and mass you are putting in so it won't overflow.

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Ditto on the flame off when lowering. Been doing that for ever. People talk all kinds of safety precautions, but most boil overs happen when lowering and the last fail safe is that stuff can't catch on fire if there is no fire going.

I've been hearing good things about the oil less turkey fryer I myself have never used one just wondering if any of ya'll have

BBQFOOL said:

I've been hearing good things about the oil less turkey fryer I myself have never used one just wondering if any of ya'll have

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I received one as a gift 3 years ago and I no longer deep fry. The Big easy is just so easy and it frees all that space in the oven....

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=217528