Butterball Turkey Fryer

I sent masterbuilt an email – if this thing is big enough and the temp is low enough, I could seriously see this as an awesome way to steep the wort.

I was at a mead-making workshop last Saturday and the couple running it totally recommended an electric turkey fryer for brewing, and brought one to show us how it works. The best parts are the constant temperature and the valve for easy transfer to the fermentation vessel.

So, oddly, I’m in the market for something like this, as of five days ago. But I don’t know if I’m ready yet…

I couldn’t help but notice that the amazon fryer is listed under patio, lawn and garden items, which to me strongly suggests it is instended to be used outside and not inside the house.

Consider all the stories of things gone wrong with frying turkeys, that would seem a safe suggestion.

So tonight was grocery night. Fareway finally had a deal on strip steaks, my wife’s favorite.

Like many stores do at this time of year, they gave me a free 12 lbs turkey. This seems like a small bird, but it will be perfect for our needs.

There are 2 ways I am considering preparing the bird, neither of which I have tried. First, deep fry… the other option is normal roasting with some duck fat. SOOOO. wine woot has duck fat and truffle butter… And here we have a turkey fryer…

hmmmmmmm

So, ive owned one of these for about a year and have some notes to share:

This is the 2012 model, it fits up to a 14 pound bird but reliably you only want to cook upto a 12 pounder. And what if I told you you could cook 2 turkeys if you are concerned about not having enough.

The fryer works great for its intended purpose. They mention you can use it for boils and steaming, but only the boiling works really.

The new 2013 model ships with a single piece lid without a lid filter as well as a wire mesh basket instead of the solid metal one, but is otherwise exactly the same as the one here.

Remember that even with proper filtering the oil will only last 6months or 3 turkeys, which ever happens first. Oh, and DONT POUR HOT OIL BACK INTO ITS PLASTIC CONTAINER.

BTW, right now if you have cable or satelite, you can spend the whole day channel hopping watching the infomercial. I noticed today you could go a solid 5 hours watching it.

I think Its a good deal and it produces really tasty turkey.

I got one of these sometime last year on Amazon, and this is a steal at $65. I have found about 13 pounds is the most you can fit in there, and it will be done in just about an hour. You can re-use the oil for 4 or maybe 5 turkeys. I also found that injecting the turkey doesn’t really make a big difference with this technique but brining overnight beforehand totally does. Just make 110% sure the turkey is totally defrosted with not even a speck of ice inside before putting it in the oil.

No, this is not made to be used outside.

So far as safety goes, it’s not any more dangerous than any other deep fryer, which is all this really is - a large deep fryer with a turkey shaped basket and dangle hook for dropping and removing the bird.

Disclaimer: Woot inc. is not responsible for damages due to burning down the trailer park you reside in,

What if you use it with a Norbest Turkey?

If you do intend to use this for Thanksgiving…ALDI’s is selling this same model for $90

I’ve used the larger version of this…it works great. The heat is way more consistent than the big ole propane burner.

And…it deep fries twinkies!

Why must you tempt me so, Woot?

I think I’m going to stick with the ol’ Alton Brown vegetable broth brine and ripping hot oven method.

I’m a long-time brine 'n roaster…quite good at it. But We’ve been frying turkeys for years now. Picked this one up from Woot last year. It worked great! Nice size for my family, however as others noted, you’re talking about a 12-13lb bird, which some consider small. There’s so much other stuff on the table, and 12lb is plenty for my extended family of 9 with leftovers to spare. Comparing this to my large-size propane roaster, it works well, stows much smaller, and is pretty convenient to whip out for donuts and fish fries, etc. The generous dunking strainer is really nice to work with for those meals. The only real modification to my approach was having the bird out at room temp a little longer during the day-of prep, but really I’m not sure how much effect that had. I’d do it again for sure. If you haven’t tried cajun injection, it pairs well with fried turkey. Don’t expect very fancy construction. Even on the stainless model, the build is minimal where it can be, and rugged where it needs to be. Just right, IMO, for something you whip out just a handful of times a year.

I don’t have the counter space or the cupboard space. I’d have to cook on the deck and store in the basement.

Ad sounds good - But too many bad reviews/complaints to consider purchasing one. Just don’t want to deal with the hassle if I get a bad unit.

I’m buying a small turkey and going to try my Ronco ShowTime…the original big one.

Anyone know if I would be able to fry other foods, like egg rolls and pickles in this fryer?

I have the larger version of this fryer (mine can fry up to a 20lb bird). While we do use it a couple of times a year for turkeys, we use it much more often for low country boils and seafood. Simply fill it with water as opposed to oil and steam shellfish, potatoes, corn, etc.

Clean up is a breeze with mine. Everything except for the control panel (slides off) can go right in the dishwasher. The drain valve works great for bottling your oil back up for later uses. Looks like this smaller version works in the same manner.

Highly recommend.

They’re small this year? Turkeys are domestically ‘grown’, fed in flocks. We’re not talking wild turkeys here.

From Woot Facebook,It’s 2 gallons:
“----i bought 3 of them last season for xmas gifts. takes just shy of 2 gallons of oil. as expected takes a while to heat up but fries beautifully. easy to clean using a hide away spigot. the basket is nice and stirdy, can hang it on the edge when you lift it up. i like to do 7-9lb turkey breasts or two roasting hens in this. have done party wings for a crowd, about 4lbs at a time”

If your kettles are induction ready I would go with this if you want to brew 5 gallon batches indoors.
(plug to W00T over lords)
http://www.amazon.com/1800-Watt-Portable-Induction-Countertop-8100MC/dp/B0045QEPYM

I have one of these and have used it for about 2 years. I find that it works very well in all situations. I have used it to fry pretty much everything under the sun. Fried twinkies? Check. Fried Snickers? Check. Fried pickles? HELL YES! Oh, and it works pretty good for those turkey things, too.

Okay, keeping it real, I’ve really had very good luck with this thing. Biggest problem I find with it is the breakaway power cord. It connects via magnets and they just aren’t very powerful. Aside from that, it takes a reasonable amount of time to heat up (indicates when the oil is at the desired temperature) and cooks very evenly. I find that I use it most to cook up hot wings for my family as well as for fries, but it really is a very diverse product. Don’t think you can just use it for turkeys.

A few notes I have: a.) if you use it inside, it stinks. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. b.) if you use it inside, it stinks. Seriously, you were warned. c.) take the spigot out of the hidden panel on the back before you start frying. If you don’t, it will burn your little fingers. d.) make sure that if you are reusing your oil that you use cheesecloth to strain out the crud (yeah, that’s the technical term for it) that falls to the bottom.

That’s all I’ve got to add. I wholeheartedly endorse this product, and this is a great price.