YES, YOU CAN DEEP-FRY A TURKEY.

Byline: Martin S. Gonzalez Staff Writer

The scariest part of frying a turkey comes when you have to lower it into a pot full of hot oil. You must lower it slowly into the pot to prevent overflow and splattering of the oil. To be on the safe side, don turkey-frying gear: an apron, thick shoes and oven mitts. And keep a fire extinguisher nearby.

The initial sound of turkey flesh meeting bubbling hot oil is intense. After 30 seconds, the turkey is bubbling away in the pot - and there is the aroma of meat and spices frying.

Deep-frying turkey has been gaining in popularity the last few years. The reasons: tenderness, flavor and quick cooking.

``It was one of the best turkeys I have ever had,'' was the comment I heard from those who had tried it. No matter what spicing had been used, the simple act of frying the turkey made for a great bird.

Some cooks are put off by the thought of using five or more gallons of 375-degree oil over a hot flame. It's dangerous: The oil must be measured precisely to prevent it from overflowing, and the turkey must be lowered slowly to minimize splatter. The possibility of an accident is real.

But even so, since I had never cooked or sampled a fried turkey, it was time to give it a whirl. Using an electric turkey fryer seemed more feasible. Masterbuilt, a Georgia-based company that offers a wide selection of smokers, deep-fryers, cargo carriers and other accessories, recently introduced an electric turkey fryer available at Wal-Mart with a built-in thermostat and stainless-steel heating element. The 30-quart insulated cooking pot can fry up to a 14-pound turkey, and the pot includes a perforated catch basket with a drip clip and a lifting hook that makes lowering and removing the basket more safe.

Another advantage is that the pot only uses 2 1/2 gallons of oil, significantly less than called for on many of the turkey frying kits with larger pots. The instructions say that the fryer is safe to use indoors, but I would not recommend it. It would take weeks to get the smell of frying meat out of your house. Hot oil belongs outside.

Any turkey would probably be fine, but I chose a Whole Foods Market Natural Turkey. The free-range birds are raised on a vegetarian diet without animal byproducts, antibiotics, preservatives or artificial ingredients and have an incredible taste. They are considerably more expensive than the supermarket deals you will find at this time, but the difference in flavor could be notable.

While the pot can accommodate a 14-pound turkey, our bird was slightly larger. I recommend using no larger than a 12-pound turkey. The smaller size will ensure a cooking time of less than an hour and will produce a crisp, mahogany-colored skin like none ever seen on a traditionally roasted turkey. A larger bird takes longer to cook, and the risk is that the skin becomes blackened. Ours was verging on a shade of darkness.

It is also a good idea to cut off the wing tips, which are thin and will burn before the turkey is done. And cut off the turkey tail. You want to make sure there is a clear and open passageway through the cavity for oil to flow.

Flavoring a fried turkey is a two-step process. The first, which is the most satisfying, involves using a long basting needle to inject the turkey thoroughly with a basting solution. There are ready-made versions of both spice rubs and basting solutions, but it is more fun concocting your own brew. I combined ingredients from several recipes I found in cookbooks and on the Internet using beer, honey, butter, fresh garlic, bay leaves, Louisiana-style hot sauce and a variety of spices. After simmering the mixture over low heat to melt the butter, I let it cool to at least room temperature before injecting it into the turkey.

Make sure the bird is thoroughly and evenly injected. You will have to fill the syringe several times. The remaining baste can be rubbed into the exterior of the turkey and inside the skin.

The next step is to rub a spice mixture on the outside of the bird and inside the cavity. On the suggestion of Whole Foods manager Kim Chan, a native Southerner, I chose Zatarain's Cajun Seasoning, both in the baste and to rub on the turkey.

``In our family, we always fry turkeys with Zatarain's,'' Chan said. ``We just rub it all over and fry it up. Nothing else.''

After a good basting and rub, it was into the refrigerator, uncovered, for two nights. The turkey should dry out in the refrigerator for at least one night before you fry it. This will help the turkey soak in the baste, adhere the rub to the skin and remove excess moisture, helping the skin crisp to a delicious mahogany gold. Place the turkey on a rack, if you have one, and place layers of paper towels on the bottom of the pan to soak up the moisture leeching from the bird.

On frying day, I made sure the turkey came to room temperature before dunking it in the hot oil. The preferred oil for deep frying is peanut oil because of its high smoking point and limited expansion. The Masterbuilt has an indented maximum-fill line that made adding the oil a cinch.

It took almost an hour for the oil to heat to 375 degrees F and another hour and 20 minutes for the turkey to fry up to a delicious tenderness. It was a little darker than I would have liked, but the skin did not taste burned at all.

Basting the bird really made a difference. The flavors of the spices and even hints of honey were tasted in every bite, and the meat was moist throughout.

Once again, I heard a familiar comment as we feasted on the bird. ``This is the best turkey I've ever tasted.''

Martin S. Gonzalez

[phone], Ext. 2734

CAJUN SPICED DEEP-FRIED TURKEY

BASTE:

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 ounces red pepper sauce

1 (12-ounce) can beer

2 garlic cloves, smashed

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup apple cider 

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/4 cup Zatarain's Cajun Seasoning

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground allspice 

Pinch ground cloves

TURKEY:

1 (10- to 12-pound) turkey, wing tips and tail cut off

3 to 7 gallons peanut oil

For Baste, melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Add remaining basting ingredients and simmer 3 minutes to bring out flavor. Taste and add additional hot sauce to taste. Allow baste to cool before injecting into turkey.

Fill a syringe and inject turkey in the breast and thigh area, as well as the back, wings and legs. You will have to fill the syringe several times. Next, rub additional Zatarain's Cajun seasoning evenly all over the turkey. Place in the refrigerator uncovered on a rack overnight, preferably for two nights.

On frying day, set turkey out to come to room temperature while oil heats up. Set up a 40-quart deep-fryer with burner base and propane tank according to manufacturer's directions. As a safety precaution, measure the amount of oil needed to fry by filling the pot first with water and covering the turkey by 1-inch. You might want to put the turkey in a plastic bag first for ease. Remove the turkey and mark the water level on the side of the pot; this ensures no spillover when working with hot oil.

Pour out the water; dry the pot and turkey thoroughly. Fill the pot with oil and heat to 375 degrees F. Have a deep-fry thermometer attached to the pot.

If you are using the Masterbuilt Turkey Fryer, fill the pot with peanut oil to the maximum-fill line indicated in the pot, plug in and set thermometer to 375 degrees F. It will take up to an hour for the oil to come to temperature.

Put the turkey on the fry stand or basket and attach to the metal hanger that comes with the fry kit. Slowly ease the turkey into the hot oil (long oven mitts and an apron are essential). Keep a close eye as the oil bubbles up. Turkey cooks 4 minutes per pound, so check it at 45 minutes. The internal temperature of the bird should read between 170 and 180 degrees F on a thermometer.

Remove the turkey from the oil. Set the turkey stand or basket on a roasting pan to drain the excess oil. Let the turkey rest for 15 minutes so the juices settle before removing and carving.

NOTE: Masterbuilt Electric Turkey Fryers are available at Wal-Mart and range in price from $90 to $150.