Re: Deep Fried Turkey Breast??
I think the breast just won't cook right. There is a bit of science involved in cooking a whole turkey in a deep fryer. Part of it is the oil being able to evenly heat the entire turkey. The body cavity definitely makes a huge difference; frying a turkey takes 3.5 minutes per pound. Cooking a chicken takes almost 9 min per pound. The difference is that with the turkey's larger cavity, the oil has more room to circulate and cook from the inside as well as from the outside. I don't know how just doing a breast will affect the dynamics of the cooking, and cooking time may be off. I guess you could try, but if it were me I'd experiment with a whole, smaller turkey, say an 8 Lb bird, rather than just a breast. If you use that 3.5 min per pound for an 8 Lb turkey, you are ready to carve up the bird after less than half an hour. If you mess it up, you are only out a half hour of your time, so plenty of time to get another one in the oven. If it turns out good, you can do a second one in the same oil which will go much quicker since you already have it up to temperature.
With respect to setting anything on fire, just be sure you have a big enough fry pot such that when you have the bird in with the oil, you are absolutely no more than 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up the pot. Use a high smokepoint oil. Peanut oil has always been my choice because it is available in large quantities, and imparts a pleasant flavor on the food. Regular vegetable oil is not the way to go, as that has a relatively low smoke point. I cooked one turkey one time in liquid frying shortening (what you get for asking someone else to pick up the oil), and although the bird cooked well, it really didn't taste as good as my peanut-oil fried birds.
It really just takes common sense to not burn yourself, the turkey, the house, or anything else; set up your fryer outdoors away from anything flammable, have a chemical extinguisher nearby, make sure the bird is dry as possible, wear an apron, close-toed shoes, a good fire mitt and eye protection when dunking or retrieving the bird. Dunk and retrieve the bird slowly. If you lower the bird into the oil too quickly the water in the skin will vaporize to steam and cause the oil to bubble up and out of the pot. If you remove it too quickly without letting all the oil drain you will end up with a greasy bird not to mention dripping really hot oil all over everything. Be meticulous about controlling your temperature and your time, and you will have a perfect bird.
Rgds
Eric Vega
