How to Cook a Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey

Nothing says Cajun Christmas like a Cajun deep-fried turkey. Now, chances are you've never deep-fried anything larger than French fry. Don't panic, I'll walk you through the process of safely preparing and deep-frying your very first Cajun Christmas turkey.

The first stop for an aspiring Cajun turkey chef is your local super-store to stock up on culinary and safety supplies you may not have around the house. In order to properly and safely cook your Cajun Christmas turkey, you will need a 40-60 quart pot with basket, burner and propane tank, candy thermometer to measure heat oil, meat thermometer to test your Cajun Christmas turkey, a seasoning injector, safety goggles, fire-safe gloves and pot holders, and a fire extinguisher. Do not forget the fire extinguisher! The Deep fryers you'll be using to cook your Cajun Christmas turkey have been the source of at least 119 fires since 1999.

In order to deep-fry an 8-14 lb Cajun Christmas turkey you'll need 10 gallons of peanut oil.

To make the injected seasoning for your Cajun Christmas Turkey, you will need: 1 bottle of beer, 1 glass of white wine, 1 shot of whiskey, one-quarter cup of liquid crab boil, ¾ cup of honey, 2 tablespoons of salt, half a cup of Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, 1 stick of butter, and ½ cup of Crisco.

Note: By getting the flavors inside the meat you will not have to worry about the hot oil washing them off.

The use of too much oil when deep-frying your Cajun Christmas turkey is the number one cause of deep-fryer fires and personal injury while deep-frying. In order to establish the correct amount of oil for your Cajun Christmas Turkey, place the turkey in the basket, the basket in the 40-60 pot and fill with water, two inches above the turkey. Remove your turkey and mark the level o the remaining water (make sure pot is thoroughly dry before moving forward).

Heat the peanut oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (This usually takes 45 minutes and an hour).

While your oil is heating, in a sauce pan, add all the wet ingredients and then the dry ingredients to make your Cajun Christmas turkey's injected seasoning. Heat and stir until thoroughly mixed. Make sure you distribute the injection evenly around your Cajun Christmas turkey so you don't get large pockets of the mixture.

Once the oil reaches 350 degrees, place your Cajun Christmas turkey in the basket and slowly lower your Cajun Christmas Turkey into the pot. Whole turkeys require approximately three minutes per pound to cook. Between 24 and 42 minutes depending on the size of your Cajun Christmas Turkey, remove the turkey and check the internal temperature with meat thermometer. The temperature should reach 170 degrees Fahrenheit in the breast and 180 degrees Fahrenheit in the thigh.

All that remains is to set the table, draw your friends close, and enjoy your first deep-fried Cajun Christmas Turkey.