The Best Turkey Fryers for Cooking Delicious Meals at Home

Looking to cook a good, hearty meal for the whole family? This guide will cover what you need to know about turkey fryers and how to successfully purchase one.

What Is a Turkey Fryer?

A turkey fryer is a device that can cook and fry a turkey in a pot of oil. Frying requires you to submerge the entirety of the food inside the oil, so while it is possible to deep-fry smaller food on a pan or cooking pot, this method doesn’t provide space for an entire turkey. Turkey fryers, however, do have enough capacity for a turkey to be completely submerged in oil for an optimal cook.

Why You May Want a Turkey Fryer

They’re the best way to fry a turkey

Fried turkey tastes very different from oven-roasted turkey, and many people prefer the former over the latter. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to prepare a fried turkey as it is to prepare a roasted one, which is why you’ll need a device made specifically for frying turkey.

Turkey fryers have the space to accommodate an entire turkey as well as the oil needed to fry it to perfection. They also sometimes have special features to make the process safer, such as the inclusion of spigots for easy disposal of the oil after use.

They’re great for making soups

While turkey fryers can fit an entire turkey inside, that’s not the only thing you can put in. Soups are another great dish to prepare with a turkey fryer. There’s a lot of space for the ingredients, so you can boil large batches at once for the entire family or larger gatherings. You will need to clean the fryer thoroughly before using it as a large pot, of course, but the extra effort will be well worth it as making soups with one is surprisingly easy and effective.

You can fry other foods, too

So, let’s say that you’ve just fried a turkey with the turkey fryer, and now you have a large vat full of oil that is still perfectly usable. What do you do with it? It would be a waste to just dump it somewhere, so a good alternative would be to reuse the oil for cooking something else. Fortunately, you can transform a turkey fryer into a deep-frying station for fries, chicken drumsticks and more.

Many turkey fryers come with additional fry pans and baskets that you can place inside the pot. These baskets and pans hang onto the top of the pot, allowing the oil to seep through and fry your food.

Tips When Using Turkey Fryers

Exercise caution when cooking

This probably doesn’t have to be said to those who are already experienced with frying turkeys, but for those who aren’t — be very, very careful when frying a turkey. Unlike frying chicken legs or fries at home, you’re going to be using a lot of cooking oil which can be a huge hazard for both you and anyone around you. One mistake can lead to the oil spilling all over the place, making a mess and risking serious burns.

In fact, cooking oil-based burns have become increasingly common over the past few decades. Of course, part of this is because more people are simply working with cooking oil than ever before, but it also shows the very possible risks associated with cooking and frying a turkey.

Be wary of propane

Oil isn’t the only danger you have when cooking and frying turkey with a turkey fryer. Virtually all outdoor turkey fryers use propane to fuel the device, and propane on its own is highly dangerous. It’s highly combustible and can lead to serious accidents if the gas leaks out of the tank while you’re frying the turkey. During the 1990s, the US reported an average of 3,000 propane fires and explosions per year. Burns from oil are one thing, but propane fires can be a whole lot more dangerous, especially if you’re working near any flammable substances.

Price Range of Turkey Fryers

Turkey fryers do not come cheap. A single turkey fryer kit includes a pot for the oil, a burner and a hose to connect to a propane tank. The pot will also often come with a stand so that the burner has space beneath it for support. Finally, some turkey fryers come with additional accessories, such as marinade injectors, frying pans and baskets. All in all, you can expect to spend around $100 for a decent turkey fryer set.

It’s also worth noting that this price does not include the oil or propane, both of which you’ll have to buy separately. In particular, you’ll need to spend quite a bit on oil as you’ll need a lot of it to cover the entirety of the turkey in the pot. And even oil-free turkey fryers use propane to fuel the device, so you’ll be spending money on propane regardless, too.