Deep-fried Thanksgiving My journey through the fried-food world
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hanksgiving presents a uniquely North American holiday; one that primarily focuses on two majors concepts surrounding family and food. Although the traditional Thanksgiving meal has come to feature a turkey of some sorts as the staple, the iconic stuff-yourself, all-youcan-eat mentality remains no matter how the turkey is prepared or what dishes are spread out beside it. The deep-fried turkey is an increasingly popular way of preparing the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner. It is a staple of Cajun thanksgivings, with the Times-Picayune of New Orleans claiming to have a record of deep-fried turkeys dating back to 1984 — though it is probably most known for its infamous safety incidents. At one point, accidents became so prevalent that the New York City Fire Department released a safety guide for dealing with deep-frying turkeys. The National Fire Protection Agency even warns against the practice of deep-frying turkeys without proper emergency fire gear and someone ready to call 911 on standby. This deep-fried turkey tradition has inspired me to spread this treatment to the whole of Thanksgiving dinner: a three course meal. I planned to deep-fry the essential parts of a meal: an entree, a side, and a dessert. My choice for the entree was a turkey breast, because my deep fryer could only fit a turkey breast. For the side, I choose mac and cheese because I find it to be the quintessential Thanksgiving side. In research conducted by GrillCookBake
Tiger Times
Benjamin Grantonic
grantben000@hsestudents.org
across all 50 states, mac and cheese tied mashed potatoes as the two most popular sides, based upon the most popular side dish Google searches around Thanksgiving. The dessert of choice was pumpkin pie, because no other dessert is as iconic to the holiday. The Entree With the turkey breast, I took a pretty simple approach to frying it. I simply breaded it and fried it until it reached a safe temperature. It came out dry and tough to chew. It was quite painful and disheartening to eat. I feel there is a reason that turkey is baked and roasted rather than fried. I would not recommend trying this recipe, and would instead recommend using a darker meat, like leg or thigh, if you want to fry a piece of turkey. This should maintain moisture and not be nearly as tough as the white meat cut I used. The Side Frying mac and cheese is a less straightforward process. You cannot just throw mac and cheese into a fryer and have it come out edible. In order to deep fry the mac and cheese successfully, I decided to ball them up and fry them. I chilled them so that they would be more malleable and easier to shape. Then, I simply breaded and fried them. These mac and cheese balls came out really well. They were crunchy and wellseasoned on the outside and nice and cheesy on the inside. In spite of this, how well the mac and cheese balls come out depends on the quality of the mac and cheese used in the core, so make sure you use a recipe and ingredients that you like.
The Dessert At first, I thought of approaching this recipe by simply taking a frozen pumpkin pie, hacking off a piece, then breading and frying that slice. However, I felt that it would not be very good. The approach I ended up taking is a hand pie, which has a built-in shell so it does not require additional breading to be fried. I also added a sugar coating to make the little hand pie even better. I have to say, if you try anything from this article, please let it be this pie. It is one of the best things I have personally ever made, and one of the best pies I have ever tried. Additionally, taste may change from person to person, so use what spices you would like in the filling. You could also make the dough from scratch, but it is a lot of additional labor for not much reward, especially since it is being fried. Safety Precautions While deep-frying food can be delicious, it can sometimes turn disastrous. Per Morrow & Sheppard trial injuries group, every year deep-fryer fires are responsible for five deaths, 60 injuries and the destruction of 900 homes. It is important to take measures to protect yourself and your home when using a deep-fryer. Make sure your turkey is fully thawed before cooking to avoid an explosion in the fryer. Also check that your fryer is placed away from flammable objects, pets and children to avoid injuries and damage. Always wear protective clothing such as flame-retardant clothing and eye protection, and use properly functioning equipment.
November 2021
