Hi everyone,
I thought I'd get this out before American Thanksgiving so people can give it a try. For Canadian Thanksgiving and Christmas parties here I usually end up deep frying 5 or 6 birds per year, which everyone raves about. (and I make extra as requested so people get to take some home)
This is the one dry rub I have used time and again so thought I'd share it with everyone.
3 tblsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper (feel free to add more if you like your bird hot! hot! hot!)
5 tblsp ground black pepper
4 tblsp garlic powder
3 tblsp onion powder
1 tblsp salt(can add more if you like a more saltier skin) - fine ground table salt works best
2.5 tblsp dried oregano leaves
2.5 tblsp dried thyme leaves
Rub outside and inside turkey and try to get under the skin where the breast meat is. Let this sit for about 8 hours in the fridge or over night so it gets that wet look. Take birds out and leave them in the open for an hour to let them come up in temp before frying. If you have room in your fridge or cooler, depending on how you're chilling them, I actually insert them on the turkey bases and tie the legs/wings with bbq wire before cooling. This way it packs the dry rub tightly against the skin and you don't lose any while it sits.
For deep frying, I use canola oil ( I hear peanut is best though but never tried it ) and heat my oil up to 350F. I cook the turkey at 3 minutes per lb at 350F but as you probably know the temp can come down after slowly inserting the bird. If you can get the temp back up to 350F quickly, great! If you idle it around 325F I give it an extra 3 minutes at the end just to be sure.
Enjoy!