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Friday, December 31, 2010

Thanksgiving with the Butterball Turkey Fryer and the Chef Basket

/ On : 12:08 AM

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By Trevor Ranger


The Butterball Indoor Turkey Fryer

I saw the Butterball Indoor Turkey Fryer advertised so much that I figured that I just had to have it. That's what happens when you watch too many As Seen On TV Commercials. My wife was totally against this purchase to start with. She was afraid of indoor fires, and the thought of having a fried turkey for Thanksgiving didn't appeal to her. But when I ordered it anyway, she said that the turkey was my responsibility from then to when we sat down to eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day!

I'd heard that safety was an issue when frying a turkey. But in looking at this fryer I felt really comfortable in using it indoors. It's different from other turkey fryers in that it uses a submerged electric heating element with sixteen hundred and fifty watts of power. In combination with the dual thermostats, the cooking temperature will be exact every time and there's literally no chance of flare-ups or fire.

About the only thing I can do well in the kitchen is sandwiches and cereal, so this was definitely a new gig for me. I knew that the turkey should be totally thawed before putting it in the fryer, so I made sure that it was and got rid of the neck and giblets. I added oil to the fill line (about two gallons for a 10 pound bird) and preheated to 400 degrees. While the oil was heating, I dried the turkey with paper towels and seasoned with an off the shelf generic rub. After pre-heating the oil, I gently lowered the bird into the fryer and got a beer! In about 40 minutes, the dark meat reached about 175 degrees and the white meat was at about 170 degrees so I knew it was done. I carefully removed it from the fryer, and let it stand to drain for about 20 minutes before I carved it.

Talk about a great tasting, moist turkey...it was the best tasting turkey we've ever eaten! Cleanup was super easy, too...I just just recovered and disposed of the remaining oil and the inner bowl rinsed clean with soap and water. The Butterball Turkey Fryer and I will be good buddies every Thanksgiving from now on, that's for sure!

The Versatile Chef Basket

When my wife saw that I had ordered the Turkey Fryer for me, she ordered a Chef Basket for her, and that's what she was using to steam the asparagus while the turkey was cooking. It's a collapsable basket that folds flat when not in use, but opens to a colander type basket to use for frying, steaming, boiling or par-boiling.She really ordered the Chef Basket to prepare noodles, spaghetti or french fries. But since we were having fried turkey, she turned in inside out and used it to steam vegetables rather than doing fries.

if you haven't seen the Chef Basket, then you're not watching enough TV! It's a neat kitchen gadget you shouldn't be without. It's a collapsable basket that folds flat when not in use, but opens to a colander type basket to use for frying, steaming, boiling or par-boiling. One of the great features is that the handles do not absorb or transmit heat, so you can take the Chef Basket out of the boiling water or oil and go right to the table or serving dish without having to transfer the contents to a strainer. Inverted, it becomes a steamer for vegetables, and that's how my wife used it for our Thanksgiving vegetables.

Using the Butterball Indoor Turkey Fryer and the Chef Basket made this Thanksgiving's meal preparation a breeze...and it was the best tasting Thanksgiving we've ever had!




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