Turkey Trivia – What you Might Not Know

• Wild Turkeys and Domestic Turkeys are completely different birds, except that they all belong to the Pheasant family. Domestic turkeys that you buy in the stores are all of 1 breed, the Broad-Breasted White, which has been selectively bred to produce the most white meat possible. It’s breasts are so large that they can barely walk, cannot fly, and cannot even mate by themselves, and have to be artificially inseminated to breed. They have a bland taste, and somewhat stringy meat. Wild turkeys are made up of 5 species, the Merriam’s, Gould’s, Rio Grande, Eastern and Osceola. They are about half the size of domestic turkeys, are very flavorful, and have great texture.
• Domestic Turkeys can top 30 pounds. Wild Turkeys seldom exceed 20 pounds.
• A wild turkey can fly up to 55 mph, and can run at over 25 mph.
• A wild turkey’s vision is 3 times better than a human’s, covers 270º, and they see colors very well, so that orange vest you wear when hunting is very visible to any wild turkey. Their sense of smell is over 100 times as acute as a humans, and their hearing is 50 times more sensitive. Now you know why you come home empty-handed so often when hunting turkeys.
• A wild Tom turkey’s gobble can be heard over 1 mile away. Male turkeys are Toms. Females are hens.
• Alaska and Hawaii are the only two states in the US without a population of wild turkeys.
• The bald head and wattles of a turkey change color, depending on what emotion the bird is felling. They can be red, white, pink, or blue.
• Turkeys are omnivorous, and will eat grass, grains, plants, insects, small reptiles, and will scavenge if given the opportunity.
• Wild turkeys almost became extinct in the 1930s due to over-hunting and loss of habitat. Luckily, massive conservation efforts were started and today there are over 7 million wild turkeys.
• The average lifespan of a wild turkey is 3 to 5 years. A domestic turkey….a few months, until it is large enough to eat.
• When the new United States was in the process of selecting a National Bird, Ben Franklin lobbied heavily for the Eastern Turkey. He said that since the eagle was a scavenger, the turkey was a more noble bird, and was native to the country. Mr. Franklin may have been a fair biologist and physicist, but he must have flunked biology, because the Bald eagle is not only native to the US, but is unique to it. But, the eagle probably looks better and more ferocious on our National Seal than a turkey would’ve. If I were an Army Ranger, I would hate to be in a unit called the Screaming Turkeys… I don’t see a fighter plane called the F-15 Turkey inspiring a whole lot of fear in our enemies… Can you imagine back in 1969, Neil Armstrong radioing back from the surface of the moon, “The Turkey has landed.”
• June is National Turkey Lover’s Day. It encourages people to eat turkey at other times besides just holidays.
• Wild turkeys are the most hunted bird in America, eclipsing ducks, doves, quail, and even geese.
• The US produces around 250 million domestic turkeys each year, and the average person consumes around 17 pounds of turkey annually.
• A domestic turkey has around 70% white meat and 30% dark meat.
• It takes 28 days to hatch a turkey egg.
• It takes around 30 pounds of feed to produce a 30-pound Tom turkey.
• Wild turkeys sleep in trees. Domestic turkeys cannot get up into trees.
• Only Tom turkeys ‘gobble’. Hens just click and squeak.
• Turkeys evolved over 5 million years ago.
• Native Americans have been raising turkeys as far back as 1000 BC.
• You can tell the sex of turkeys by their spoor. Toms leave a spiral spoor, while hens leave a J-Shaped one.
• An adult turkey has 3500 feathers. The really amazing thing is the fact that someone actually took the time to count the feathers on a turkey.

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The History of Smoking

It’s always helpful to understand a little about the cooking processes you are using. Smoking is a very, very old cooking method, and we’re pretty sure it started out as a way to preserve meat, making it also one of the oldest food preservation methods still in use.

The process of smoking meat is so old it predates written history, so we can’t be sure exactly when and where it began, but it started before any type of civilization as we know it, all the way back to the Hunter-Gatherer stage of our development. Soon after the last Ice Age, around 14,000 years ago, Homo sapiens were able to travel more extensively due to the melting of the huge sheets of glaciers, and were no longer confined to living in caves in the more southern latitudes. We learned to build shelters and create semi-permanent dwellings consisting of several families and groups. However, it was a while before we learned how to make chimneys, and the early huts were easily filled with smoke, which permeated strips of meat that were hung up to dry slightly, making them easier to carry and store. Someone noticed that meat hung up in smokey huts lasted longer than when hanging it outside, tasted better, and the smoke kept insects and other vermin away from their food stores. It wasn’t long before it became a widespread process, as did dehydrating, which probably came about when someone forgot about the meat and left it smoking too long.

Barbecuing is more of a recipe, than a cooking process. Before you can barbecue (or BBQ, which is how I will refer to it hence…), you have to have smoked meat. BBQ actually refers to a particular type of sauce added to the smoked meat during the last stages of smoking. We can thank Native Americans for this delectable process. When Spanish explorers arrived in the Caribbean Islands during the 16th century, they learned that local tribes (known collectively as the Caribs) often basted smoking meat with wonderful spicy sauces, which the locals called barbecoa. Knowledge of ‘barbecue” spread around the world, and before long, just about every culture on the planet developed its own version of BBQ.

What is Smoking/BBQ?

Smoking is a process that uses the phenols that are released when wood is burned to preserve and flavor meats, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, etc… Phenols are antimicrobial and anti-fungal. But it takes a little time for the phenols to be absorbed into the food, and does not occur at normal cooking temperatures, so the food has to be kept at low enough temperatures for smoking to occur, but high enough to retard any biological contamination during the process. This is why smoking is done at temperatures less than 300ºF. Roasting and baking occur at temperatures above 325ºF. In fact, in Cold Smoking, no heat is used at all on the food. It is placed on an ice bed and smoke is allowed to circulate around it. This is especially great for thin fish fillets, shrimp, very thin-sliced meats, cheeses, and other foods that are very sensitive to heating.

Turning smoked meat into BBQ simply requires the addition of a spicy sauce during the last hour or so of smoking. There are hundreds of different types of BBQ Sauces ranging from a simple catsup and Liquid Smoke mixture, to concoctions that rival Quantum Physics in complexity, and may someday create Cold Fusion… There are no set rules for making BBQ sauces, but the most common ones use readily available bases such as tomatoes, tomato sauce, catsup, mustard, vinegars, beer, wine, liquors, peppers, onions, garlic, spices, and even mayonnaise (which is the base for my all-time favorite BBQ sauce, Alabama White BBQ Sauce. If you’ve never tried it, you really need to….). The only real rule is that it probably shouldn’t be too toxic… Other than that, anything goes…

Tools Of The Trade

First off, you will need a smoker. This can be a smokehouse, or even a pit smoker, but these are usually only going to be available to people in very rural settings, and if this applies to you, you probably already have one, and don’t need me to tell you about them. For most people, you will need to buy, or build a smoker/grill. While it is possible to smoke food on a normal grill, it is a lot more problematic, and does not do as good a job. True smokers are inexpensive in their basic form, and can also be used as a normal grill, so there is really no reason not to have one.

There are three main types of smokers; an upright, or canister smoker, an offset smoker, and a cabinet smoker. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of the three types, and I can’t say that one type is any better than the other. I have all three, and use them all pretty much equally. If I am just smoking 1 turkey, I usually use my canister smoker. If I am doing more than one turkey, or combining it with other meats such as a ham, then I use my offset smoker because it holds a lot more food. But it also requires a lot more wood and charcoal to use. I use my cabinet smoker mostly for things that I want to hang, such as rib racks, making bacon, hams, whole fish, etc…

Canister Smoker

As you can see, a canister smoker is not very complicated. In fact, I have made several really nice ones from discarded 55-gal. steel oil drums. Coals and smoke wood are fed oxygen from the lower vent so they keep smoldering. The vents are usually adjustable so you can control the temperature. More air = more heat. Above the coals is a water bowl/drip tray. You can fill it with any liquid you want, from plain water, to beer, spirits, juices, etc.., or nothing at all, for dry smoking. It keeps your food from drying out, but also catches dripping juices from the food so that the fats will not ignite flames in the coals, which would ruin your food. The turkey is placed above all of this on a grate. The top of the smoker comes off for easy access. On the very top, there are more vents to promote smoke and air circulation. These are also adjustable. It is not in the drawing, but most canister smokers will come with a thermometer mounted on the lid, so you can monitor the internal temperature. The legs hold the entire unit up off of the ground so as not to start any accidental fires, but it should still be placed on a non-flammable surface, just to be safe. The advantages of canister smokers are that they are inexpensive, easy to use, do a fantastic job, and are easily transported, so they can be used at the lake, tailgate parties, etc…. They are light and easily cleaned. They also work as a straight grill for hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, or whatever.

Offset smokers are usually much larger, some as large as 12-15 feet long, large enough for a whole hog or side of beef. As a rule, the average size of an offset smoker designed for home use is less than 5 feet long, big enough for several turkeys and maybe a few hams. As you can guess, offset smokers are great for smoking large volumes of food at once. They do require a lot more coals and smoke wood, but your are smoking a lot more food as well, so they are still economical. And, they make great large grills for cooking dozens of hamburgers, hot dogs, several chickens, etc… You can place the coals right under the grates, just like a regular grill, for direct heat cooking. The main advantage to an offset smoker, other than size, is that the coals can be placed in a separate fire box, so there is no danger of a flame up from dripping fats. On many units, the top of the firebox also doubles as a works station, or a place to keep things like sauces warm while the rest of the food is finishing. The firebox has an adjustable vent which draws in air and keeps the coals and smoke wood smoldering. Another vent placed above the coals leads to the main body, where smoke is drawn in, around the food, and out through the chimney, which also has an adjustable vent to control the temperature. Just as on the canister smoker, many units come with a built-in thermometer to monitor the smoking temperature.

Cabinet Smoker

Cabinet smokers, while appearing outwardly similar to the canister type, are somewhat less versatile, because they cannot be used as a grill. They most closely resemble a refrigerator sitting on a fuel box. They have heavy doors and the shelves are adjustable to accommodate different sizes and cuts of food. Although there are some rare models that are wood fueled, the vast majority of cabinet smokers are electric, or propane fueled. All you do is place your smoke wood in the bottom, turn them on, set the time and temperature, and pretty much forget about them until everything is done. The front loading doors make it easy to load and unload, and since they are electric or propane, much easier to control the temperature. They also have hooks for hanging meat while it is smoking.

Whichever type of smoker you decide on, be sure you understand how to use them before actually trying to smoke a turkey with them.

Wood Is Good

Different types of wood will give you different tastes. Most kinds of wood that are not toxic (unlike pine…never try to smoke with pine wood…) can be used to smoke food. But, some woods are more suitable. For instance, cedar can be used, but your turkey will probably taste like a set of dresser drawers. For turkeys, the best woods are hickory, mesquite, apple, cherry, and maybe pecan. You can mix your smoke woods, and my favorite mix for turkey is half hickory, or mesquite, and half cherry. It gives a wonderful sweet and smokey flavor with just a hint of fruit.

Most smoke wood will be in chunks or chips. If you want to use chunks, you can omit charcoal and just use the wood by itself, but it will burn a little hotter and quicker than charcoal, so keep a close watch on the temperature and adjust as needed. Chips will usually need to be soaked in water for a bit, so that they smolder rather than quickly burn up. Either way, you will probably be adding more smoke wood several times during the process. There is another alternative, however. Some companies, like A-Maze-N Smoking Products make wonderful little smoke wood pellets that burn great, are inexpensive and last for a long time. They have a special tray that you simply load with the pellets, light one end, and it burns like a fuse, for about 10-14 hours, so you usually never have to add more wood. They even work for cold smoking. There are other pellet brands available as well, and though I have not used all of them, the ones I have used all worked great. I highly recommend using pellets for consistent results.

To Brine is Divine…

I can’t recommend strongly enough that any meat destined for smoking needs to be brined. You will be subjecting the meat to hours and hours of heat and smoke, all of which can dry out meat. Brining causes the individual cells in the meat to become saturated with all the water (and flavor) they can hold. Without going into complicated chemistry, the salt n the brine causes the cells to suck in all the water they can hold. It is because of the natural tendency of everything in the universe to seek a state of equilibrium, also called homeostasis. If one area is hotter than another, the heat and cold will mix with each other to even out the temperature. If something has more salt outside than inside, it will attempt to draw the salty water into itself to equalize everything. Salt cannot cross the cell barrier because the molecules are too big, but the water can, so the cells become saturated. The salt stays on the outside, where it can be rinsed off.

Injecting liquid into the turkey does no good, because the liquid does not absorb into the cells, and most of it just leaks out of the same holes it went in during the long smoking process. Brining is the only way to guarantee a moist, flavorful finished product. It really does make a huge difference.

You can use just about any combination of liquid. Good choices are fruit juices, especially apple, beers and ales, modest amounts of spirits, condiments, etc… Or you can use just plain water. My personal favorite is apple cider. Limit the flavor liquids to no more than 10% of the total liquid, or it can interfere with the brining process.

The amount of salt needs to be 1 cup of salt for every gallon of liquid you use. Any less, and the meat will not absorb the liquid properly. It’s better to err on the side of more salt, rather than less. You will be rinsing the salt off before cooking anyway. The brining process takes about 1 hour per pound, so for a 20 lb. turkey you need to allow at least 20 hours brining time.

So how much liquid to you need? The easiest way to determine how much water you will need is to get your container (I use a cooler) that you will be brining the turkey in, place the turkey in it and cover it with water. Remove the turkey and one gallon of water, and what’s left is how much water you will need. Remember, your turkey must be kept cold during the brining process, so it will have to be in the ‘fridge, or you will be adding ice several times during the process. Unless you have a huge refrigerator, it is easier to use a cooler, and just add ice when needed. When using ice, remember, as it melts it will dilute the brine, so you should increase the salt content of the brine to 1-1/2 or even 2 cups per gallon of liquid to compensate.

There are lots of great brine recipes online. My favorite brine is 2 quarts apple cider, some sage, garlic, onion, a little rosemary, and a little thyme. Add this to one gallon of water and boil it for around 8 minutes. Add this to the rest of the water and stir. Allow this to cool (or g ahead and add the ice), then pour it over the turkey, put on the cooler lid, and check it ever few hours, adding ice when needed. It also doesn’t hurt to turn the turkey once in a while.

When the turkey is brined, rinse it very, very well inside and out, and discard the brine (never, ever use the brine to make a sauce or gravy, as it has been in contact with raw poultry). Pat the bird as dry possible, and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours, if you can, to allow it to dry some more. You can add a rub now, if desired.

Stoke the Smoke…

About 30 minutes before you want to start smoking, fire up the smoker and make sure it is putting out smoke ( it doesn’t really take that much smoke for the process to work… ), and it is at between 235ºF – 260ºF. Any less than 235ºF and you risk bacterial contamination. Any more than 260ºF and you stop smoking and start slow-roasting.

Once your smoker is right, put liquids in the water/drip tray if desired, add the turkey, close the smoker, and smoke it for 30 minutes per pound. This means our 20 pound bird will need to smoke for about 10 hours. There is no need to baste, but you can check the bird and turn it every few hours if you want. But do keep a close eye on the temperature and smoke wood, and adjust when necessary.

If you want to barbecue your turkey, begin basting the bird with your favorite sauce during the last 2 hours of cooking. I usually give it a good coat every 30 minutes. Don’t sauce it during the last 15 minutes of smoking, so that it will create a wonderful crispy, spicy crust.

Your turkey is done when the internal temperature in the breast is 180ºF. Remove the bird and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

The Payoff…

Your turkey should have a delectable reddish appearance and smell like a slice of Heaven. It will be tender, moist, and irresistible. There are few things in life that can equal eating smoked turkey. You worked hard. Now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labors.

But the smoking process is not over just because the food is done. You need to care for your smoker. After removing the turkey, extinguish the coals, or allow them to burn out by closing all the vents, and let the smoker cool. There is no big hurry, so go ahead and enjoy your banquet. Once everything is cool, remove the ash, but be careful. Even though it feels cool, hot embers can hide in ashes for hours. Kill any embers you find. I usually spray my ashes with the garden hose just to be sure that all embers are dead. Once you are sure all embers are dead, you can just scatter the ashes wherever you want, or place them in a garbage bag and dispose of them. Next, you need to scrub out the smoker. I use the garden hose and a wire brush, but sometimes I take the smoker to a local car wash and blast it with super-hot water and detergent. And don’t forget to clean the grates, as well. However you do it, be sure to rinse it well, then dry it completely. Once it is dry, I coat the insides and grates with a thin coat of olive oil, or food-grade mineral oil. If you don’t, the bottom of your smoker will eventually rust through and your grates will look nasty.

Once everything is done, cover the smoker and store it in a dry area. Now, you can congratulate yourself on a job well done.

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It has become somewhat trendy now to offer fried turkey during the holidays. And what’s not to like? The super crispy thin skin, or the moist, tender meat? When it’s done right, fried turkey is hard to beat.

But what about when things don’t go right? Reports come in every year about turkey frying disasters. Apparently, it is such a danger that the Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning this year on their Twitter feed about the dangers of frying turkeys. Who would’ve ever thought that a cooking method could become a matter of National Security? Is frying a turkey really that much more dangerous than other cooking methods? Let’s examine the issue…

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, each year, 5 people are killed, over 60 people injured, and over 900 homes are destroyed in incidents involving turkey fryers. Of course, all of these incidents are tragic, but in a country with a population of over 321 million, is that enough to constitute a threat to National Security? It seems a bit hysterical to me, but that’s just my opinion. By comparison, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as of 2016, an average of 102 people die every day from car accidents, but no one seems to be afraid to continue driving. I haven’t heard anything from Homeland Security about that. And what about other home cooking methods? The same statistics for other cooking methods show that an average of 480 people die, over 4000 people will be injured, and over 700 million dollars of property will be damaged, all by cooking. These figures do not include restaurants, being cut by meat slicers and knives, slips and falls, or other common kitchen injuries. I really don’t understand why the focus seems to be all negative towards Turkey Fryers, but I seldom understand mainstream media anyway, so I’m not going to worry about it…

In reality, once all the hype and hysteria is weeded out, frying a turkey is no more dangerous than any other type of cooking, as long as the proper safety precautions and procedures are followed. There is no reason why you can’t enjoy a heaping helping of some delicious fried turkey this year. To this end, I am going to give you some tips to help you make your bird all that it can be.

Why Deep Fry a Turkey?

Frying turkey began as part of the Cajun Cooking craze in the 1970s. Large outdoor propane cookers were used in Louisiana to boil crawfish in massive quantities for huge get-togethers. Someone figured out that you could replace the water with oil, and fry whole turkeys with the same equipment, starting a national trend. It becomes more popular every year. But why?

Most people would agree that fried foods are incredible. A thin, potato chip-like crust with moist, tender and very flavorful meat is an almost irresistible treat. Turkeys are no exception. A properly fried turkey will have an incredible thin, crispy crust, and the meat will remain moist, with all of its flavor intact. The reason is because the hot oil immediately sears the outside of the bird, holding all of the juices and fats inside, so nothing is lost. The turkey cooks much faster (usually less than 1 hour), so there is less danger of the meat getting dry. Think of the difference between baked and fried chicken. Both are great, but most of the time, which do you prefer? Col. Sanders did not create his culinary empire with roasted chicken….

Of course, like anything else, there are also a few downsides to the issue. Many aficionados will try to tell you that frying a turkey is much quicker than roasting one, but this is only true if you don’t count the prep time, time to heat up the oil, clean-up time, and the task of storing and/or disposing of several gallons of used cooking oil. You are also limited as to the size of the bird you can safely fry. Many fryers claim that they can handle any bird up to 18 pounds, but I strongly recommend that you never try to fry any bird larger than 15 pounds, no matter what the manual says. Anything larger increases the risk of a spill-over exponentially. Besides, smaller turkeys fry better. Your better off frying 2 smaller turkeys rather than one large bird. Frying a turkey also requires the use of some specialized equipment, such as a fire-retardant apron, gloves, eye protection in the form of goggles, and a lot of oil. Is it worth it? Well,…several million people think so. And besides…, it’s fun and incredibly cool…

Know Your Equipment

One thing to keep in mind is that it is very important that you know your equipment, and understand how to use it properly and safely. Most mishaps involve people using their fryers for the first time. Be sure to read your Owner’s Manuals from cover to cover, or at least the parts that are written in your language. Make sure you understand how to properly assemble and use your unit. There are many great video tutorials on YouTube, absolutely free to watch. Take advantage of your learning resources. If you have a friend with experience in frying turkeys, it’s a really good idea to get them to supervise you on your first solo flight. Above all, think Safety First. If in doubt, always err on the side of caution. This is true for all types of cooking…

With that being said, let’s take a look at what kinds of equipment you may be using. Turkey fryers are pretty basic. There are two kinds; an outdoor fryer, which is the most popular, and an indoor type, which is basically a large deep fryer with a rotisserie attachment. Outdoor fryers are almost always propane-powered, while indoor fryers are invariably electric.

As you can see, an outdoor fryer consists of an aluminum pot to heat the oil in, and hold the turkey. They usually need around 5 gallons of oil. It has a lid, mostly for safety reasons, and two handles to facilitate moving the pot when necessary. The pot sits in a holder mounted above a propane burner, which is attached to a hose that runs to a standard propane tank, which is usually not included in the purchase, but can be found in almost any hardware store, as well as other places. There is sometimes a valve near the hose fitting that lets you adjust the propane gas flow, thus regulating the temperature. Or, you may just have to use the valve on the propane tank itself. Either way works fine. The entire unit is supported by 3 or 4 legs that hold everything up off of the ground to lessen the chance of starting a fire. Accessories will include a coat hanger-shaped wire rack, used to raise and lower the turkey into and out of the hot oil, and sometimes an oil thermometer. If not, you will definitely need to buy an oil thermometer, and it’s also a good idea to have a meat thermometer as well. We’ll get into those in the next section. As we said earlier, other things you will need are a fire retardant apron, gloves, goggles for eye protection, and a fire extinguisher rated for Class B fires (a large box of baking soda works well as a Type B extinguisher as well).

The advantages of outdoor fryers are that they cost a lot less than indoor fryers, are simple to use and maintain, and are safer, because any mishaps will be outside, and not in the house.

Indoor Turkey Fryers are pretty easy to use. All you have to do to heat them up is plug them in and set your temperature. They require less oil, because the turkey is only half-submerged, and they rotate while cooking so all sides get cooked evenly. Indoor fryers can use as little as 2-1/2 gallons of oil, maybe even less. They can also be used just like any other deep fryer to fry large amounts of french fries, chicken, fish, etc… They usually have a temperature control, and some even have timers. The spit spins the turkey slowly through the oil. The advantages of indoor fryers are ease of use, using less oil, and are less likely to start a fire in the event of a mishap. If you live up north, it may not be desirable to try to fry a turkey outside during a blizzard, snowstorm, rain, or very cold temperatures. An indoor fryer solves that problem.

Prepping For Frying

Before we get into the prep and frying part, the first thing to do is observe safety precautions. Before setting up your fryer, here are the things you should always do:

• The area should be under control at all times. Put your pets in the pen, or wherever, so that they cannot get into the area where you will be frying. Let the children play at a neighbors house, break out the video games, or whatever you need to do to make sure they stay away from the frying area.
• Always use protective gear when using the fryer.
• Never, never, never leave the fryer unattended when it is in operation, not even for a second. If you need to go to the restroom, or whatever, have someone spell you.
• Never use an outdoor fryer indoors, and vice versa. Never use an outdoor fryer in an enclosed space of any kind.
• Make sure the immediate area is free of anything that might be flammable, such as debris, paper, boxes, vegetation, paints and solvents, etc…. The area should be clear for at least 25 feet in all directions. This includes the house, and or garage, storage sheds, etc…
• Always have a fire extinguisher within reach while using the fryer.
• Make sure your turkey is completely thawed out and dry before lowering it into the oil. This is the #1 cause of turkey fryer mishaps. Any water will cause the oil to boil over into the burner, creating a spectacular flame up and fire show.
• Never fill your fryer with oil past the maximum oil marker. It is best to stay below the line.
• Alcohol and or drugs do not mix well with things that make flames or can explode. Leave the cocktails, beer, and wine for later, after you’ve earned it. If your prescription medications advise you not to drive while taking them, then don’t fry either. Let someone else do it, while you supervise… Make sure you are well rested, and don’t try to fry a turkey when you are sleepy. Be physically prepared, and alert.

Prepping for frying a turkey starts well before the actual frying, as much as 10 days in advance. The first thing to do is select a turkey. As we said earlier, smaller is better. A 15 pound bird is ideal. Whether you use a Hen or a Tom turkey is a matter of personal preference. Hens are smaller and have smaller bones, so they may be slightly preferable to Toms for frying.

A B-B-B-Bird, Bird, Bird. The Bird Is The Word…

All turkeys are not created equal. There is actually a very wide spread of quality available, ranging from what I consider to be marginally edible, to outstanding, and price is not always the indicating factor.

Whether you use a fresh or frozen turkey is up to personal preference and availability. Unfrozen turkeys are seldom available in time to properly prepare them for frying. They are usually only available right before the holidays, within a day or two. Heritage Turkeys must be ordered a year or more in advance, and are only killed and dressed when ready to be prepped and cooked. However, they have the best texture and flavor of any turkey you can buy, by a large margin. The best Heritage breeds are Narragansetts and Bourbon Reds. Wild Turkeys have to be harvested during the legal hunting seasons, but are superior to any other turkey in terms of taste, texture, and are perfectly sized for frying. The drawback is that they have less white meat than all other turkeys, but the dark meat is so good…who cares???

The next thing to consider is the way the turkey was processed. You have a few choices:

• Self-Basting, or Injected Turkeys: These birds have had vegetable oil and saline solutions injected into them during processing, supposedly to keep them moist during cooking, but actually, it is done to add preservatives, color enhancers and extra flavors to offset the blandness of the commercially raised turkey breeds. The meat texture is somewhat stringy. Since they are already injected, brining may give you a different and unexpected result. The only advantages to these are that they are cheap, and widely available.
• Natural Turkeys: By USDA Regulations, turkeys labeled as “Natural” have to be raised without the use of animal by-product feeds, must be free range, and never been given growth hormones, or antibiotics, except for external parasite control. They cannot be processed with any additives, preservatives, or extra flavorings whatsoever. These are only nominally more expensive than Self-Basting birds, and are much better in terms of flavor and texture.
• Organic Turkeys: By USDA Regulations, they must meet all the criteria for a “Natural” certification, and also be Free-Range. Free Range is sort of misleading as far as commercial turkeys go, for reasons I’ll explain shortly. Suffice to say you can ignore the “Free-Range” labeling on any commercial turkey.
• Heritage Turkeys: Top-of-the-Line for a purchased turkey, by any standard you want to set. These are very specific breeds, raised humanely, and actually are free roaming for their entire lives, have never been fed artificial, GMO, or processed feeds, antibiotics, hormones, and have no preservatives or artificial ingredients added during processing. They must be ordered at least a year in advance, as a rule, and are custom-raised to your specifications. They are only harvested at the last minute, when you are actually ready to prep them. The flavor and texture is superior to any other bird, save for a wild turkey you harvested yourself. They are leaner, and have less white meat than a commercial turkey, but the dark meat is superior in flavor to a commercial turkey’s white meat. They can cost upwards from around $6.00 per pound, but are more than worth it. Everyone should try a Heritage bird at least once in their lives…

*Note-A word about commercially bred turkeys: Any supermarket turkey you buy will be of one breed, and one breed only; the Broadbreasted White. They are so far removed from a real wild turkey that I don’t think they should be allowed to be called turkeys. They cannot breed with a wild turkey. These birds have been selectively bred to produce a turkey with the maximum amount of white meat possible. Their breasts are so large that they can’t even mate by themselves, and have to be artificially enseminated. As for “Free-Range”, Broadbraested Whites are so top-heavy that they can barely walk, so just because they left the pen door open, that doesn’t mean the turkey went out for a long stroll. Whites don’t ‘Range’ anywhere, and can barely waddle to the food dish. Without additives and flavorings, their meat is stringy and tasteless. If how the bird was raised and cared for is important to you, then your options are limited to Heritage or wild turkeys. I highly recommend Narragansetts and Bourbon Reds..outstanding birds.

Turkey Frying 101

We have our turkey. Now it’s time to go to work. If the turkey is frozen (most likely), we must thaw it out. Turkeys should be thawed in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours for every 4 pounds, so for a 15-lb. turkey, we are looking at 4 days to thaw. I will stress again, the turkey must be completely thawed before you attempt to fry it. Even ‘thawed’ or ‘previously-frozen” turkeys from the store are often still be frozen in the center, so they should also be thawed for at least a day, just to be sure.

This is going to sound really dumb, but the next thing to do is to remove the bag inside the body cavity that contains the liver, giblets, and the neck. It seems like common sense, but you would be surprised at how many people forget this and try to cook the turkey with the gut bag inside. It won’t ruin your turkey, but you will be the subject of many turkey jokes for years to come…. You can discard the parts, or re-freeze them to cook later in other things. The necks, in particular, make great turkey and rice or noodle soup, and the livers are wonderful fried by themselves, or wrapped in bacon and broiled. The giblets make outstanding gravy.

The next thing to do is to remove those dumb little plastic pop-outs, if your turkey has one. They are supposed to tell you when the turkey is done. They lie, and no decent cook needs a piece of plastic to tell them when a turkey is done. The plastic could melt during frying, or give off harmful chemicals when exposed to hot oil. Besides, they are just plain dumb and insulting.

Now we can get down to the important business of brining our bird. Nothing effects the outcome of your turkey as much as brining. It does more than just flavor the bird. It ensures that the moisture and flavorings become incorporated into each individual cell of the meat. You should always brine any meat you plan to roast, smoke or grill. The best way to do this is to get a food service bucket or large cooler, big enough to hold the turkey, and completely cover it with liquid and ice. Now, place the turkey in the container, and cover it with water. Next, remove the turkey and measure the water. This is how much brining liquid you will need. Be sure to adjust the water in the brine recipe to compensate for adding ice periodically. Make your brine according to your favorite recipe, and add it, and the turkey to your container. Top it off with as much ice as it will hold. Seal it with the lid. I allow 30 minutes per pound and it has always come out right, so for a 15 lb. turkey, allow at least 8 hours to brine. 12 hours is not too much, so overnight is fine. Check the ice every few hours and add more when necessary. Your turkey needs to stay in the 43º to 46º range while brining.

Once the brining is complete, remove the turkey from the brine, and discard the liquid. Do not ever use brine for anything after it has had raw meat in it. Next, rinse the bird very thoroughly inside and out, making sure to wash off all of the brine residue. Now, pat the bird completely dry inside and out. The drier the better. Place the bird in the refrigerator while you fire up the fryer. Be sure to use all the protective equipment and safety procedures. And most of all, make sure the turkey is secure when raising and lowering it, so as not to drop it into the oil.

If using an outdoor fryer, after you have gone through the safety checklist I previously mentioned, before you use any oil or apply any heat to the fryer, place the turkey in the fryer. Now, add enough oil to cover the bird, without going over the max fill line. If using an indoor fryer, follow the owners manual instructions for how much oil to add. Now, remove the bird, hold it over the pot and let as much oil drip off of if as possible. Some people use water to determine how much oil to use, but in my experience, you can never dry the pot back out enough by wiping it with a paper towel or cloth to be 100% sure it will not spit and splatter when the oil gets hot. My way is messier, but safer… Place the bird on a plate or tray and return it to the refrigerator or cooler until the oil is hot. You can wipe off the excess oil, or just leave it alone. It won’t hurt anything, but it may get your cooler messy.

*Note-A word about oils. For deep frying, I strongly suggest that you use nothing but either Cottonseed Oil or Peanut Oil. Cottonseed oil is the very best because it has no flavor or odor, an extremely high smoke point, and lasts longer than any other oil before breaking down or becoming rancid. Peanut oil has a very mild flavor and odor, a high smoke point, and last a good while before becoming unusable. All other oils have too low a smoke point, flame up easily, and break down in no time. Save the olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil, corn oil, etc… for pan frying and baking.

Now, according to your owners manual instructions, hook up your propane, light the burner and heat the oil to 350ºF, not 345ᵒ, not 365ᵒ, but 350ᵒ. Use a thermometer. When the oil gets hot, lower the turkey slowly into the oil, a little at a time. If the oil acts like it wants to boil up, raise the turkey a little until it calms back down. Once you have eased the turkey all the way in, unhook the handle. Allow the turkey to fry for about 3 minutes per pound, so a 15 lb. turkey will take around 45 minutes to fry. The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 145ºF, but it’s not that critical. I have gone as high as 180ºF and the turkey was still fine. Turn off the burner and raise the turkey from the oil. Hold it over the pot for a few minutes and let the excess oil drain off. Your turkey is now perfect, and ready for presentation.

If using an indoor fryer, start by making sure the turkey is completely dry inside and out. Next, skewer the turkey on the spit. The bird must be secure on the spit, so the best way is to go through the breast just under the wishbone, and exit near one of the thighs. Now, you need to truss up all the loose parts like the wings and legs, so that they stay against the body, and not flop around while the bird is spinning. There are lots of ways to do this, so use your favorite method. I use kitchen string, and just tie everything against the body. Place the skewered and trussed turkey in the basket according to the manuals instructions. Give it a couple of spins to be sure nothing gets caught. If so, remove the turkey, fix it and try again. Once the turkey spins free, you are ready to fry. Fill the oil tank to the fill line or just below, and turn the unit on. When the oil reaches the correct cooking temperature, slowly lower the basket into the tank. From here, simply follow the manuals instructions. As a rule, allow 3 minutes per pound cooking time, so a 15 lb. bird will take about 45 minutes to cook. The bird is done when the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 145ºF. When the bird is done, turn off the rotisserie, raise the basket and place it in the drain holders so the oil can drain off the turkey. Turn off the unit.

Whichever fryer you use, your turkey is ready. Serve it however you want and enjoy. Once everything is cooled down, be sure to clean up and properly store everything. The oil can be stored and reused for up to 6 months. If you are disposing of it, please do it properly, and not just pour it out in the yard. It is very bad for the environment, Either place it into containers and take it to a recycling center, or put it in the trash. Never mix it with scented or disinfectant type kitty litters to solidify it. They can react with the oil and cause a spontaneous fire.

Conclusion

As long as proper procedures and safety precautions are followed, there is no reason why you can’t enjoy some delicious fried turkey this year. The extra work is more than worth it, and it is a lot of fun. Holidays only come around once a year, so make the most of it. Be a Frequent Fryer, and treat yourself, friends, family, neighbors, and whoever…to a memorable holiday feast this year.

Bon Apetit, and Happy Holidays…

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Even among professional grillmiesters, it is appalling to me how many do not understand why meat should rest before it is served. More delicious meat has been destroyed by this error than by any other mistake cooks have made in the entire known history of cooking. If you never learn anything else about food, please commit to memory the fact that most meat needs to rest before serving. Here’s why:

Meat is composed of protein chains (coils, actually) made up of amino acids. Amino acids, when heated, undergo a change called denaturing, which means their basic configuration changes somewhat, along with some of their physical characteristics. In the case of cooking, the protein chains contract, exerting pressure on the water contained within the molecules. Water is not compressible, so it has to go somewhere. One of the laws of physics is that non-compressable fluids will move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, in this case, a lower temperature. So what happens is all the juice moves from the surface areas of the meat, to the center, where it is cooler. The ‘sizzle’ you hear when meat is placed on a hot grill is some of the juices being forcefully expelled from the tissues before they have time to move to the center. This is not necessarily a good thing, but a small amount is unavoidable.

While we are cooking our cut of meat to an internal temperature of 180°F, the outside tissues can reach 200°F or higher. So, when we remove the meat from the heat, most of the juice is at the interior end of the protein fibers. If you then immediately slice into the muscle fibers, exposing them to cooler air, the juices will rush out in a flood, much like slicing into the side of a full plastic coke bottle. 15 to 20% of the flavor goes out with the juice. And the damage is irreparable. Simply dipping the meat in the juice as you eat will not place it back in the fibers where it belongs. The meat is permanently ruined.

When meat is removed from the heat, and cools, the process is reversed. The first thing that happens, is that the internal temperature of the meat continues to rise after cooking has stopped, due  thermodynamics (called Carry-Over Cooking by professional grillers). Now the juice will move back to the outside of the meat, as it cools, and the internal temperature rises, evenly distributing the juice and flavors throughout the meat. When the meat is sliced, the juices will tend to stay in the meat where they belong, due to surface tension (another physics principle). You now have a moist, succulent piece of meat that has the maximum flavor possible. Another benefit of resting meat is that it allows the temperature of the meat to even out, so that the outside is not hotter than the inside. This will also greatly improve the flavor of your culinary masterpiece.

You can prove this to yourself very easily. Get a good cut of meat that you really enjoy eating (boneless if possible) and cut it into 6 even pieces. Cook these 6 pieces equally, at the same time, and place them on 6 separate plates. Now, cut into one immediately and observe the results, and taste. You will most likely wind up with a gush of juice in the plate.  Next, slice into the other cuts at intervals of 3 minutes each, and observe the results. You will find that the longer the meat sets, the more juice it retains, and the more flavorful it will be.

The amount of resting time depends on the size of the piece of meat, and the temperature it was cooked to, but even thin cuts like chicken breasts and hamburgers benefit from 5 minutes of rest before serving. The times are not exact, but a good rule of thumb is that steaks, chicken pieces or breasts, burgers, pork chops, and fish should all rest for at least 5-10 minutes before serving. For larger cuts such as roasts, turkeys, and hams, 20-30 minutes is about right. Be sure to place the meat in a juice-catching tray and cover loosely with foil.

The next time you see juices flowing from a steak that you have ordered, you will know that it has been abused, and you can impress the cooking staff with your new-found knowledge.  You can proceed with confidence in explaining to them why meat should rest before it is served.

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Which brings us to the question; To sauce, or not to sauce…..I refuse to be drawn into the volatile argument on whether it is appropriate to pour sauce on a good steak, or not. It is your steak. Eat it anyway you want. I eat mine all kinds of different ways, depending on my mood, and what is available. I will, however, chime in on the relative merits of some of the more commonly available commercial steak sauces.

Here is my Top 5 Best Steak Sauce List

1. Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce – the oldest commercially-bottled condiment in the world, and still one of the best. A fish sauce called garum was a staple of the Roman Empire, especially in the Mediterranean. Like many great things, the modern evolution of this wonderful sauce was an accident. A few years prior to 1838, Lady Sandys, wife to the 2nd Baron of Worcestershire, had borrowed some special curry powder from a friend. It had been brought from India, and was somewhat unique, in that it contained dried anchovies, and was called garum. It was very difficult to obtain, so she took some of it to chemists John Lea, and William Perrins to see if they could duplicate it. They were doubtful, but tried anyway. The resulting spice mix was wonderful, and they wondered if, in a solution, it might make a good condiment. They mixed some up, but it was so strong they classified it as ‘inedible’, and stored the barrel in a back office at their shop on Midland Rd, Worcestershire. It was forgotten for a while, and it fermented, mellowing out significantly, much like soy sauce. In 1937, the barrel was discovered while trying to make more office space, and the contents was examined. The resulting sauce was outstanding, and in 1838, Lea and Perrins made it available to the public. Even though Heinz bought Lea and Perrins in 2005, the sauce is still made in the same Midland Rd. factory. Lea and Perrins is the only real Worcestershire Sauce. That being said, Worcestershire Sauce is one of the few condiments that actually compliments the taste of steak, rather than covering it up. It has a slightly tart, slightly smokey taste that is wonderful on most grilled meats, and as a base for other sauces.
2. A.1. Steak Sauce – another legendary sauce that originated in England. The original A.1. Sauce was created in 1824 by Henderson William Brand, personal chef to King George IV. He made a sauce for a special dinner from orange puree, raisins, vinegar, and other herbs and spices. It is said that the King declared it ,”A.1.”, which was a popular saying at that time, having to do with keeping ledgers. It meant, “top of the list’. It was a resounding success, and in 1831, Brand marketed his creation to the public. The Brand company changed hands many times over the years, finally to Kraft Foods in 1999, but the sauce remains unchanged for the most part. It has a slightly smokey, slightly sweet, slightly fruity taste that does not not stomp on the flavor of the meat. A true classic.
3. Catsup – this is such an old condiment that no one knows it’s exact origin, or the date of it’s birth. We do know that as far back as the 1690, the Chinese made a sauce from anchovies and spices, and by the 1800s, it had spread all over Europe and Asia. It was called (in Mandarin) kê-chiap, meaning “fish brine”. The modern version was created by an American, Sandy Addison, in 1801, and was identical to the original except for the addition of cooked tomatoes. By 1837, ‘Catsup’, or ‘Ketchup’ was being nationally distributed by a man named Jonas Yerks. F & J Heinz bought the company in 1876, and the rest is history. Catsup has become the #1 most loved condiment in the world. People put it on anything, and everything. You can get kids to eat anything, as long as you put catsup on it. You can go into someone’s house that only has a bag of potato chips, and a jar of instant coffee in their cupboard, but there will be a bottle of catsup on the shelf somewhere. You’d be hard-pressed to go into any kitchen in the US, commercial or private, that does not have catsup in it somewhere. Maybe because it makes such a good base for other sauces, such as barbecue sauce, and hot sauce. Heck, in an emergency, I have even used it as a base for a very passable spaghetti sauce. So it is little wonder that many people, especially youngsters, delight in pouring mounds of it on their steak. The sweet, fruity, tomato-y taste does blend pretty good with just about everything.
4. Barbecue Sauce – this one is tough, because there are so many different types, from vinegar-based, to mustard-based, to tomato-based, and in my opinion, they are all great. Many a fight has started over discussions of which barbecue sauce is best, so I will not dwell on that here. The origins of most of them are lost to antiquity, anyway. It’s enough to say that the universal smokey flavor of almost any barbecue sauce will certainly compliment the taste of any steak.
5. Heinz 57 – Developed in 1911 at H. J. Heinz and Co., it was never intended to be a condiment. It was made thick so that it could be used as a grilling sauce, while the meat was still cooking. Nevertheless, there are people who love the astringent, tart, slightly bitter sauce right from the bottle. Used as a grilling sauce, much of the tart and bitterness goes away, and it makes a delicious, slightly tart, smokey covering on burgers and other grilled meats. As a grilling sauce, it is one of the best. As a condiment, the taste always reminds me of bitter oranges, catsup, a lot of yellow mustard seed, and a little vinegary. Some people will use nothing else (except maybe catsup….). As the Vulcans say, “ Infinite diversity in infinite combinations”. Heinz 57 is most certainly a good example for that. Oh, the name…..despite all the urban myths surrounding how it got it’s name, the truth is that the company president, Henry J. Heinz, regarded the number ’57’ as his personal lucky number. For lack of a better name, they simply called their creation ‘Heinz 57 Sauce’.

These were listed in the order of my personal preferences. As always, your mileage may vary. Whether you sauce, or not, just remember, any steak is better than none at all (in my opinion….).

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It’s no secret that overfishing is a significant problem. Certain species, such as Yellowfin and some subspecies of Bluefin Tuna, have been depleted to the point of being threatened or endangered. Yet, nothing has been done to realistically limit commercial fishing for these species. A report issued by the PEW Environmental Group (view report) states that, even though commercial tuna catches are regulated, the total amount of tuna sold commercially exceeds 141% of the allowable limit. How do we interpret this? Either some fish are being sold multiple times (which is unlikely), or the quotas are not being enforced (which is more likely). Many scientists estimate that at the current harvest rates, all species of tuna could collapse within five years (Global population trajectories of tunas and their relatives – PNAS 2011 108 (51) 20650-20655; National Academy of Sciences), effectively becoming commercially extinct. Newfoundland’s cod fishing industry suffered a complete collapse in 1998 and has never recovered. Stocks of salmon are now less than 30% of what they were just 10 years ago on both the east and west coasts of the U.S. (Rebuilding Global Fisheries, Dr. Boris Worm, et al. Science 31 July 2009: Vol. 325 no. 5940 pp. 578-585 DOI: 10.1126/science.1173146). And we all know what happened to whales. Although whaling has been outlawed, a few renegade countries (mainly Japan, Iceland, and Norway), along with some Native American and other aboriginal peoples, will kill over 7,400 whales this year (Report of the International Whaling Commission 2011, Chapter 5).

Clearly, something needs to be done before it is too late. But what can be done? Realistically, there are only two ways to address the problem: we either need to decrease the demand for fish, or increase the available supply. As the figures show, regulation has done little to help the situation. The problem with regulations is that they are only as good as the ability to enforce them. There is no global “police force” with jurisdiction everywhere, and countries like Japan and Norway have demonstrated that some will not honor the “honor system.” Even countries that want to regulate fishing can only enforce rules within their territorial waters, typically up to 200 miles from shore (less in some areas). International treaties would be required, but they are difficult to negotiate and even harder to enforce. It is unrealistic to think that the worldwide fishing industry will voluntarily slow down or shut down as long as it remains profitable.

Thus, the other solution may be to increase fish stocks. Obviously, this will not happen in the wild as long as commercial fishing continues unchecked. The alternative is to commercially raise fish on fish farms. Fish farming (also known as aquaculture) is actually an ancient practice, dating back as far as 6,000 BC. China began commercially raising carp around 2500 AD, and the Romans raised fish in ponds, similar to modern catfish farms. So, it’s not a new idea. The only difference today is the species we are trying to farm. Non-migratory fish like carp, catfish, and tilapia are easy to raise. China developed methods to raise eels thousands of years ago, and many cultures have been raising shrimp, lobsters, crabs, and shellfish for a long time. All these species need is clean water and food to thrive. Pelagic and wide-ranging species like salmon and tuna are more problematic. They need to be penned in the ocean, a harsh environment, and are more susceptible to diseases and parasites, especially sea lice. However, just like any new technology, the issues are being worked out.

Some of the Objections to Fish Farming Are:

• Farmed fish may escape and damage the ecosystem – This concern arises from confusion between farmed fish (which are just wild fish or their progeny penned in) and GMO (genetically modified organism) fish, which are both farmed and released into the wild through stocking programs. As a rule, GMO fish don’t fare well in the wild, except for a few hybrids like Tiger Trout (a cross between Rainbow and Brown Trout) and some bass hybrids. For instance, albino trout, which are genetically engineered to be white for anglers, rarely survive one season in streams; they are sterile, and their flesh is soft and tasteless. Most GMO fish are sterile females, meaning they cannot reproduce. Genetic engineering has been more successful with plants than animals. To date, no species has become extinct or even threatened due to GMO animals. In fact, all livestock is genetically modified—just not in a lab.
• Fish farms damage the environment – This is a legitimate concern, and some unscrupulous farms have been guilty of damaging ecosystems, much like some land farmers and ranchers. However, this issue can be addressed through regulation and enforcement. Fish farming is a relatively new industry, and it may take a few years for legislation to catch up, much like it did with computers, the internet, in vitro fertilization, and many other topics. The fact is, there are environmentally friendly ways to operate fish farms, and most are doing so effectively. Good closed fish farms filter their water before returning it to the stream, pond, or ocean, and avoid overcrowding fish. Open-water farms use proven methods to limit their environmental impact. Poorly managed fish farms damage the environment, move on, and start over elsewhere. Even in these cases, ecosystems can recover over time.
• Fish farms increase the spread of diseases like sea lice – This concern is overrated. Sea lice mostly affect juvenile fish, which rarely stay around fish farms. Juvenile fish are migrating back to the ocean, and while they may encounter sea lice from farmed fish, studies show that the mortality rate is not much higher than the natural mortality rate of fish in the wild. Most antibiotics have been replaced by vaccines in farmed fish, which are much safer and more effective. Additionally, many fish pens now use copper-alloy wire, which is naturally antibiotic, corrosion-resistant, and safer for both the fish and the environment.
• Farmed fish are not as nutritious as wild fish – This claim is pure nonsense. Farmed fish are nutritionally identical to wild fish of the same species and from the same water. Farmed fish may have slightly higher fat content (because they don’t need to escape predators), but still, their fat levels are far lower than those in extra-lean beef, chicken, or pork. GMO fish may be somewhat different, but they are rarely farmed because they are delicate, especially when young. The new strain of Atlantic salmon (called AquaAdvantage Salmon) has been exhaustively studied and is considered perfectly safe to eat by the FDA and most other regulatory bodies. No deaths or major health problems have been recorded from consuming farmed or GMO fish anywhere in the world. The “Frankenfish” myth is just that—a myth.

You can’t get something for nothing. If you notice, many of the people who complain about declining fish populations are also the ones who gripe about fish farms and GMOs. A study often quoted by detractors (Science 9 January 2004: Vol. 303 no. 5655 pp. 226-229, DOI: 10.1126/science.109144- Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon – Ronald A. Hites, et al.) purports to show that farmed salmon have higher levels of PCBs and other contaminants. However, the FDA and other agencies found that the levels were still far below safety thresholds, and the EPA guidelines are issued for all salmon, not just farmed ones. They also ignore the fact that wild fish contain very high levels of mercury and other contaminants, and commercial fishing destroys ecosystems. Nets often tear up fragile reef systems, ship engines pollute the water, and thousands of other species—including whales and dolphins—are harmed as bycatch.

Private industry has risen to the challenge of dwindling fish supplies, and they are doing a very good job. Currently, nearly 50% of all fish and seafood sold in stores is farm-raised. This means that more wild fish may survive to breed another year. So, go ahead and enjoy a nice farm-raised salmon steak—it won’t hurt you, and the world’s ocean ecosystems will be better for it.

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Many believe that cooking a cut-up chicken is easier, but that is not necessarily true.

There are many advantages to cooking a whole chicken:

• It is more economical. Chicken pieces are generally priced 30% more per pound (or even more) than whole chicken. In fact, whole chicken is probably the least expensive meat you can buy. On sale, a whole chicken can sometimes be purchased for as little as 50 cents a pound. Dog food costs more than that.
• It may seem like there is more waste with a whole chicken because of the bones, neck, gizzards, and liver, but nothing could be further from the truth. The entire carcass, skin, fat, bones, liver, neck, and gizzards can be boiled into delicious chicken stock, which can be used in other recipes, to make gravy, soups, etc. The liver, gizzards, and neck can also be broiled, baked, or fried and eaten by themselves.
• Whole chickens retain more moisture, are less prone to drying out, and retain more flavor than pieces.
• Whole chickens require less manual labor during preparation.
• Whole chickens can be cooked in more ways than pieces.
• Serving a whole chicken is more elegant and impressive than serving pieces.

From a nutritional standpoint, chicken is an all-star. It has less fat and cholesterol than any other meat except fish, is high in protein, and contains no carbohydrates.

Any great chicken dish starts long before the bird gets anywhere near an oven or grill. You need to know how to select the best bird, proper care and handling, and safety tips. Chickens can be contaminated by E. coli bacteria, but proper selection, handling, and cooking techniques reduce the risk to near zero.

When selecting a chicken, always buy from a supplier you trust. Most reputable markets keep their coolers clean and monitor temperatures closely. Stick to brand-name chickens, like Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, or my favorite, Perdue. The larger producers exercise more quality control than smaller suppliers.

Next, decide what type of chicken you want. You can get a chicken in three ways: live, fresh, and frozen. Live is best, but most people are too squeamish about killing one themselves for that to be an option. Likely, a live chicken will wind up as a pet rather than an entrée, so this is not a practical option. The next best option is a fresh chicken, meaning it is not frozen. This is a good choice if you plan to cook it within a few hours. If not, then you need a frozen chicken.

For fresh chickens, make sure the cooler they are kept in is at least 40°F or cooler, the bird is tightly wrapped with no leaks or tears in the packaging, and it is within its sell-by date. Never buy a chicken with a strong ‘birdy’ smell.

For frozen chicken, be sure it is rock-solid frozen with no tears or rips in the packaging, and it is within the sell-by date. Select your chicken at the very end of your shopping trip to ensure it stays cold as long as possible.

When checking out, be certain that your chicken is not bagged or in physical contact with any other unwrapped groceries, like produce. Chicken should be bagged separately from all other groceries.

You should go directly home and place your chicken in the cooler or freezer as soon as possible. Your chicken should not be out of a cooler or freezer for more than 30 minutes. Never re-freeze a thawed chicken. When handling chicken, wash your hands before touching anything else, and do not use any utensils, knives, cutting boards, rags, or towels that have had contact with raw chicken or its juice until they have been washed in very hot water with chlorine bleach.

How you cook a whole chicken depends on the desired end result. There are many different ways to prepare a whole chicken, but certain tips and guidelines are common to all methods.

Never leave a chicken out of the cooler or freezer for more than 30 minutes. You can cook a whole chicken without thawing it out. Just multiply the cooking time by 1.5. If you plan to thaw the bird in the sink, clean the sink thoroughly with a chlorine bleach solution (at least 10%), place the chicken in very cold water, and change the water every 30 minutes. Freezers should be at or near 0°F.

If you plan to use the microwave to thaw your chicken (not recommended), follow the manufacturer’s directions. When thawing in the refrigerator, allow 5 hours per pound. If you are thawing the bird in the sink, allow 30 minutes per pound. After the bird is thawed, examine it closely. If there is any gray coloring, slime, sour, or strong ‘birdy’ smell, return it to the store. Do not use it. If everything seems fine, make sure you cook it the same day it is thawed.

Always remove the bag inside the cavity of the bird that contains the neck, liver, and gizzards before cooking, and wash the bird inside and out thoroughly. Avoid cross-contamination of towels, knives, cutting boards, etc. Wash your hands before handling any other foods or utensils. Once your chicken is thawed, get it prepped and cooking as soon as possible. Never leave a chicken sitting out for more than 30 minutes.

Always truss a chicken if you are stuffing it or putting it in a rotisserie. This keeps the stuffing inside the bird during cooking, prevents the legs and wings from hitting the heating elements and burning in a rotisserie, and helps the entire bird cook evenly.

Most importantly, never serve chicken until it has reached an internal temperature of at least 180°F at the thickest point, or if smoking it, 165°F.

Always allow a cooked chicken to “rest” for 10-15 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to settle and the flavors to develop more fully. It also prevents your dinner guests from burning their lips and mouths on very hot chicken.

There are many opinions on how to cook a whole chicken. It can be roasted, baked, cooked on a rotisserie, slow-cooked in a crockpot, pressure-cooked, boiled, steamed, grilled, smoked, or even cooked on a campfire. Here are a few common tips:

• Assemble all your ingredients and tools before prepping the bird.
• Turn on the oven, start heating the water for boiling or steaming, or fire up the grill or smoker before starting to prep your bird. This way, everything will be ready to cook when the chicken is.
• Make any basting sauces or glazes ahead of time. If you are stuffing the chicken, have the stuffing mixed and ready to go.
• When cooking a chicken, temperature is more important than time. Use a meat thermometer to monitor the chicken’s internal temperature. It is done when it reaches 167°F if smoking, or 180°F for all other methods.
• If you intend to remove the skin, do it after cooking. Otherwise, the bird will become dry, tough, and inedible.
• If you are using marinade or brine as a baste, sauce, or gravy, boil it before reusing it.
• When brining a chicken, always do it in the refrigerator. Never leave a raw chicken out of the cooler for more than 30 minutes.
• Save the carcass, bones, skin, and any unused parts. Pick as much meat as possible from them, and use it later in chicken salad, soup, etc. The bones, skin, and carcass can be placed in boiling water with spices for an hour or so, then removed and discarded. The remaining liquid is chicken stock, known to most kitchen professionals as ‘liquid gold’. This can be used in soups, gravies, or for cooking rice, potatoes, etc.

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It’s not really that complicated. Most of the techniques and rules for chicken apply equally to turkey (and most other gallinaceous fowl). They are just bigger. Let us start with basics:

To cook a turkey, the first thing you need is…a turkey. You can either shoot one, or buy one. Most people will buy one (wild turkeys are the most difficult animal to hunt in North America. They can see the darkness, hear the silence, and all of them have ESP).

When you get to the store, you have three choices. Only two of them are viable. You can get a fresh turkey (unfrozen), a frozen turkey, or pre-stuffed (fresh or frozen). Ignore the pre-stuffed ones. They are garbage. If you are not going to prepare the turkey immediately, get a frozen one. Only buy reputable brand name turkeys, and avoid the ones that have things pre-injected into them. Make sure that the cooler is at least 40 degrees or colder for fresh turkeys, or if frozen, at 0 degrees. If not, go somewhere else to find a turkey. A frozen turkey should be rock hard, and able to break a bowling ball. Buy your turkey at the end of your shopping trip, so that it spends the least amount of time away from the cold.

Go straight home with your turkey and put it in your freezer, or on a tray in the fridge to thaw out. Then, you can go to the library, or wherever else you wanted to go.

You can thaw a turkey out in 3 ways. Only 2 are real options. You can thaw it out in the fridge, using the method I mentioned above, which may take a day or two, or you can thaw it out in the sink. To thaw it in the sink, fill it with cold water, leaving enough space for the turkey and not overflow, wrap the turkey tightly, right over the original wrapping, so that there are no leaks, and submerge the turkey in the water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Allow 30 minutes per pound thawing time.

The third option is to thaw it in the microwave. Only do this if you really want to ruin your bird and make it unfit even for a stray dog to eat. Your bird will be tough, and tasteless. There is a fourth option. It perfectly alright to cook a frozen turkey. Just increase the cooking time by 50%, and do not forget to remove the neck, liver, and gizzards from the body cavity as soon as you can. The drawback to this method is that you cannot brine the bird, or truss it.

After your turkey is thawed, examine it closely. If there are any gray areas, sliminess, or a sour, or extra-strong ‘birdy’ smell, return it to where you bought it immediately. If it has one of those little Jack-In-The-Box buttons that pop out when the turkey supposed to be done, remove and discard it. They lie.

No matter which cooking method you plan to use, I highly recommend brining your turkey before cooking it. Brining imparts wonderful nuances to the meat, and makes it super-tender and moist. I do not cook any birds without brining them first.

To brine your turkey, use any one of thousands of brine recipes to make your brine.

Turkey Brine Recipe

1-gallon water (2 gallons if it is a big turkey 20+ pounds)
3 cups apple juice or cider (double if it is a large bird)
2-1/2 cups coarse, or kosher salt, or 2 cups table salt.
6 Bay Leaves

Mix all the ingredients together.

Place the turkey in a large bowl with a lid, or bucket big enough to submerge the turkey in. Unwrap the turkey, and remove the neck, liver and gizzards from the body cavity. Rinse the turkey well, inside and out, in the sink. Place it in the bowl/bucket. Cover completely with the brine and cover with a lid, or cling-wrap. Place in the refrigerator. Allow 15 minutes per pound brining time. A 20-pound turkey is ready in 4 hours. At the halfway point, turn the turkey over once. This allows even brining. Discard the brine immediately after removing the turkey. Do not re-use it.

Now you can decide how to cook your turkey. You can either roast it, in a roasting pan, or directly on the rack, or smoke it, which is the most delectable way to fix it. Some go out and purchase the new-fangled and widely popular Turkey Fryers and deep fry the turkey. Do yourself a favor, and don’t. Fried turkey is dry and tasteless. Many a good gobbler has been ruined with these things. If you have one, they make fantastic deep fryers for fish and chicken. Use them for that.

How ever you decide to cook it, always truss a turkey. It keeps stuffing and herbs in, and keeps the breast from drying out. Some people just place the leg ends under the skin fold and the wing tips in the other fold in a technique known as “akimbo”, but It has never worked for me because the turkey is going to change size as it cooks, and the appendages always come loose during cooking. They also do not hold the legs and wings in tight enough.

Smoking a turkey is easy, and you don’t even have to have a special smoker. You can do it on a normal outdoor grill. Just build a fire under one side of the grill, and put the turkeys on the other. The absolute best smoke wood for turkey is Mesquite, but Hickory works well, if that’s all you can get. Keep the temperature close to 235 degrees. Make sure you place the turkeys in the smoker breast side-down to start. You will turn them over halfway through the smoking process.

Notice, I said TURKEYS. I never smoke one turkey. People always ask me why I smoke two turkeys at a time. It is because my smoker is not big enough to hold three or four. Once you taste fresh smoked turkey, you will understand.

Allow 30 minutes per pound cooking time for one turkey. Add 20 minutes for each additional bird. The turkey is done when the internal temperature is 165 degrees, no matter how long it has been cooking. Don’t go by time. Go by temperature. Allow the turkeys to rest for 20 minutes before allowing everyone to attack them. If you’ve ever seen piranhas attacking something, then you know what is about to happen. Get out of the way quickly, or you could be injured in the rush. Nothing on the planet tastes better than smoked turkey.

Cooking Time for a Turkey

If you plan to roast the turkey, just place it in a roasting pan, or right on the rack, breast-side down. I always brush the skin with olive oil to give the skin nice sheen, and a little extra ‘crunch’. If you’ve brined the turkey, no further seasoning, or basting is necessary. Cook the bird at 325 degrees in a regular oven, times and temperature are different in a convection oven. If you are worried about dryness, place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. Alternatively, you can cover the breast with a piece of foil for the first half of cooking. Normally, this is not necessary, but high altitudes and very dry climates can do some weird things to food while it is cooking. Allow 15 to 20 minutes per pound cooking time and flip the bird over halfway through cooking. When the internal temperature is 165 degrees, it is done. Go by temperature, not time. Allow the bird to rest for 20 minutes before serving, to let the juices settle down.

If you have a rotisserie big enough for the turkey, you can cook the turkey the exact same way. After trussing, place the turkey on the spit. The same cooking times apply. You just don’t have to flip the bird. Rotisserie turkey is second only to smoked turkey as the most delicious thing there is.

If you have a large slow cooker, or roaster, you can cook the turkey in that as well, but it will not have the same skin texture, nor will it brown in these. I wouldn’t recommend them. And stay away from the microwave. It will kill your turkey! Microwaves are where food goes to die. They are great for re-heating, but not cooking.

Do not forget to observe all the safety rules as for chicken. Avoid cross-contamination of all tools, pans, the counter, and your hands. A kitchen cannot be too clean, nor can your hands.

I hope this takes some of the mystery out of how to cook a turkey. As with most things, practice makes perfect. The more you cook, the better you will get.

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To cook it over high heat, you can use a broiler, a skillet, hot coals of charcoal, or a gas grill on the hot side. When a steak is cooked in this manner, it’s called grilled. Grilling is a quick process, and the steak is typically cooked within 5 to 10 minutes.

On the other hand, to cook a steak over low heat, you can use a barbecue or campfire, moving the coals away from the grate where the meat is placed. The smoke from the wood or charcoal cooks the steak. This method is called indirect heating because the heat is not as intense as it would be if the steak were placed directly over the fire. The hot gases from the fire contribute to the cooking of the meat. In restaurants, steaks cooked over low heat are often placed in large brick or metal ovens, specifically designed for this purpose. When cooked this way, the steak is referred to as “barbecued.” The barbecuing process is slow, sometimes taking over an hour to complete.

Like grilling, barbecuing a steak can involve marinating the meat, applying a spice rub, or using a basting sauce.

Since most Americans associate barbecuing with cooking food on a barbecue grill, the instructions on how to barbecue a steak here will focus on using smoke to cook your steak on an outdoor barbecue.

Many food experts recommend placing a pan of water, usually in an aluminum tin, under the grate for the best results when smoking or barbecuing a steak. The steak should not be placed in the water but directly on the grate on the indirect heat side, or in an aluminum pan placed on the indirect heat side.

How to Choose the Right Wood Chips for Barbecuing

The final flavor of the barbecued steak depends on several factors: the type of steak chosen (tender cuts versus tougher cuts), the flavor added directly to the meat (such as rubs, marinades, or sauces), and the type of hardwood chips used for the barbecue.

How to Effectively Use Hardwood Chips
When learning how to barbecue a steak, you’ll spend some time learning about hardwood chips. The smoke flavor is partially created from these chips. Hardwood chips can vary in size, from fine chips to larger chips, pellets, or chunks. The size you select will determine how much you need to add to your barbecue. For fine wood chips, one to two tablespoons should suffice.

For wood chips, add about one cup at a time. You can use them dry or wet, and wrap them in aluminum foil to create a packet. Wet chips produce more smoke. Wood chips should be added every 45 minutes.

If you’re using wood pellets, about 1/3 cup is enough. Wrap them in foil packets, just like the wood chips.

When using wood chunks, which are typically two to three inches long, soak them in water for 30 minutes before placing them directly on hot coals. If you’re using a gas grill, stick with pellets or chips. Wood chunks should be added to the fire every 30 minutes.

By the way, avoid putting unwrapped wood chips in the bottom of the barbecue or directly on top of lava rocks, as the residues in the wood chips could end up blocking the holes in the gas burners.

Flavor of the Wood Chips
When deciding how to barbecue a steak, consider the smoky flavor you prefer. Mesquite wood produces the strongest smoke flavor, while hickory comes in second, providing a hearty flavor perfect for beef.

For a medium smoke flavor, use pecan or oak. Apple and cherry wood produce a sweet smoky flavor, which pairs better with pork or poultry. The light, aromatic smoky flavor of alder is great for seafood, but not for steak. All other types of wood should be avoided.

Now that you understand the basics of how to barbecue a steak, see part 2 for the next steps.

How To Barbecue a Steak, Part 2

After gathering all the tools needed for the barbecue—such as the steak, the barbecue itself, charcoal, wood chips, long-handled tongs, and a heavy-duty oven mitt—the next step is to light the fire. However, the fire must be at the right temperature to ensure the best-tasting steak.

To check if the barbecue is ready, hold your hand about 5 inches from the indirect side of the grill. If you can hold your hand there for 5 to 6 seconds, the fire is at the right temperature, and you’re ready to add the steak to the grate.

What About the Marinade?
Some barbecue experts recommend marinating the steak in the refrigerator the night before cooking to allow the flavors to fully develop. Others believe that marinating it 30 minutes before cooking is sufficient for the flavors to soak into the meat.

Some prefer to marinate the meat in a non-metallic bowl, covered, while others use a zip-lock bag. Either method should be done under refrigeration. Never leave the meat out at room temperature during marination, unless it’s for no more than 30 minutes, to avoid the risk of food poisoning.

Are Marinades Sauces?
As you learn how to barbecue a steak, you’ll realize that there’s a distinction between marinades and sauces. While some sauces can be used as marinades, leftover marinade from soaking the steak should never be used after cooking. This prevents potential foodborne illnesses, as anything that touches uncooked meat should not touch cooked meat.

When do you add sauces during the cooking process? It depends on your preference. Some chefs use the barbecue sauce as a marinade before cooking, and then apply the sauce again during the cooking process. Others prefer to wait until the steak is almost done and then brush the sauce on, allowing the natural flavor of the meat to come through first. This also prevents the sauce from burning, which is especially important for tomato-based sauces.

Close the Hood of the Barbecue During the Smoking Process
To maintain an even cooking temperature after placing the steak on the grate, it’s essential to keep the hood or lid of the barbecue closed. This helps to trap the heat inside, similar to how closing the oven door keeps the heat inside.

If the temperature drops, simply open the side vents or add more charcoal. If the temperature becomes too high, either close the lid (if it was open) or slightly close the side vents on a charcoal grill. Don’t do both, as this can cause the fire to go out.

For a gas grill, simply adjust the control knobs to a hotter or cooler setting.

Total Cooking Time
Most barbecue experts won’t give you an exact cooking time for a steak, as too many factors can influence the time needed. However, as a general guideline, allow 15 to 20 minutes for a rare steak, an additional 10 minutes for medium, and 20 minutes more for well done.

Learning how to barbecue a steak is a skill that’s worth perfecting. The more you experiment with it, the more you’ll discover your own variations and secrets to achieving the perfect barbecue.

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Medium is the most popular state of doneness for steak in America. But how do you determine if a steak is medium and how long do you cook a medium steak? Whether you’re cooking your steak at a high temperature on your outside gas or charcoal grill, pan frying it on your stove or broiling it in the oven, the length of time it takes to get a steak to medium is determined by how much heat the cooking element generates and the thickness of the steak. Here are some basics when it comes to cooking steak.

The thicker the steak, the longer you need to cook it. Additionally, cooking time is shortened as temperatures rise. Thus, a gas grill or an oven broiler will usually cook steak more quickly than a stovetop frying pan or a charcoal grill.

You’ll get a one-inch thick steak to the medium state by cooking it an average of seven minutes on each side. But time is just one factor in successful steak cooking. Here are some other helpful hints.

Steak Cooking Hints:

• Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and prior to cooking let them reach room temperature. This takes 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the grill, pan or broiler.
• Brush each side of the steak with oil. Do not use extra-virgin olive oil as it does not react well to high temperatures. Canola oil is best.
• The pan or grill should be hot enough so that when the steak hits it, you should hear a “sizzle.” If you hear a “thump,” you’ve started cooking too soon.
• Seasoning prior to grilling, pan frying or broiling will seal in flavor. A combination of herbs such as basil, oregano and parsley can be tasty. A dash of crushed red pepper in place of the oregano will really spice things up. Salt and pepper are basic seasonings that simply taste great. Use sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to heighten flavor.
• When turning the meat don’t pierce it with a fork, this will allow juices and flavor to escape. Instead, lift the steak with cooking tongs.
• When cooking the steak, first grill it for three minutes on one side and then, after lowering the temperature to medium, three to four on the other. After that, cook each side from three to four minutes. The steak should be medium rare.
• Test for doneness using a digital thermometer. The internal temperature of the steak should be between 140- 145 degrees. The center of the steak will be red and hot and the rest of the interior pink while the outside will look brown.
• Once the steak is done, take it off the burner or shut down the heat and let the steak sit in the cooling pan or grill for a few minutes. It will soak in its juices, cool down and become tender and moist throughout. After that, you can wrap the meat in aluminum foil, place it on a rack and put it in a warm oven for 10 minutes. This will allow the juices to circulate and help create a succulent, savory steak.

There you have it, some hints and basic information in answering the question—“How long do you cook a medium steak?” Follow these steps and you’ll find that you possess a tender and tasty steak that’s done to perfection — medium.

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