How to deep fry your Thanksgiving dinner with a Nashville chef
Growing up in Middle Tennessee in the 1980s, first-generation born chef Vivek Surti, now the chef and owner of Tailor Nashville, didn’t experience the same Thanksgiving his friends did. It wasn’t until he was in high school that his family made their first Thanksgiving meal, at which Surti roasted the family’s first turkey. By his early 20s, Surti was cooking for friends more formally and met Dave Wingo, a multigenerational Nashvillian who deep-fries his turkeys. When he suggested Surti come check it out, the chef was immediately into it—and the rest is history.
Surti has spent more than a decade frying his Thanksgiving turkey for the perfectly crisped skin. After seasoning heavily with salt, into the fryer it goes. The trick is not to rush, and to use caution: Be sure to set up your fryer well away from any flammable structure, and always turn the propane off before the turkey goes in or out of the hot oil.
Get the Recipe: Deep Fried Turkey
Photo courtesy of Mark Boughton
recipe 
yields
Serves 8 to 10
1 (14-16-pound) turkey
Kosher salt
Enough cooking oil to fill deep fryer
Kashmiri-spiced oil for serving
Makes about ½ cup
1¼ teaspoons fennel seeds
2½ teaspoons coriander seeds
1¼ teaspoons black peppercorns
2½ teaspoons cumin seeds
2½ teaspoons Kashmiri chile powder
¾ teaspoon turmeric
½ cup grapeseed oil
Ingredients
For the Kashmiri-Spiced Oil
Special equipment: large propane-fueled deep fryer, deep-fry thermometer, fryer basket fitted to pot
steps
- Place turkey inside the pot of the deep fryer. Fill with water until turkey is covered, making sure to leave a few inches of space at top of pot. Remove turkey and mark the water level. This will be the fill line for your cooking oil. Discard water and completely dry inside of pot.
- Pat turkey dry and season heavily with salt, inside and out.
- Fit pot with deep-fry thermometer and fill with oil to line. Set up propane burner outside and heat oil to 400 degrees. Turn off heat. (It is essential that you turn off the heat to avoid causing a fire.)
- Place turkey in a fryer basket, legs up. Using long tongs or a hook, very slowly lower fryer basket into oil. Once fryer basket lands at bottom of pot, carefully remove tongs or hook.
- Once oil bubbling subsides, turn propane back and return oil to 350 degrees; maintain this temperature while cooking turkey for 3 minutes per pound, plus an additional 5 minutes. Once cooked, turn propane off. (Again, this step is essential.)
- Using tongs or hook, very slowly lift fryer basket out of oil. Transfer turkey to a roasting pan and let sit for 30 to 45 minutes. Brush turkey with Kashmiri-spiced oil right before serving.
For the Kashmiri-Spiced Oil
- In a 300-degree oven, toast fennel seeds, coriander seeds, black pepper, and cumin seeds until aromatic, about 10 minutes. Using a mortar and pestle, grind spices until coarse. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add chile powder and turmeric to oil to bloom, about 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in ground spices. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
share
Erin Byers Murray
Erin Byers Murray has been digging into stories about food and wine for more than twenty years. Based in Nashville, she is the editor-in-chief of The Local Palate and has authored or co-authored half a dozen books, including deep dives into oysters and grits, as well as several cookbooks. Her work has been published in multiple publications, including Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, the Boston Globe, and three editions of Best Food Writing.