Rouses_FINAL-November-December-2017

the Holiday issue

“Fill the pot halfway, then put your thawed turkey in the pot. If the water doesn’t cover the bird completely, add enough water to do that.” “Take the bird out and after the water settles, mark the pot at the waterline with a marker. When it comes time to fill the pot with oil, hit that line and you’re good.” (Make sure to dry off the pot and turkey well after this “dip and mark” process.) Check the weather/develop Plan B. Check the weather forecast, and if there’s any chance of rain Thanksgiving Day, make sure you have a solid Turkey Day Plan B. Again, it’s the cold water/hot oil combination that could cause a problem. If you’re running an outdoor deep fryer and rain hits, the resulting grease fire can get out of control quickly. Better to have a solid alternative for the sake of the family feast. The first choice could be the standard roasting technique: Pop it in the oven and baste away, just like Maw Maw used to do. But if you want to maintain a sense of adventure, you can always break out the crawfish pot and gently boil the birds in crab boil and spices. (The resulting bird is more poached than roasted, and has distinctive flavor, but none of the crispy skin and caramelized goodness of a

Stage 3: Wednesday Trim/prep the bird. By now, your bird should be mostly thawed and ready for basic preparation. Pour out the raw juice that’s collected in the thawing pan and wash the bird thoroughly. Take out the turkey neck and paper sack of giblets (gizzards and livers) that are either in the bird’s body cavity or in the neck hollow. You’ll often feel chunks of ice stuck to them or the inside ribs — take those out now so they don’t cause potential problems later. Also, take a sharp knife and cut away any excessive skin flaps. Remove the little plastic pop-up “doneness timer.” Check your oil level (with water). This might be the most important part of your pre-fry homework assignments: making sure you have enough oil to fry, but not so much as to cause a dangerous overflow. Unlike an over-bubbly crawfish pot, which just makes clouds of steam, an overfull turkey fryer can splash oil onto the burner flame and trigger the large, fast-moving fireballs and unstable grease fires you may have seen on YouTube. The goal is to have just enough oil to cover your biggest turkey while staying away from the lip of the fryer pot. You can avoid overflowwith an off-the-burner “dip and mark”routine. “I use water displacement to calculate my oil level,”says Chef Nathan.

Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department assists Chef Nathan Richard.

10

MY ROUSES EVERYDAY NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2017