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Andrew Sun

With American Thanksgiving around the corner, I need to call out one of the dumbest cooking trends the internet has ever promoted: deep-frying turkeys. It is time to stop!
This big bad idea began back in the late 1970s. Southern chefs in New Orleans, who normally fried chickens, decided to apply their technique to a different bird five times the size.
As time went by, celebrity cooks like Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse took the scheme to their television shows, adding to the lore.
But it was YouTube – making the world ever more stupid – that really elevated this sizzling shenanigan to epic proportions. The concept of cooking a large turkey in a fraction of the oven time, not to mention the redneck spectacle of a pot of hot oil, a wrecking ball of a fowl, and the ever imminent danger of this combustible combination spilling and splattering into a backyard fireball, was just too irresistible not to click.

Some culinary proponents argue that deep-frying makes the bird crispier and more tender. I am not so sure. Turkey has so little fat that the skin is likely to be brittle, not crunchy. The one time I tasted a fried turkey, the breast meat was as dry as a manila envelope.
Let us face it, its popularity has nothing to do with gastronomy. The deep-fried turkey trend is a recipe for bros and dudes to disguise testosterone jocularity as an act of domestic activity. The risk of burning down the house is just part of the fun.
If you are now browsing for some of these turkey-frying tutorials and clips online, I would also recommend a funny cautionary video with William Shatner, made by the insurance company State Farm, that highlights the hazards of dunking a huge turkey in a cauldron of scalding oil.
Numerous fire services across America have also issued warnings against doing this. Fortunately, few people are dumb enough to try it in Hong Kong.

But if you must give it a try, take caution. First, do it outdoors. I cannot believe how many fools have set their kitchen on fire with hot grease.
Next, do not put so much oil in the pot that it spills out or splashes when you drop the turkey in.
Also important is to turn off the burner when the bird is gently lowered in, to reduce the risk of a flame if oil touches fuel.
It is also crucial to thaw the bird completely and dry the exterior. Water and oil do not mix, unless you are ready to give thanks for a bonfire. According to the US National Fire Protection Association, five people die each year from deep-fryer accidents.
Another potential disaster is that the turkey is not cooked all the way through, resulting in raw meat, salmonella and diarrhoea for everyone.
Lastly, do not follow the example of US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr and deep-fry a turkey while barefoot. Do I even need to explain?

If you insist on a different cooking method for your boring Thanksgiving turkey, try this Asian alternative from Taiwan, which is based on Hainanese chicken rice.
Poach the turkey, broken down for ease, in spring onion, ginger, rice wine and a tasty broth, making it more moist and flavourful than oven-roasting. Cook the rice in the same broth, and accompany the shredded meat with classic Hainan chicken dipping sauces or go wild with a sweet-and-sour cranberry jus. Voilà!
You are welcome.


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Food and Drinks

Stop deep-frying turkeys for Thanksgiving, it’s dry and dangerous

Deep-frying turkeys is a risky trend with little culinary merit, Andrew Sun says. Photo: Getty Image

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Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Popularised by celebrity cooks like Martha Stewart and videos on YouTube, deep-frying turkey is a trend that has to stop, Andrew Sun says


Popularised by celebrity cooks like Martha Stewart and videos on YouTube, deep-frying turkey is a trend that has to stop, Andrew Sun says.


Thanksgiving

Christmas

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Mouthing Off

Stop deep-frying turkeys for Thanksgiving, it’s dry and dangerous

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Popularised by celebrity cooks like Martha Stewart and videos on YouTube, deep-frying turkey is a trend that has to stop, Andrew Sun says

Popularised by celebrity cooks like Martha Stewart and videos on YouTube, deep-frying turkey is a trend that has to stop, Andrew Sun says