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Fried vs. Smoked Turkey

Bama Matt
Bama Matt Posts: 15
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I have been egging for some time now and absolutely love it. In the past, I have always fried a turkey for Tday, but reading some posts and Mad Max's recipe I am contemplating cooking it in the egg.

Question: can a smoked turkey in the egg really stand up to a good ol' fashioned fried turkey? I of course know the smoked one will be healthier, but who cares!

Thanks!
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Comments

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,733
    i always cook two smaller 15 to 18 pound birds, so my answer would be to cook both. its hard to beat a smoked turkey sandwich with stuffing and cranberry sauce. i really dont associate tday with fried turkey but i do like fried turkey. and i would believe the smoked turkey will make a better soup
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
    Yes, it is hard to compare but the egged turkey wins hands down for me. The leftovers are the best and the flavor just can't be beat! A few years ago a good friend decided that he was going to fry the bird for Christmas dinner. There are about 25 of us that all spend Christmas eve together and then do family on Christmas day. He did not think that the time recommended was enough and left it in the oil longer than forgot a few minutes :evil: when he took it out it was BLACK and hard as a rock! LOL it ended up being the center piece and there are still pics of it going around. I think they used it in their Christmas card the next year.
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  • Biscuit
    Biscuit Posts: 208
    Had a friend who had a turkey cook off on Tday afew years back. He egged his and his brother in law fried his.The Egg turkey won hands down.
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  • BHE1
    BHE1 Posts: 205
    I would highly recommend using Mad Max's recipe, if for no other reason, the gravy was fantastic. I had a dry run for Thanksgiving dinner and had huge reviews for both the turkey and the GRAVY. Remember, with a deep fried bird you will not have the drippings to make gravy.
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  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
    Egged turkey is the ONLY kind my son-in-law Jim will eat. His mom used to cook turkey till it was cardboard so he hadn't touched a bite of turkey till a few years ago when he sat and ate three heaping helping of the Egged bird I did.

    The mild smoke flavor is fantastic and the gravy can't be beat. Had fried turkey a few times and it's okay but, nothing like an Egged bird!
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    yeah. "smoked" is a bit of a misnomer, too. more like roasted turkey, with a touch of smoke.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Cecil
    Cecil Posts: 771
    I do both, hard to beat an injected fried turkey 30 mins out of the oil. Egged turkey is delicious when first cooked and better later, I am not a fan of leftover fried.

    Walt
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  • jeffinsgf
    jeffinsgf Posts: 1,259
    Seems like maybe you've received some Yankee answers. :laugh:

    I've done both and love both. I don't think it is possible to cook a turkey more evenly than in a fryer. The comments about left-overs confuse me a little. I've never noticed any difference at all in the left over meat. The left over roasted might have a nice flavor, but then so does the fried. The lack of pan drippings is one draw back to frying. The other is the cost of oil if you're only doing one bird. Around the holidays, when turkey is cheap, the oil can cost twice as much as the turkey!
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  • CRF450808
    CRF450808 Posts: 34
    Noob here..Where can I find Mad Max's recipiet? I tried searching to no avail, but i did get 115 hits..

    Thanks!
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  • Gunnar
    Gunnar Posts: 2,307
    Here ya go....check out the the rest of the site, good information.

    http://www.nakedwhiz.com/madmaxturkey.htm
    LBGE      Katy (Houston) TX
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  • CRF450808
    CRF450808 Posts: 34
    awww yeah! Thanks
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Fried turkey is great, as long as your house is still standing when you're finished.
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  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    I've never fried a turkey, and I've heard good things about them, but Max's recipe is simply excellent. I'm doing it again this year, only this time it's a demand, not an option.
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  • JalopyBob
    JalopyBob Posts: 175
    Just buy 2 smaller turkeys and do one of each!
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  • Mr. & Mrs Potatohead
    Mr. & Mrs Potatohead Posts: 2,037
    I’ve only had fried turkey once…It was good.
    OTOH, I’ve smoked turkeys (Weber Kettle) for better then twenty years and have always had a great review and even better left overs!
    Fast forward: This past spring I smoked my first on an Egg and couldn’t believe how wonderful it was. Don’t take me wrong….The others were really good, but for flavor and moistness, the Egg won!
    If I were doing just one, I would Egg it! If you are going to do two, take the "above" suggestion making one each and doing a taste test.
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