One of the tastiest and healthiest ways to enjoy fried foods is by cooking it in the deep fryer.  Although deep fried cooking has been around for years one of the newest trends in cooking is deep fried turkey.   Instead of waiting for a few hours for a turkey to cook in the oven at Thanksgiving many people are now deep frying their turkeys instead. 

Whole turkeys are generally too large to fit in a regular deep fryer so you'll have to buy a special deep fryer large enough to cook a turkey. Due to the large interest there is now in frying turkeys there have been several products put on the market specifically for frying turkeys.  Many of them contain additional safety features for frying such a large food item.  Keep in mind however the fact that a large amount of oil is needed to fry a turkey and it's still not as safe as fixing food in a smaller  sized deep fryer.   Regardless of the safety features, you should never fry a turkey inside of your home.  

One of the advantages of deep frying a turkey is the short time is takes to cook.  You can fry a 12 lb turkey in under an hour, while cooking a 12 pound turkey in an oven would take over 3 hours.  Another advantage of frying a turkey is how it cooks evenly on all sides.  The even cooking leaves your turkey moist and succulent. 

It's much better if you purchase a fryer specifically made for cooking turkeys. Some people have tried to make a homemade deep fryer and this can lead to fires or other disasters. Every year you hear stories of people who have had turkey frying mishaps so make sure you avoid them at all costs.   The cost is really not all that expensive as prices can range anywhere from $50 to over $200 depending on the accessories included. 

There are now some electric deep fryers being put on the market, but the majority of them run on gas or propane. Some people don't like cooking with electric gadgets due to the fact that the temperature can't be precisely controlled, other people may not like the taste that the propane cooker gives.  There's really no difference in which model you use, the turkey will come out the same as long as the directions are followed and the turkey is seasoned correctly. 

One of the more important aspects of cooking a turkey is how it is seasoned before hand.  I find that the best method is either to inject it with a liquid seasoning solution or create some sort of a spice rub to put over the turkey.  There are tons of recipes online that you can find for a good turkey rub and they vary depending on how you like your food flavored be it sweet or spicy or anywhere in between.  You really want to make sure is that it's salty enough and whatever seasonings you use are evenly marinated over the whole turkey.  Season and cook it right and you'll have the best turkey you've ever eaten in your life.