ON FOOD: Turkey fryer a reason to give thanks

Fried turkey. I've liked the taste and moisture of a deep-fried bird, but I didn't like it enough to invest in one of those huge outdoor, propane-fueled turkey fryers. That seemed like a big mess to clean up and on the dangerous side.

When you're not frying turkeys, you can use the fryer for other foods like chicken wings. Or you can skip the oil and use water instead to steam foods like crayfish, shrimp and veggies.And the expense of buying 5 gallons of peanut oil at about $10 a gallon was a turnoff.You can buy them at Wal-Mart for about $100. Visit masterbuilt.com to see a video of a turkey being fried.The night I fried my first turkey I used the oven to bake rolls and keep side dishes warm.The big payoff is the terrific-tasting, crispy skin and succulently moist meat. The reason the meat stays so moist is because the hot oil seals in the turkey's juices. The meat is essentially steamed.Once the oil is heated in the electric fryer - which takes about 30 minutes - the cooking is pretty fast, about another 40 minutes.-Cleanup was simple and easy. Several of the parts of the fryer can be placed in the dishwasher. Draining and filtering the oil took the most time.One final selling point: It takes up much less storage space than one of those gas turkey fryers.And if you're concerned about increasing the calories of naturally lean turkey by deep-fat frying, measure the amount of oil left after frying the bird. You'll see that there is surprisingly little oil used from the original 2 gallons you started with.Those objections went out the door when I spotted the Butterball Electric Turkey Fryer. It's a smaller countertop model that requires only 2 gallons of peanut oil. The downside is that you can only fry a 10- to 12-pound whole turkey. But, if you're going to be serving more than six to eight people, you could fry a couple of little birds.

Reach Farney at 636-0271. Hear her "KVOR Table Talk" radio show noon to 1 p.m. Saturdays on 740 AM. Want to go out on Thanksgiving? We have suggestions at gazettedining.freedomblogging.com.