Fat free with xanthan gum added instead. No thanks to that for me.

That does add a wonderful flavor Lukkiirish! We have done that each of the last five years -- except for the year we forgot and I had to make up my own substitute at home. I used Old Bay, lots of Garlic, Olive Oil and Sage, then ran it through the blender to puree -- equally good, but thicker and hard to inject.

This year I injected inside, added a dry rub (same ingredients as above, just less olive oil), topped with bacon strips across the breast and smoked the turkeys in the smoker (3 hours at 350 degrees) instead of frying. Best yet...

thanks for the info Sweeby, I'll have to try that sometime, I love the cajun products and will definitely use this again.

Dilly - You're comment wasn't very nice and made me feel like I was weird for telling my story and wanting to share something I found that may be appreciated by others as well.

For your information while xanthan gum may be a bacteria based product, it's in EVERYTHING from salad dressing to toothpaste and is harmless. There are much worse things in a lot of the foods we eat. If you didn't like my suggestion or thread, that's your opinion, and you're welcome to it, but there's no reason to be snarky about it.

The other way to get moist turkey is to roast it breast side down. Thanks for sharing another trick, Lukkiirish.

I hope I remember this by next Thanksgiving! Thanks!

We broke with, what's become, tradition this year ... going to a friend's home in the country where he fries a couple turkeys. Always injected with Cajun Injector and always delicious!!!

Golddust, a compound butter placed under the breast skin does the same thing.

Golddust, I've heard that is a good trick, but doesn't the skin get too soggy?

Bumblebeez: Note to self: Repost instructions next Thanksgiving! I promise and you won't be sorry!

Natal - I have always wanted to try fried turkey. We bought the fryer a couple of years ago, then it snowed. We could have done it this year but we chickened out. So we have a brand new fryer we'll most likely never use! I'm have some serious turkey envy cause I've heard it's beyond delicious. Still, I just can't get over how good that injector stuff is!!

lukkiirish the trick with roasting breast side down is that you have to flip it for the last hour or so to crisp up that skin. It's a major job to flip a big hot bird, lemme tell ya, but we've flipped plenty over the years. (hmmmm, I wonder how long it will take for someone to jump on that last sentence - get the popcorn!) It takes 4 hands and lots of paper towels! I will say, that since I've been brining birds before roasting, I don't even bother with starting them breast down - the white meat comes out nice and moist.

Dlm - Oh my goodness! I have never heard of that! At 4'10 I have a hard enough time just wrangling with a 20+ lb turkey to clean and prep it. I can't imagine turning one over after it's been roasting! That would be a hilarious disaster in our house! I bet you probably have some pretty funny memories too!

I read about brining for the first time last year. Now that would be interesting to try. Sounds yummy. (popcorn in hand and waiting! LOL)

question: where do you inject the bird, here and there , under the skin ?
how much ?

Mitchdesi - You want to make as few holes as possible, so when you inject it, you move the needle in different directions using the same hole. I used the entire jar and did 3 different spots on each breast, top, middle and lower back, each wing, the legs, the thighs. It's weird because you can see the skin pillow with fluid. Even though I still basted the exterior with a mix of olive oil, Thyme, Marjoram and Sage, the pressure will make a little marinade bleed back out of the hole and baste over the outside of the skin as well. It took a whole 5 minutes to prep. I should add that after the initial seasoning of the outside and injecting the turkey, I did not baste the turkey at all. I'm still amazed at how it turned out and should add that the leftovers have been equally tasty. The creole seasoning is tempered so that it appeals to everyone and not just folks who like spicier food which is nice too.

I don't know if this would yield similar results, but I usually loosen the skin on the top (sliding my hand between the skin and breat meat, working my way upwards along the turkey separating the breast from the membrane attaching the skin to the meat), and then baste under and over the skin with a mixture of oil (I use canola) and seasonings (garlic, paprika, Beau Monde, S&P) before roasting. Turkey's alway come out delicious, and moist, too.

I used my Wolf range to make a turkey for the first time last week, and used convection. I think my meat thermometer was a little wonky, so I might have cooked the turkey just a little longer than necessary. Even so, it was really good.

thanks for the explanation; I'm going to buy some this afternoon.

We never turn the turkey. The bottom of the turkey is roasted as brown as any top. The white meat is juicy because there are no drippings in the pan - the drippings go into the white meat.. The turkey isn't any soggier than when it is roasted breast side up. It's just not dry.

I'm sure both ways work. Roasting breast side down just seems easier to me. Isn't sage the best Thanksgiving herb ever?

golddust, I'm going try the backwards way next time, we don't eat the skin anyway, just the breast meat. Sage is great, I know.

Good luck mitchdesi, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I hope not anyways, please let me know how hit goes! I'm actually thinking I'll buy another small turkey to freeze for later, don't think I can wait a full year now after that.

To turn a hot turkey invest in a pair of silicone gloves. They are heat resistant up to 500 degrees and can be tossed in the dishwasher to clean. They are useful for other kitchen cooking tasks too. Get the three fingered one with grippers for more multi-tasking options.

You absolutely MUST try frying a turkey before you make your final decision!! My husband loves to fry our turkey every year during the holidays. We have one on Thanksgiving and one at Christmas. Our whole family is hooked and we just can't imagine doing it any other way now! It is SO moist and so delicious.

He makes a mixture for brining out of brown sugar, kosher salt, lemons and oranges (I think that's all!) and then lets the turkey brine for about 24 hours before it goes into the fryer. The best part about frying it, besides how yummy it is, is that it only takes about 45 MINUTES for a 20 lb turkey to completely cook. How awesome is that?!?

So, you've just gotta try it! You will NOT be disappointed. I can promise you that!

Addyson, I keep hearing about fried turkey and I'd love to try it someday. My SIL and I were talking about fried turkey this Thanksgiving. We agreed we'd love to taste a fried turkey but wondered...

Isn't the oil expensive? How much do you need? What kind do you use and what do you do with all the oil that is leftover?

Yes, the oil is kind of expensive. You need 2-3 gallons of peanut oil which can be purchased almost anywhere, with Wal*Mart usually being the cheapest at about $12-13 per gallon. What we usually do is filter/strain it well after use and then reuse it several times during the holidays. Before you go yuck, read the rest!! :o) (We put it in an air-tight container and it stores well in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.) As I said before, we usually cook one turkey on Thanksgiving day and then 1-2 during Christmas. We usually go in together with some of our siblings for the purchase of the oil, depending on the circumstances. We then share it with them so they can use it for any other events they may be hosting. It can be reused 3 or 4 time to fry turkeys.

As for disposal of the oil once you are completely finished with it, we highly recommend finding ways to recycle it, starting, of course, by reusing it. Then, you can look for restaurants that might be interested in it. Lots of restaurants accept it for recycling and then turn around and sell it to companies that will recycle it for use in making cosmetics and other products. You can start by checking with restaurants you frequent often. You can Google it and find more info.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: EATTURKEY.COM

Addyson, we want to try that so bad and even have the fryer but on the Holidays where it's wasn't snowing, my SIL and DH have avoided doing it because think they'll get burned with the oil. Can you give some pointers?!

Had my post on hold and didn't see your last post, thanks!

There ARE definitely a few things to think about when it comes to safety. However, if you think about it, most of it is just plain common sense and it is truly not that difficult at all! Unfortunately, though, some folks have not been thinking and have made some really stupid mistakes when they've attempted this and have now given the whole thing sort of a bad rap.

Our family has done it many, many times and it is very, very easy and safe as long as you follow the directions on your fryer and you think a little bit about what you are doing!

Here are a few tips:

* Absolutely, positively, DO NOT fry a turkey inside or even close to your home - like on a deck/patio or in the garage. We always fry ours in the driveway.

* Make sure the turkey is COMPLETELY thawed and patted dry before putting it into the fryer! This is the biggest mistake people make! Putting a partially frozen/wet turkey in oil that is 350 degrees can cause a fire or even an explosion.

* Do not overfill the fryer. This can cause significant burns.

* NEVER leave a frying turkey unattended. Even after you are finished frying, the oil remains hot a very long time. Be very careful with kids and pets around it.

* EVERYONE should have an All-Purpose fire extinguisher for their kitchen! This will come in handy when you are frying a turkey. As most of you probably know, absolutely NEVER, EVER put water on a grease fire! It only causes the fire to spread faster. If the fire is manageable, you may try to use fire extinguisher. If not, call 911!

* Make sure no one who will be at the dinner, and especially eating the turkey, is allergic to peanuts!

Here is a link that might be useful: Safely Deep Frying A Turkey

Remember I was speaking of people with no common sense? Here's a few videos of those special folks. :0) Well, except the one of the firefighters who show us how to fry a turkey correctly and how NOT to. That is a great video. Here ya go....

Here is a link that might be useful: FRIED TURKEY DISASTERS

Wow, that's crazy, but great information! Thanks Addyson! I'm going to have to try it. I usually get larger turkeys, but will get a small one to try it with. Maybe that will make my DH feel more comfortable trying it. :c)

We always use an 18-20 lb turkey, too, but for a smaller one for the first time would probably be a good idea. :0) Let me know how it goes! Have a great holiday!