While preparing for this year's Thanksgiving fest, where I'll be serving
delicious Deep Fried turkey, I became interested in the origin of the
succulent treat.
What is deep fried turkey?
"Frying whole turkeys is sort of the Southern version of making fondue.
You have a lot of your friends over, you poke around in a pot of hot oil
with some sticks, and then you pull out your dinner. Justin Wilson, of
Cajun fame, recalls first seeing a turkey fry in Louisiana in the
1930s."---Something Different: Deep-Fried Turkey, Beverly Bundy, St.
Louis Dispatch, November 24, 1997 (Food p. 4)
What is a deep fried turkey you ask? Injected with marinade and cooked
in 350 degreeF peanut or other vegetable oil, deep-fried turkey is
anything but greasy. The deep-frying process seals in the juices
creating flavorful meat and tasty golden brown skin. Incredibly juicy on
the interior and wonderfully crispy on the exterior, the explosion of
flavor and contrasting textures has made it a favorite for barbecues,
block parties, tailgating, holiday feasts and informal wedding
receptions.
It seems I first heard about deep frying turkey about 15 years ago, then
suddenly everyone and their brother was doing it. So what sparked this
sudden phenomenon?
Roots in the Southern United States
Deep frying turkey has it's origins in the Southern United States,
namely Louisiana. I have heard there are a few restaurants in Southern
Louisiana that became popular by injecting whole birds with a creole
style marinade then dropping them in hot peanut oil. There had to be
something bigger though to get the word out, Regional restaurants just
do not have the reach to change a deep rooted tradition such as oven
baked turkey.
I thought maybe it was the new accessibility of large deep fryers such
as the original Kamp Kooker marketed by Home Depot, or was it a favorite
of celebrity chefs such as Emeril?
Why is it called Cajun if it's not?
I started doing a little research on the internet, and although I only
spent a few hours, it seems no exact year, restaurant, or person is
connected to this particular style of cooking turkey. There is evidence
that fried turkeys were cooked outdoors for large popular events (family
reunions, charity dinners, church suppers, etc.) in the early years of
the twentieth century.
Commonly thought of as a cajun tradition, I could find no direct ties to
the acadien-cajun culture. In fact I found food historians generally
agree that fried turkeys trace their roots to Bayou (Louisiana/Texas)
creole cuisine. Recipes then migrated from Louisiana/Texas to Missouri,
Tennessee, Georgia (peanut oil), and Washington D.C. before it forked
northward toward Seattle and Vancouver.
The power of Martha Stewart
So here seems to be the magic bullet. I did find where Martha Stewart is
given credit for taking the recipe to mainstream America in the early
90's:
"Fried turkey has been all the rage at least for the last decade in New
Orleans, and long before that it was a tradition in the bayou and
throughout the South. Like many a vainglorious culinary mania before it,
the national renown of fried turkeys can be traced directly to Martha
Stewart, who plucked them from regional obscurity and put them in her
magazine in 1996. " ---It's Treacherous, But Oh So Tasty; Fried-Turkey
Fans Take the Risk, Annie Gowen, Washington Post, November 22, 2001 (p.
B1)
If this is the case, it seems Martha may have created an entire
industry. A typical setup including all the turkey fryer accessories can
easily run $200-$300. I would say those folks and the peanut oil folks
owe Martha a big thanks.
Send me your thoughts
Leave your comments, I would love to learn more about the origins of
deep fried turkey, where it came from and what made it so popular.