The turkey season is here and I don’t mean turkey hunting season. We are rapidly approaching the holidays where turkey is the featured main course, particularly on Thanksgiving. Turkey is so good, healthful and low cost, I don’t know why people don’t eat the delicious bird at least a couple of times a month. In one part of the world they do; in Cajun country turkey is not limited just to Thanksgiving and Christmas, but enjoyed at many family cookouts as well.

The turkey is a large bird native to the Western Hemisphere, particularly in North America. They are quite large, very wary and hard to hunt successfully because of their keen eyesight and their ability to both run and fly swiftly. After European explorers arrived in The New World, captured turkeys were returned to Europe where they were domesticated and became widely distributed.

 

The Acadians were French-speaking people of Nova Scotia who were driven from Canada after the British won the French and Indian War. Instead of heading for France, the Cajuns, as they are called colloquially today, sailed to French held territory to the south of Canada and the British colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America. Settling along the Gulf Coast in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and East Texas, the Cajuns brought with them their love of dancing, festivities and good, flavorful food.

 

I was first introduced to Cajun Fried Turkey while living in Lafayette, Louisiana (the capital of French-speaking Louisiana). The recipe is quite simple and almost impossible to screw-up. All it requires is a small turkey, a very deep pot and an outdoor propane burner. The pot is half filled with peanut oil and brought to 375 degrees F over the burner. A turkey of no more than 12 pounds is washed out, dried and coated with Cajun spices like Tony Chachere’s Original. Optionally, a hypodermic device can be used to infuse the bird’s tissue with a liquefied form of the spices. A strong cord is run through the openings in the turkey to be used as a handle. Carefully and very slowly lower the turkey into the hot oil. The temperature will drop about fifty degrees, but it will quickly rise back to 350 or better. Fry the bird three and one half minutes (3 ½ ) per pound. Use the cord to remove the bird, carefully allowing any oil in the cavity to drain.

 

The frying process cooks all of the turkey’s fat from under the skin, leaving the skin very crisp and the meat very moist and delicious. Even the normally dry white meat has juices running out of it when cut. The Cajun or Creole spices provide a very flavorful bird . . . no bland eating here. Using healthy peanut oil keeps the meal low in fats, with no saturated or hydrogenated oils to clog your arteries. For large gatherings, several birds may be cooked at the same time, depending on the size of the pot, or several pots-and-burner set-ups may be employed. 

 

Try it, you’ll like it! Bon Appetit.