If turkey’s the only thing you cook in your turkey fryer, you’re missing out. We get it. A turkey fryer is a serious investment, and nobody wants to spend $200 on a large contraption that will be used only once a year. Fortunately, you can use your turkey fryer for a whole lot more than frying turkeys.
Equipment
5 Things You Can Cook in Your Turkey Fryer (Besides Turkey)
What else can you cook in a turkey fryer? A lot.
By Published Apr. 15, 2022.
Bayou Classic 32-Quart Stainless Steel Turkey Fryer and Gas One B-5300 Propane Burner
This kit produces great crispy-skinned turkey in its large stainless-steel pot and comes with a large steamer basket for boiling seafood and steaming tamales.Buy Now
Large-format feasts are the turkey fryer’s forte. It is the ultimate party tool, big enough to boil, steam, or fry heaps of food—and quick. (Check out our tips for how to safely fry things in a turkey fryer.) And because you’re cooking outside, any odors dissipate quickly, so your house doesn’t end up smelling like whatever you cooked for the rest of the week.
If you already have a turkey fryer or are interested in getting one, here are some of our other favorite uses for them.
Other Uses for Turkey Fryers
1. Seafood Boils
You can boil as well as fry in your turkey fryer. Crawfish boils, low-country boils, crab boils—the fryer is ideal for all of these. Just load the seafood and fixings into the steamer basket and have at it.
2. Fish Fries
In the South, turkey fryers might as well be called fish fryers, given how often they’re used for community events. Have your own Friday-night fish fry: Invite a bunch of folks over and let the turkey fryer turn out enough fish fillets and hushpuppies for all.
3. Steamed Tamales
Yes, you can steam in turkey fryers, too. Get your friends and extended family together to assemble tamales, and steam enough for everyone to take some home.
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4. Large Batches of Soup or Stew
The turkey fryer is essentially a supersize stock pot, so it's great for making and holding lots of chili or soup. We particularly like it for making multiple batches of Eastern North Carolina Fish Stew.
5. Pretty Much Anything Else You Can Fry
Want to make a whole lot of fried chicken, mozzarella sticks, beignets, or onion rings in a hurry? As long as the fryer’s already on . . .
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