It’s summer time, so what can we say—Thanksgiving is just around the corner. For your planning considerations, keep in mind that 75% of the customers at this popular Washington DC eatery prefer their birds fried instead of roasted. Georgia Brown’s Executive Chef, Neal Langermann suggests deep-frying a whole turkey for a tender, easy and novel way to put a different spin on this classic meal.

What more can you say about fried turkey accompanied by oven-baked cornbread stuffing, candied yams, whipped yams with Maplewood syrup, and hoppin’ John, a traditional black-eyed pea and rice dish. All of this followed by the bourbon pecan pie and sweet potato cheesecake.

According to Chef Langermann, “many customers try our deep-fried turkey as a novelty, then discover it’s the best ever, and wonder why they haven’t eaten that way all along. The Southern trick of deep-frying a whole turkey produces a bird with a delicately crisp and caramelized outside along with incredibly moist and tender meat inside. And I can cook an entire bird in just thirty minutes.”

Langermann also notes that when cooked correctly, a deep-fried turkey is not a health hazard as very little oil is absorbed if kept at the correct frying temperature (340 degrees). “This technique is comparable to basting the turkey with butter or oil in an attempt to keep the meat from drying out, which will not happen with this quick-cooking, deep-frying method.”

A few Tips from the Chef:

The ideal weight is 20 pounds or less. It can be fresh or frozen, but a frozen bird must be thawed at least 24 hours in advance of frying.

Peanut oil is ideal, and the pot should be approximately 2/3 full with oil to make certain the bird is totally submerged. Heat the old to 385 degrees to compensate for cooling effect of adding the turkey—it needs to cook at 340 degrees. Timing is based on two minutes per pound.

As there are no herbs and spices used in the preparation process, you can serve it with a range of sauces and condiments, from hot and spicy chutneys to traditional black-eyes pea sauce.