Peanut Oil Frying

A lot of people ask me why do you use peanut oil to deep fry a turkey.  The answer is simple.  It’s a great frying oil.  Peanut oil frying is a much better choice than some of the alternatives.

First, peanut oil has a great nutty flavor.  When you fry your turkey in peanut oil it picks up a hint of that nutty flavor and it compliments the turkey’s natural flavor very nicely.  Now don’t worry about Thanksgiving dinner tasting like peanut butter or something because it’s a subtle flavor and your guests wouldn’t even know it came from the peanut oil if you didn’t tell them.

Secondly, peanut oil has a high smoke point.  That means that as far as cooking oils go, your chance of the oil igniting is far less than if you had used something like olive oil.  And when you have to keep the oil at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the entire deep fry you’re going to want to use a high smoke point oil such as peanut oil.  Peanut oil has a smoke point of 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  So even if you get careless and let the temperature in your fryer get away from you, you’ve still got some wiggle room.

Lastly, peanut oil is a healthy oil.  Well actually frying isn’t one of the best options when it comes to health but if you’re going to fry then peanut oil has your back.  It’s low in saturated fat and cholesterol and it’s also high in monounsaturated fat.  What does that mean?  Well put very simply, it’s low in bad fat but it also contains the good fat.  Don’t fry yourself a turkey everyday of the year but definitely treat your family to deep fried bird on the holidays.

So when you’re stocking your panty up with supplies for your next holiday dinner, be sure to choose peanut oil. Peanut oil frying is the best way to go.