Rosie’s favorite recipes will give your Christmas turkey a Cajun twist

I’ve been doing it for years: deep-fat frying turkeys for the holidays. After all, deep-fried, Cajun-seasoned turkey is one of the basic food groups in the Romero family.

It can be done safely. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has four pages of instructions on doing it correctly.

My top tip is don’t deep-fry your turkey in the house. Do it in the backyard, away from valuable plants, animals, people, sprinklers or combustible materials. You can’t do it in the rain either.

Stop to consider that you are using at least three gallons of peanut oil heated to 325-350 degrees.

You don’t want to go bigger than 13-14 pounds for the turkey. It must be completely thawed and totally dry inside and out and alcohol and frying don’t mix.

First, buy an electric deep fryer with a temperature control ($100 to $200). Choose one with built-in safety features like a break-away power cord that attaches with a magnet and quickly detaches if the cord is pulled. That will prevent tipping and spills.

To fry your bird, use high smoke-point oil –peanut, canola or sunflower. Marinate or rub the turkey in advance (we love Cajun seasoning). Remember to buy a small turkey — 13 to 14 pounds because you don’t want to have to fry the bird in parts.

Along with the full turkey recipe I’m also sending along some other holiday recipe favorites from our family:

• Rosie’s Mama’s Jambalaya
• Rosie’s Mama’s Cornbread Dressing
• Rosie’s Mama’s Blueberry Poppy Seed Cake
• Rosie’s Mama’s Cajun-Seasoned Roasted Pecans

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