Fried Turkey in the Masterbuilt ButterBall Indoor Turkey Fryer

We had a fried turkey breast last night made in the Masterbuilt ButterBall indoor turkey fryer. As you can see, it turned out beautiful, and it tasted great too.


We wore out the old turkey fryer which as the outdoor type with a stand and a fire under. We never had any problems with our old turkey fryet other than just wearing it out, but they are considered dangerous. Easy to tip over. Lots of heat. Not a good plan close the house or with kids and pets around.

So, this time we have an indoor turkey fryer which can, of course, be used outdoors with electricity (and we added outdoor outlets this year). But, the new Masterbuilt turkey fryer is fine for indoors too and is very similar to the fryers that you might use to make French fries in the house.

An indoor turkey fryer is much larger. DUH. After all, turkeys are big. Although we did a turkey breast, the Masterbuilt will handle a turkey up to 14 lbs but is recommended for the 10 to 12 pound range.


With a 6 pound turkey breast, it was recommended to heat the oil to 325 degress. For a full turkey, they say to go on up to 375. There's a dial on the front - very easy. When it reaches the temperature, a green light comes on. That takes close a half hour on the heating with a lot of oil in there to drop a turkey. We had about a gallon and a half of oil in there.

Once the oil was hot, I dropped the turkey breast in the fryer. There's a basket as with most fryers and also a handle that loops around and is quite easy to figure out and use.

Frying time is 4 minutes per pound, so that put our turkey breast in the 40 minute range on frying. Not bad for a big piece of poultry.


Here's the turkey in the fryer. Once I dropped it, I closed the lid. That's how this fryer is designed - to be used with the lid closed. That's nice, since it cuts down in the oil in the air in the house.

There's a filter in the lid which needs to be changed out when it gets dirty. That filters out the oily air coming off the fryer too. So, while I got some deep fried smell in the house, it was minimal. I don't notice any grease smell this morning.

We did blow a breaker switch which got the fryer, basement lights, and the computer. I just got a flashlight and went down in the basement and reset the breaker which only took a minute or two. I chalk that up to using an extension cord, since the main cord is short (maybe 3 feet). I fried on the kitchen table, since my cabinets are narrow, so the cord would not reach the outlet down near the baseboard.

I think I'd probably set up on the side porch next time even though the fryer worked fine indoors. It's just more convenient with the outlets out there and getting the Masterbuilt turkey fryer up closer to where it's plugged in.



Here's the fried turkey. It turned out perfect. The outside was crispy and full of flavor. I did rub it down with Pig Pen's seasoning which is a great local all purpose rub which I love. That made it extra yummy.

Today, I need to clean out the turkey fryer. Ugh. That's never much fun, but this one looks easier than the old outdoor fryer.

There's a drain hole in the back and a little metal tube to get a nice focused stream. The oil can be run trhough cheese cloth and saved to use again. But, with the season rub on there, the oil looks too dirty for me to want to strain and use it. Anyone wanting to strain and re-use the oil probably will not want to do much as far as rubbing the turkey. Probably better to go with injection inside the bird. That adds flavor and moisture, but the turkey comes out moist without anything injected.

Well, that was a fun turkey fry last night, and we had one delicious dinner with the turkey, baked sweet potatoes, and bread. We even have a little fried turkey left for sandwiches today. Not much though. Probably ought to get a bigger turkey next time. Gotta love some leftovers.