was on my way to Academy to pickup some peanut oil for fried turkey next week and noticed they also had cottonseed oil. it was $10 cheaper than peanut oil. has anyone used cottonseed oil to fry their turkey? could you tell a difference in taste or the results? i guess while we are at it instead of starting a new thread for fried turkey post your fried turkey recipes.
alot of places are starting to sell them now but they are best when they come right out of the fryer. the skin wont be crispy if its been sitting around.
When you deep fry, you need an oil with a high smoking point. If the oil starts to burn, then it will directly affect the flavor of whatever you're cooking. Peanut oil has a smoking point of 450 degrees while cottonseed oil has a smoking point of 420. Also, every fried turkey recipe I've seen says to fry in peanut oil. Personally, I don't think it's worth 10 bucks to risk ruining your thanksgiving dinner...
on the box it said that some turkey organization prefers cottonseed oil for frying turkeys. thought i would try something different this year.
I'm sure they would put two naked chicks slathered in cottonseed oil on the box if it meant selling more oil.
Maybe you could do two birds and be the official reporter on which was better! Let us all know so we can decide whether or not to convert!! OR you could do half a bird in each! More seriously: the oil WILL affect the flavour of the thing that is fried in it, whether it smokes or not. Smoking is not just bad - it is WAY bad - but regardless, cooking in cottonseed oil will give a different flavour to peanut oil - I don't know if that is good or bad because I've never tried cottonseed. If you use it, let us know!
