Lifestyles
Just give me a topic
- half the pleasure is in the learning, the other half is in the teaching.
Frying Fowl? (excerpt)
© copyright Deborah Carr 2001
published Moncton Times & Transcript,
October 1, 2001
Okay ladies. It’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. As
traditional as a golden bird on a platter, is a frantic female in a sweltering
kitchen. It’s the first of two holidays that gives new young wives and
mothers the heebie-jeebies. It is the day that can temporarily make or break
the feminine spirit.
Characterized by frenzied peeling and chopping of mountains of vegetables,
rolling out of pie crust after pie crust, hand-mixing of dressing (like mother
always did) and burgeoning stacks of dirty pots and dishes, Thanksgiving can be
mostly just a heck of a lot of work with very little thanks or giving being
extended at all.
Sorta defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?
And that eternal and irritating vision of Martha Stewart perfection floating
up there above the steam and sputtering heat of the stove doesn’t help one
iota when you are desperately waiting for the blasted turnip to cook.
How many sidelong looks and raised brows around the table must we endure as
guests crunch on carrots, lather dry turkey with lumpy gravy, chip away burned
crust of the dressing and pick filling from a tough piecrust?
How many years of trial and error must we suffer through until we get the
timing just right?
How many cramped hand muscles, sliced fingers, gallons of sweat, bottles of
Tylenol and Maalox must we inflict upon ourselves before someone takes pity and
changes the routine?
(OK, so what if I speak from my own experiences?)
Well, sign up here ladies and unite, because one old gobbler has beat his
leathery feet northward from the shores of the Louisiana Bayou to save your day.
It’s time to haul the men from the comfort of the sofa, toss out the remote
control and get ‘em in on the heat of the action.
The Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey has arrived.
And it’s a man-thing. Saints preserve us!
Anyone who knows Phyllis and Danny Fowler knows Phyllis to be an
extraordinary cook and hostess – she has had years and years of experience. So
it was a great surprise when she informed me I would have to talk to Danny about
cooking the Thanksgiving turkey.
"We are deep-frying ours this year at our trailer in Belleisle
Bay," she informed me. "You won’t believe how golden brown and
crispy it is on the outside when done. And the meat is just as moist and tender
as can be! Danny can tell you how it is done."
She definitely caught my interest. No one is blatantly claiming the credit
for being the first Louisianan to toss the turkey in the fryer, but bearing in
mind the Cajun country traditions of huge one pot stews infused with spices and
deep-frying, it was probably a natural progression.
The Fowlers, who are retired, spend much time at their seasonal trailer
site in this picturesque and quiet country setting. Family and friends love to
visit, and the couple also has many acquaintances at the trailer park, so
getting together for ‘tuck-outs’ is a regular treat and shared event.
"We have a lot of pot luck suppers there," says Danny. "Then a
while ago our friend Tom, who is a firefighting investigator in Saint John,
introduced us to deep-fried turkey."
And true to his background, Tom also introduced them to the safe way to
deep-fry the bird.
Outside. With no exceptions.
Since a propane gas burner is the recommended cooking device, safety
precautions are of paramount importance. Also, please ensure that children and
animals remain a safe and controllable distance away.
Be forewarned, it is not a method for the weak-kneed.
So this is where the guys with chronic kitchen-phobia come in.
Remember what mother always said? "Men’s work is outside."
Mowing the lawn, painting the house, taking out garbage….cooking the turkey.
(OK modern women, don’t get upset; we are just generalizing with
stereotypes here. You, too, can deep-fry the bird, if you prefer.)
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