Holiday meals onboard?

Ewwww...don't be grillin' one of my favorite mammals! But I wish you a great trip full of surprises(nice one's only) And I hope you and yours have a great time together with zero crowds. I envision a fried Turkey done on the back deck, with Lobster and Stone Crabs accompanied by Steamed Okra, Black Eyed Peas (not the group) and Cauliflower puree'. And for New Year's brunch, Spinach and Feta cheese Omelets, covered with Hollandaise sauce served with Mimosa's. I hope you have a wonderful Holiday Ralph...and stay away from my friends! Oh...and Bagel's with Lox, cream cheese, and Capers compliment the Omelet as well.

LOL I came home with some Capers the other day, and someone had the nerve to ask me what Capers were? I've eaten them all my life, and didn't know the answer! So of course I googled it, and low and behold....you learn something new every day!

Capers are pickled flower buds. Tiny capers are picked from a shrub-like bush (Capparis spinosa), long before the buds ever flower. The capers are then dried in the sun and later brined or packed in salt. (To use capers in recipes it's a good idea to rinse them first, to remove all the excess salt or brine.)

Sometimes capers are allowed to mature to a fruit about the size of an olive. These are sold as caper berries and are brined to be eaten like pickles or olives. It's common to see them included in an antipasti platter.

Capers also aren't new to the culinary scene -- they've been around since ancient times. They're grown in parts of Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Southern Europe, Turkey and California.

Harvesting capers is an arduous process because they can only be picked by hand. They're too small and delicate to be plucked by machine, so they're harvested individually. It's what makes them so expensive. After being picked, capers are sorted by size and then dried, brined or salted, processed and packaged. The smallest size, called nonpareil, is the most desirable and most often used in recipes.

Anyway, I've actually fried Turkeys on a boat. I've cooked hundred's of them but I do put down a 3x3 piece of 3/4 inch plywood for cooking in sensitive areas, like fiberglass cockpits. I'll admit that they are a very dangerous way of cooking. Butterball makes an Electric Turkey fryer. That sounds just as dangerous but uses less Oil. This is the first year I haven't fried any. I usually fry about 12 Turkey's, take a few to homeless shelter's and some to Senior's facilities.

A friend of mine got one of those electric Butterball turkey fryers. It's actually designed nicely and has a lid and is a square box that's pretty safe. It also works well.....I wouldn't be afraid of using it on the aft deck.

I was hoping somebody had some real time experience with one of those. I'm sure it's a lot less hassle than my propane cajun burner, and dealing with 5 gallons of Peanut Oil. But they are limited to the size they can cook. I think 12 lbs. is the max.

I think it's 14lbs. The Butterball branded one is about $100. It has a really nice basket that lowers as well as a tool to pull the turkey out of it. It has a digital thermostat you set and then you lower the basket into it. It seems to work good, has a line to fill it to and takes a little less than 2 gallons of peanut oil. Just google it. Safe and easy

Here's a link, they're sold on Amazon but this is from their site.

http://www.butterball.com/how-tos/deep-fry-a-turkey

Say what you want, but NOTHING beats a fried turkey! Especially if you use the injector with the prepared juice...this is where brain dead people tend to screw up...they don't let the bird sit long enough to absorb the juice, and don't thoroughly dry it prior to slipping it into 375 degree Oil.

Here's the Gen III unit.

http://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-23011014-Butterball-Electric-Capacity/dp/B00BWKN0H2

I hope that gives you a leg up. I'm buying one for a Christmas present to me...just to try it out. Although, I really love the big set-up, great for steaming Alaskan King Crab legs, and a good old fashioned crawfish boil. Then again, cleanup should be easier with the Electric unit.

Here's the larger one that will do a 20 lb. bird.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BWKN0HC/ref=psdc_2253412011_t2_B00BWKN0H2

Don't want to sound like your mother, but be careful with that peanut oil. I have seen some horrors posted on Utube

I made a rookie mistake the first year I started frying them. The cavity wasn't fully thawed and when I lowered it down, it pulled a catamaran on me....started spitting! Fortunately I jumped back fast enough not to get burned. I've seen first hand what kind of damage 375 degree Oil can do to a person. It's like a lot of things, if you don't know what your doing, you can get into trouble in a big hurry. The two biggest problems I've encountered is not having the burner on a solid surface, having it sitting on the grass is NOT a solid surface, and if your not strong enough to pull a 20 lb. Turkey straight up out of the Oil, I'm talkin' at least 2 1/2 feet straight up, then don't bother. I've seen more people not clear the pot and end up tipping the pot over on themselves! Most people won't get close enough to the pot to do a straight pull, the heat, the sound of that burner blowing full force can be a bit intimidating to the novice, which is why if your a first timer, start out with a chicken, or a small Turkey, just to get the feel of doing it. OH, and one other tidbit prior to heating the oil up put the bird in first and then poor the oil around it, so as not to overfill the pot! I've seen that way too many times...pouring in a 5 gallon jug into the pot, lighting the burner, and then dropping an 18 lb Turkey, only the have the Oil overflow the pot...now your talking trips to the ER with very severe burns. Being boaters every one here should know about displacement!

A pole with a hook in the middle and a guy on either end of the pole keeps the bird far enough away and it's easier to lift it up with 2 people if it's a heavy turkey......us Captains, we just gaff the turkey and pull it out of the pot! Also with a propane deal, get it to 375F and then shut the flame off, lower the bird, then re-light once the turkey is in the oil, keeps the flame throwing to a minimum!

You should go check out those Butterball electric fryers in person........I believe it is made by Masterbuilt

Sorry, Duty called...although the gaff idea would be kind of funny....but unless you're standing on 8 foot ladder I wouldn't try that kind of retrieval. Yeah I'm going to check out the Electric Fryer in person before buying one. I'd be curious as to how the heating element is situated, just to ensure even heating. The nice thing about the propane burner, is that the temperature recovers quickly, that's my problem with the Electric Fryer, I'm afraid you might have some uneven cooking.

It's just like any of the electric fryers, I'm assuming an element underneath the entire pan. It seems to heat totally evenly and it seems to keep up with temperature pretty good, just like the smaller fry daddy's and such. It's entirely sealed and has a lid so you don't lose too much temperature. It's kind of like the difference between a weber charcoal grill.....or a weber gas grill.....sometimes you just want it easier and safer......

O.K. last one, there's the Big Easy made by Char Broil it's an Oil less fryer, but still uses a propane tank, it's an infrared cooker.