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I got in a "heated" discussion with my wife this evening about a fried turkey recipe that I want to try for Thanksgiving. It calls for:

  • 1 cup of Creole seasoning
  • 1/2 cup of black pepper
  • 1/2 cup of Cayenne pepper

all mixed with a bottle of a bottle of italian dressing, which I will admit sounds pretty damn spicy. But after readying the reviews it seems like everyone says the heat cooks off and the bird comes out delicious.

It it reasonable to expect that the spiciness will fry off during the cooking process or am I going to ruin (another) Thanksgiving?

Brh
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2 Answers2

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Capsaicin, the molecules that make chilis hot, is soluble in oil. So when you're cooking something spicy in oil - you're most definitely taking away a lot of the heat into the oil. This is assuming you're going to fry the turkey. If you're not...good luck ;)

So yes, the recipe isn't that insane, it should be reduced in heat. Like soegaard says though, test on a piece of chicken first and then fry that piece.

rfusca
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  • For that matter when roasting with basting the baste liquid contains a fair amount of fat---but not as much as in deep frying, of course. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Nov 20 '11 at 17:24
  • Ok so i got a whole chicken to try the recipe out on. It is 1/3 of the weight mentioned in the recipe, so should I just do 1/3 the ingredients and cooking time? Will 1/3 the cooking time give the spiciness less time to cook off? – Brh Nov 20 '11 at 21:57
  • Eek, you didn't have to get a whole chicken to test, a piece would have been fine. 1/3 of the ingredients is probably in the right neighborhood. As far as cooking goes, at 350 F degree oil, I believe its 4-5 minutes a pound. – rfusca Nov 20 '11 at 22:14
  • Nothing wrong with having a whole fried chicken for dinner @rfusca ;) – Brh Nov 20 '11 at 22:24
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If you are worried: a fast and cheap way to test the mixture is to to try it on a piece of chicken breast.

soegaard
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