Today at small group, I had my first experience witnessing the deep frying of an 18 pound turkey. Jason Hooton did the honors. I learned a lot from him today. First, the best type of oil to use is peanut oil because it has a flash point that is much higher than other oil – 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Second, the oil should be at around 350 degrees before putting the turkey in the deep fryer, but no hotter than 375. Lastly, and most importantly, you lower the turkey into the oil as slowly as possible. If you don’t, things can get messy I’ve learned. Also, the formula for how long to cook is 3-4 minutes per pound. We cooked ours for about an hour and it came out beautifully.