Hey! I'm Des!
Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.
Butterball Turkey Fryer
My review of the Butterball Turkey Fryer:
Do you want to know how to give your family a heart attack? First, you invite them to your new home so that you can throw your very first Thanksgiving. Then you tell them that you are going to make 2 turkeys. Then you tell them that you are going to roast one and fry the other. Then for the grand finale you tell them that you are going to fry the other one….inside. Oh man I cannot tell you how many times I heard “no you need to do that outside.” I just nodded and smiled. I had it under control. Or I should say Masterbuilt did.
Let me give you a little back story here. I have always, always, always wanted to fry a turkey. But truth be told all of the warnings from that president from 24 turned Allstate ad man made me a little apprehensive to try it at home. However, when someone from Masterbuilt contacted me and told me that they wanted to give me an indoor one to test out I jumped all over the idea. And figured why not try it for my very first Thanksgiving? What can I say, I’m a bit of a rebel.
To tell you the truth when it came down to it, I was a little nervous to rely solely on a fried turkey for my first Thanksgiving. I mean what if it didn’t turn out. I did not want to spend Thanksgiving in the drive-thru. So I decided that I would make 2 turkeys. I would roast one and fry the other.
I put my roasted turkey in about 3 hours before dinner. I basted it every 20 minutes. The skin was crispy, the meat tender and flavorful. It was the perfect Thanksgiving turkey.
On the other hand, about 1 hour before dinner, after making sure it was completely dry, Ryan lowered the Cajun seasoned turkey into the peanut oil and closed the lid. 45 minutes later Ryan pulled the turkey out of the oil. The skin was crispy, the meat tender and flavorful. It was the perfect Thanksgiving turkey…in less than an hour. Genius.
In the spirit of complete and total honesty, the only problem that I did notice about the fryer was that after Ryan placed the turkey in the fryer a small drop of oil got on the digital timer and then it wouldn’t work. This wasn’t too big of an issue as we just timed it ourselves. But timer aside, the fryer worked pretty well.
The Butterball Turkey Fryer from Masterbuilt has the following features:
• The fryer is retailed at $159.96
• Adjustable thermostat temperature control
• Stainless steel construction
• Porcelain-coated inner pot
• Digital timer
• Folding lid with window and filter
• Cooking basket with drain clip
• Drain Valve for easy cleaning
• Saves on oil – uses 1/3 less than conventional turkey fryers
• It can feed up to 8 people when frying a 14 lb turkey
Hey! I'm Des!
Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.
Stacy
November 9, 2011 at 1:51 pmThis sounds great! I love fried turkey and I just heard about this deep fryer on the Bob & Tom Show! I would love to have one.
Erica Best
December 5, 2010 at 11:29 ami love to have this turkey fryer for Christmas because I”m tried of plain bake turkey and i want to kick it up for Christmas lol good luck everyone .
jasper
December 5, 2010 at 11:04 ami would love one of these to get my girlfriend off of her raw food diet kick. Plus I know that she has a weakness for anything fried. Since I don’t cook as much as she does, we end up eating rabbit food most of the weak. But if I had this i could cook for her more and show her that we can afford to eat some deep-fried deliciousness in between.
Rebecca
December 5, 2010 at 6:15 amWell my husband & father (without my knowing) gave away our turkey fryer so they could have an excuse to always have beef tenderloin at Holiday gatherings. I miss our fried turkeys and would love to have an indoor fryer so I could enjoy some turkey again! Merry Christmas!
Rory
December 4, 2010 at 5:24 pmI can’t do much for my near 80 grandma but it would be such a nice gift to let her relax this year (and all the rest) for once and cook her up a nice turkey in one of those bad boys. Happy Holidays everyone! (Merry Christmas)
Michelle
December 3, 2010 at 9:53 pmI’ve always wanted to fry a turkey! We’re having Christmas dinner at our house this year, so this would be the perfect opportunity to wow the folks.
RichnLinda McBride
December 3, 2010 at 12:11 pmWe used to do the big messy outside fryer one of these would be great to have
Kelly G
December 3, 2010 at 8:29 amThis turkey fryer looks great. It would allow me to fry the turkey myself as my husband is overseas and unavailable this year.
susitravl
December 2, 2010 at 11:44 amI would love to have my dinner all done at the same time – so frying the turkey would leave me all that room in the over for the dishes I want to bake.
susitravl(at)gmail(dot)com
Phil Hutchens
December 1, 2010 at 6:21 pmI’ve always wanted to deep fry a turkey but like you said the Allstate ad and most news outlets make it seem dangerous. I live in MN so the Btu’s to run an outdoor fryer just makes it worse. Each Holiday bird still ends up a little different the fryer might just do the trick
Heather L.
December 1, 2010 at 2:46 pmLiving in a third-floor apartment in the city can make outdoor activities difficult… don’t think I want to fry a turkey on my little wooden balcony! So an indoor fryer would be quite helpful, I’d think :) And save much-needed oven space for all those other yummy side dishes.
Beth
December 1, 2010 at 11:39 amI had deep fried turkey at Thanksgiving, I was jealous I couldn’t make one, hopefully now I can.
Thanks,
Beth
Baine Messing
December 1, 2010 at 9:16 amThis would really help my family out since my mom has just told me that Thanksgiving is getting too much for her to do at her house and since Im a bit scared to do the turkey the ol fashioned way it would be much easier to do it w/ the fryer and my family loves to try different foods and Im always the one to make them try it!
Judy Keyes
December 1, 2010 at 8:36 amAll the family will be home for Christmas. That means I will be serving 15+ people. More impacting than that – there will be 6 women cooks moving around the kitchen and with the stove in a corner situation – it gets crowded. At least if the turkey was in a fryer and not the oven – it would give us more elbow room! Our menu if a full one consisting of :
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce over it
Green bean casserole
Sweet potatoes
5 fruit salad
Molded gelatin salad
Cranberry sauce
Cranberry nut bread
Boston brown bread
Dinner rolls
Pecan pie
Apple pie
Fruit cake
Punch
That’s why it takes 3 days to prepare and 6 cooks at the last minute to put it on the table.
Many of the above items are made with your recipes – thanks so much for having a knack with creating great recipes!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Lucy
December 1, 2010 at 3:05 amI would love to have the fryer, we have group get togethers and I can think of so many more uses.
Darcy Yazzolino
November 30, 2010 at 9:32 pmMy husband would be in heaven! It would help us by allowing my husband be inside, not outside in this cold rainy Washington weather.
Paula
November 30, 2010 at 6:10 pmThe hubs is on a mission to buy a turkey fryer… somehow if I won one, and we burned down the house… it wouldn’t be so bad as if I had actually BOUGHT one. Ha!
Melody Frye
November 30, 2010 at 3:57 pmI have been talking about fried turkey since I moved back up to the northwest from Mississippi. Masterbuild is one of the best deep fryers on the market today. With this fryer I could embrace my southern roots and make the perfect turkey for my family and friends.
Joan Meador
November 30, 2010 at 3:49 pmMy husband was just talking about wanting a turkey fryer the other day! This would be the ideal Christmas present for him as this economy has made us very broke! Thanks for the contest.
amom
November 30, 2010 at 3:07 pmI’ve only tasted fried turkey once, and have never made it at home since we don’t have the proper equipment. It would be awesome to have the Masterbuilt Indoor Turkey Fryer and cookbook for the holidays, and even for ordinary weekends!
Alyssa
November 30, 2010 at 3:01 pmMy grandparents just bought a new house – so they are more budget conscious than ever. I’d love to be able to take this to them, with all the food of course, so they can host their first holiday dinner ever.
Krista
November 30, 2010 at 2:56 pmEvery Christmas my mom’s family gets together, and we always have fried chicken. A few cousins have apparently tired of the chicken, so throwing a different kind of fried poultry at them might make them happy!
Kathy
November 30, 2010 at 1:25 pmFried turkey sounds wonderful — even after Thanksgiving !! Would love to try this.
Sara
November 30, 2010 at 12:08 pmI just found out from my boyfriend (we’ve been living together for 3 months now), that his extended family is coming for Christmas dinner! YIKES! My oven is old and pretty tiny, and I’m supposed to provide both a ham AND a turkey – I can only fit one thing in the oven at a time, plus I need to make all the trimmings. I could really use a turkey fryer so I can cook both things in time for Christmas dinner. Pretty please consider me? (A little bribery: I adore your blog, and make almost everything you put on it with my boyfriend.)
K. Rock
November 30, 2010 at 11:26 amThis would be great for me to try!! I would love to start some new traditions with my family.
Dave
November 30, 2010 at 9:40 amI hate wasting so much oil from the outdoor version that I seldom use it. The indoor model seems to be more practible and economical. My family can’t wait to have me make turkey enchiladas with the leftovers. Frying the turkey really imparts a nice flavor to the bird so I haven’t made the enchiladas since the last time I used the fryer 3 years ago!
Brenton
November 30, 2010 at 9:32 amAside from all the normal reasons for desiring to add an indoor turkey fryer to the arsenal, I want to make stuffing fritters when the turkey is done……..!
Sean
November 30, 2010 at 9:24 amI would drive around looking for frustrated families who had ruined turkeys then swoop in with this bad jackson and be a hero who got invited back every Thanksgiving after.
Hila
November 30, 2010 at 8:19 amI have ALWAYS wanted to try fried turkey, and this would let me do it all myself :)
Holly
November 30, 2010 at 6:31 amThis would free up my tiny oven to fit side dishes into. I have a small tabletop sized oven and cooking the turkey in a fryer would simplify my cooking process! Thanks for such a great giveaway!
Martha
November 30, 2010 at 5:27 amI had my first fried turkey last week. This indoor fryer would make me the queen of the holidays with my family!
Lisa P
November 30, 2010 at 5:16 amMy boyfriend and I just started renting a house and have really wanted to have our friends and family over for the holiday’s and a fried turkey would certainly be a big crowdpleaser! We are both avid chef’s and have always wanted to fry a turkey but with the chilly temperatures around the holiday’s up her in MA it makes that very difficult. This indoor fryer would certainly do the trick and would make for a great dinner for everyone.
Jenn's Food Journey
November 30, 2010 at 5:12 amI’m like you.. I’ve always wanted to try frying a turkey but I was a bit nervous about it. And in 45 minutes??? I mean how can that not help someone out … a full turkey, cooked in less then an hour…. sign me up!!
Kim K.
November 30, 2010 at 4:31 amIt would be awesome to win this turkey fryer. We have been frying turkeys for Thanksgiving for a few years now, but the fryer has always scared me to death! This would make my husband’s day!
Sara
November 30, 2010 at 4:28 amYum! Fried Turkey for Christmas. I would love to try this.
Judy R
November 30, 2010 at 4:12 amA turkey fryer would be fantastic! I’ve never had a fried turkey and would love to try one.
Tanja in VA. Beach
November 30, 2010 at 3:34 amMy husband is often out of town and me and gas and an open flame and hot oil and errant drops of water just do not mix! I would love, love, love one of these!
jfitz
November 30, 2010 at 12:52 amFried Turkey is just the start. French fries cannot be far behind!!!
David P. Swindler
November 30, 2010 at 12:25 amYeah, this would be just the ticket to propel me into the 21st century of turkey preparation!
Georgia
November 29, 2010 at 9:29 pmI have never even tried fried turkey but everyone that has tried it has loved it. Guess I need to win it so we can try it :)
Joann
November 29, 2010 at 8:37 pmWOW! A fried turkey! I have been dying to try one! Since I’m no longer employed, I don’t have the disposable funds to purchase a turkey fryer but I bet my family would kick in for the peanut oil! Please, please pick me!!!!!!
Thank you for your consideration!! Happy Holidays!
Deliliah Lynn
November 29, 2010 at 8:15 pmI absolutely love to cook and share with fellow friends and neighbors who have no where else to share a meal with family or friends any time of the year, and especially during the holidays, but I live in an apartment complex where am not allowed to have a BBQ grill or outdoor fryer and the oven is so small that there is only room to roast one turkey and no room to also bake yams or even a green bean casserole or even biscuits so holiday meals shared with others are always a sad hodge podge variation from the norm we grew up with :-( Store bought extras heated in a microwave just aren’t the same :-( It would be so wonderful to be able to share a yummy deep fried turkey and all the other baked trimmings at the same time with others this Christmas and to be able to share the traditional leftovers with them too!
Marianne
November 29, 2010 at 8:04 pmThere’s no better turkey than one that’s deep fried.
Why freeze out in the cold when you can cook it inside?
But why stop there? I ask you, madam,
I’m dreaming of pork roast, or maybe a ham.
A duck. A goose. A chicken. A pheasant.
Or a nice leg of lamb. Doesn’t that sound pleasant!
I’d love this indoor fryer for sure
But, it’s not just for turkey anymore!
michelle
November 29, 2010 at 7:52 pmThat sounds delicious. I have never heard of an indoor turkey fryer before. That’s neat-o.
Linda Bolz
November 29, 2010 at 7:47 pmWe love deep fried turkey, but don’t like the outdoors in the cold so and indorr turkey fryer would be wonderful !!
ginny dodson
November 29, 2010 at 7:27 pmOh, MY….with 9 kids and all those that come with them, I have to make 2 turkeys as it is….I have a recipe I LOVE but have always wanted to do something different with the other one (read: fry), but been sceered to….what a fun thing to do!!!
Rekaya
November 29, 2010 at 7:23 pmThe Turkey Fryer will allow me to relive memories of eating fried turkey in New Orleans with friends – I miss them!
michelle m
November 29, 2010 at 7:20 pmI have always wanted to try frying a turkey but never have due to safety concerns. As cold as it will be here in CO this winter, this would be a lot of fun to try.
Heather
November 29, 2010 at 6:32 pmAfter the angry letter from the apartment complex on why deep frying turkey’s outside is not allowed. I would love to fry one inside and share the tasty rewards. I love the deep fried turkey and wish that I could have had one this year!
Dwayne Smith
November 29, 2010 at 6:04 pmI’ve always wanted to try fried turkey, but never had the chance to.
The Masterbuilt fryer would come in handy.
Maegan
November 29, 2010 at 4:17 pmI’ve been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for a couple of years now, but as interested as I’ve always been in deep frying a turkey, I’ve always been really intimidated by the idea. I honestly had no idea you could fry a turkey indoors! Every cooking segment I’ve ever seen featuring a deep fried turkey usually takes place way out in the backyard, far, far away from both house and inhabitants…Maybe that’s why I’ve always been so scared to give it a go…Anyways, I’d love to try my hand at using the Masterbuilt! It sounds like a fantastic appliance and I love that it can be used for things other than turkeys!
Susan Marie
November 29, 2010 at 3:31 pmWhat a wonderful idea to come up with an indoor fryer, and thank you, Des, for the giveaway! We love fried turkey, but have to go to our son-in-law’s house to get it, at a time when he and our daughter are not celebrating with *his* family. This way, we could fry it, and have that oven space for everything else!
Joi Sharrer
November 29, 2010 at 1:05 pmI have never had fried turkey…nor have my children. We have heard such wonderful things about it. Would love to try it. Our oven doesn’t work so it would definitely help us be able to have a turkey dinner.
barbara
November 29, 2010 at 1:01 pmMy honey has always wanted to fry a turkey, and this year he put a turkey fryer on his wish list! I’m a little afraid to try it, but deep-fried mac & cheese sounds fantastic!
Greg
November 29, 2010 at 12:46 pmI make a prime rib every holiday season, and would love to try making it in one of these bakers.
angela
November 29, 2010 at 12:10 pmI need this so I can work up the courage to finally cook a WHOLE turkey!
Julia
November 29, 2010 at 11:43 amTo be able to fry a turkey indoors would be AMAZING! My kitchen is the same as it was when the house was built in 1967, so there is VERY little room for roasting one; plus, here in the deep South, we like to eat turkey year round (to say nothing of our love for frying!).
Alta
November 29, 2010 at 11:43 amThat is sooo cool. I live in the Pacific NW and the idea of frying a turkey outside in the rain was never that appealing. But you have totally made me what to do one inside. I love crispy turkey skin and this is just perfect!!! I could make something for Christmas for my family!!! Yahoo!
Katie
November 29, 2010 at 10:57 amIt would help me out: if I won I wouldn’t have to figure out what to make this year for Christmas. Love deep fried turkey!!!!
Wendy
November 29, 2010 at 10:41 amWell, I have a total fear of hot oil, open fires, and I hate being cold (ie. standing outside in freezing weather). So I think an indoor fryer would cut down on my contact with all those. And my husband’s favorite part of the turkey might be the crispy skin.
Tamra
November 29, 2010 at 10:38 amI’ll be making my first Turkey this Christmas – I couldn’t think of an easier (and more delicious) way to do it!
Steven Mc.
November 29, 2010 at 10:20 amway up north you dont really want to be outside supervising a fryer in december, much nicer to be inside where there are cookies and 5 layers of clothing isnt required to prevent frostbite
Jenny
November 29, 2010 at 10:14 amThis is great! Ive never seen an indoor version of a turkey fryer! We have always wanted to fry a turkey but havent been able to do so yet. This would be awesome as I have always drooled over the thought of deep fried turkey! Thanks for the option to win this awesome thing!
BTW, I made your cranberry sauce over thanksgiving and it was a hit!!!! The kids even loved it! :)
Aviva Goel
November 29, 2010 at 9:21 ami was staring (and drooling) at an indoor fryer and a tabletop rotisserie just last night! Thanks for the amazing giveaway, Des! With an ever-growing list of mouths to feed over the holidays, an indoor fryer would definitely save me oven room for my other holiday treats, and maybe even give me a chance to relax and not worry about basting for a change! When I am not cooking, I am a grad student conducting cancer research, so maybe not having to worry about basting intervals would allow me to focus on my studies!
Fun and Fearless in Beantown
November 29, 2010 at 9:20 amUm, this is AWESOME! I’ve never tried deep-fried turkey and as a city dweller, an indoor turkey fryer would be unbelievable. I hope I win this!
Sandy Legg
November 29, 2010 at 9:18 amI got one and returned it. The thermostat wouldn’t let the oil heat up. It just kept tripping the safety switch. Got tired resetting it.
Jessie
November 29, 2010 at 9:05 amMy husband has a turkey fryer on his Christmas list! I’d love to win one and not have to go shopping for one!
Diana
November 29, 2010 at 8:53 amWell, I have never tried a fried turkey but would love to try it out! One year we tried a tur-duk-hen and it was wonderful.. We are always up for trying new things! What a fun give-a-way!
Dennis
November 29, 2010 at 8:50 amI have been frying turkeys the conventional way for over 25 years having spent many $$$$ on oil. I would love to save every penny I can especially now being on limited income.
Dana
November 29, 2010 at 8:50 amA turkey fryer would be GREAT this year! We also bought a new house and it would be nice to try a new way to cook turkey; not to mention it would free up the oven. Thanks!
Christie
November 29, 2010 at 8:45 amMy family has wanted to try a fried turkey…I love the idea of an indoor fryer! I would be able to use it for a small party…that seems like it would save a lot of time!
Crissy
November 29, 2010 at 8:42 amMy husband loves doing things with turkey, we did one smoked this year on charcoal!!! He loves frying turkey and always is freezing – Would love to give him one for Christmas!
Jess
November 29, 2010 at 8:04 amOh my gosh, I have wanted to fry a turkey for so long, but was not in love with the idea of going outside to fry it on what is usually a frigid day! This would be amazing for Christmas!
P. Robertson
November 29, 2010 at 7:54 amWe’ve been talking fried turkey for years-the Masterbuilt Indoor Turkey Fryer would get a lot of use in our kitchen! Even in California, it gets pretty chilly in the winter so frying a turkey indoors would be just perfect! We have a really large extended family that often ends up at our house for the holidays! They would all be happy campers!
Kristin Radermacher
November 29, 2010 at 7:50 amSince it will be below freezing the rest of the year… An indoor option would save my behind :)
Cathy K
November 29, 2010 at 7:39 amTurkey fryer indoors, WoW We have a small kitchen with a for burner stove. Indoor fryer would free up some space on the stove or oven. I love deep fried turkey, what a great idea!