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The Thanksgiving Leftovers Croque Madame.
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I have some fun Thanksgiving news for you guys.
And no, it’s not that my oven is fixed. That would be AMAZING news.
Instead I have crazy news. I decided to fry the turkey. AHHH!!
Well actually, it is turkeys (plural) since the frier I bought only accommodates an eighteen pound bird. That just will not cut it over here, so two it is. To say I am nervous would be an understatement. One, I have never had a fried turkey so I have no idea how they even taste. I’ve heard pretty good things about them though, so if all goes well I do think they will be delicious. Two, this now puts me in charge of the turkey, YIKES. And guys, I have never, ever, cooked a turkey! What am I thinking? I do not know. I need help. Seriously.
Three, since mom is not cooking the turkey for the first time in like – ever, this leaves me in charge of the entire dinner. It’s not a big deal, I mean I do this everyday, BUT the turkey. I just do not want to ruin the turkey. Deep breaths, deep breaths.
Originally, we were planning on just buying one of those roasters that look like a giant crockpot, but then on Saturday night I was placing yet another order at Williams-Sonoma and I came across this Turkey Fryer. SO then I thought it might be fun to fry the turkey since I have no oven. Later on I can use the fryer to make doughnuts, french fries and other goodies. At the time I was so excited, but now as the day draws closer, I am slightly freaking out.
It’s kind of lot of pressure, but hey there is always the mashers, right? Oh boy.
Anyway, if any of you guys have fried a turkey, please let me know your tips!
Ok now let’s talk about these salty sweet potato skin chips. I know I can handle sweet potatoes. The chips here? They are the best. Like so good, so addicting, so awesome. They just sort of happened the day I made this Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole with Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Bacon Pecans. I had baked my potatoes as I always do, peeling the skins away from the potatoes, tossing the skins to the side, then moving on with the dish. BUT, it just so happened that I was frying something on the same day. When I went to clean up I thought to myself that it was such a waste to throw out the sweet potato skins. I mean, they looked so good. I am a skins girl all the way – I love um. So then it hit me that I should probably make some sweet potato skins chips out of those scraps.
I had those skins in the hot oil within minutes – and into our mouths minutes later. So flippin good. Everyone agreed that they were delicious. All they really need is a little sprinkle of some good sea salt, but if you want to sprinkle them with fresh chopped herbs (I love sage and rosemary) that would be delicious as well.
I especially loved the skins that still had some pretty orange flesh left on them. That flesh gets all crispy and it’s just perfection. If you want to get a little flesh, make sure your sweet potatoes are fully cooked before peeling them. Then use your hands to peel the skins away from the potato. If the potatoes are not cooked enough, you’ll only got the brown skins without the flesh, no orange. You can still fry them, but watch them closely! They will be done in maybe ten to fifteen seconds. Personally, I would get some of that orange flesh on there.
Also, if you’re peeling your skins prior to cooking the potatoes (like with a veggie peeler), I would think this recipe would still work with those raw skins too. You will probably just have to fry them a little longer. Try and get thicker peels, rather than thinner ones.
I thought these would be so perfect for today because I would imagine there are a lot of you out there who are prepping your sweet potatoes today. I am not, because I am being stupid and cooking everything tomorrow (yikes times like five), but for you smart people out there, save those skins!! You can fry them up today or save them and fry them up tomorrow to serve as an easy, quick last-minute appetizer.
But umm, they go kind of fast so maybe make some extra sweet potatoes this year for the sole purpose of more chips. Yes, do that. You can never have enough sweet potatoes.
So what do you guys think? Are you all ready for tomorrow. It’s clear that I am not, but here’s to hoping you are. If you’re not, just throw LOTS of sweet potatoes in the oven, serve the chips as appetizers until everyone gets filled up… then go buy a big pie. Problem = solved (just kidding).
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving guys! See ya, Friday for some more deliciousness.
This is a great idea! Love the skins!! My family usually does 4 turkeys in the fryer…all different flavors! You’ll have to let me know how you like it! 🙂
These look INSANE, Tieghan!!! The photos are so vibrant and gorgeous. And ahhhh good luck with the turkey frying!!! I can’t wait to hear how it turns out — spectacularly, I just know it 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!
These look delicious! I’m anxious to hear how your turkeys turn out. Please let us know!! Good luck Tieghan – I’m sure your meal will be magnificent!
Frying a turkey is amazing! It’s so easy. Just make sure to have something to put out a flame in case something goes down. You never know!
That’s awesome that you’re going to fry your turkey! The only time I’ve ever heard of someone doing that was on Golmore Girls. I can’t wait to hear how it all turns out! Great idea for using the skins. I am so anti-waste so I’m loving this idea!
Considering I reeeeallllly like sweet potato chips, these look delicious!
Oh yum – these look SO good! I know my meals are filled up this week, but I might have to give this a try the week after 🙂
Cheers to fried turkey!! I’ve never tried it (nor made it) in my life, and I’ve heard it’s absolutely marvelous! I hope you enjoy, sister!
These potato skin chips. Give me 34,000. Please and thank you! 😉
Alton Brown has a great episode of Good Eats called “Fry Turkey Fry” that goes through methods and safety. I’ve never fried one myself but I’d follow all his steps if I ever did — Even the brining, at least for the first time through.
Best of Luck!
These chips = AMAZING. Wishing you a VERY happy Thanksgiving! Looking forward to your recap post on that, for sure 🙂
Fried turkey is delicious! And I am not a fired food fan. It doesn’t taste greasy at all.
We have also used our fryer for a crawfish boil.
We had a fried turkey about 3 years ago. We did not care for it. Someone had fried it for us. I hope it goes well.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!
I’m in charge of our turkeys this year, also. A lot of pressure! These look delish.
I’ve had fried turkey several times but I didn’t have to use the frier. Look on line for a demo on using one–safety is key in using them. The turkey taste really good.
I bet these sweet potatoes taste really good also.
Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.
I could eat skins like this all dang day. Loving these!
Mind blowing. That’s how good these look. Rosemary is my favorite herb, so tasty with taters. I cannot wait tot try these. Can’t believe you’ve never cooked a turkey before?! Shocking. But then there’s the whole giblet problem. I have to make my husband a peanut butter pie to get him to deal with the giblets instead of me.