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).
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving guys! See ya, Friday for some more deliciousness.
