Just a few cautionary notes: Never cook under a roof or anything else, top of pot should be open to the sky Don't overfill the pot with oil as grease boiling over can catch fire Never leave while the burner is on Don't heat oil over 400F (I think flashpoint is about 450F depending on the type of oil) This is what I found works best with my turkey pot after years of cooking them. My Turkey Pot is custom made and can hold up to 6 gallons. I found that 3 gallons works best and keeps from boiling over the top. Fill with corn, vegetable, peanut oil, lard, etc. - I really have not tasted a difference and I have tried all the different types. I think it may be that I marinade and put rub on it for taste. There may be a difference if it is cooked without seasoning. Peanut oil is the most expensive and costs twice as much as regular vegetable oil. I use the cheapest oil I can find. Start with a 11-13 lb turkey. I try to get as close to 12# as possible as I have found that it is the best size. A large turkey takes too long to cook and the legs tend to get charred. Smaller turkeys don't have enough meat. A 12# turkey will feed four or five adults and 5 children and there will still be some left over (from my experience). Keep in mind all of the other food that is usually on your plate! Turkey should be fully thawed first. Give yourself a day or two to get the turkey thawed out. You can cook it plain or season it. I like to season mine. I have either bought an injectable marinade from the store or made my own. There are many varieties to choose from. I have made simple mixture of 1 lb of melted butter and 3 tbsp of a cajun or other seasoning. Add more or less to the butter for taste. The best way to inject it is to try and avoid breaking the skin. I have found that I can inject the entire turkey only breaking the sin 4 times. All the other places can be reached from other areas. Inject the turkey with 16-24 oz. After injecting the turkey, you can put your favorite cajun or other rub on the outside. Cooking time is 3 to 3-1/2 minutes per pound. I have found that a turkey anywhere around 12# cooks perfectly at 40 minutes. Keep in mind that cooking times may vary slightly and you may need to fine tune based on you setup, but this will definitely get you in the ballpark. Heat the oil to 400F. You will need it this high to keep the temp from dropping too much. Taper off the heat to keep it at 400F and then drop in the turkey. Turn the burner on maximum after the turkey is in. You will need all the heat you can get in the beginning. I have found that the temp drops to about 330F and will stay there for about 15-20 minutes. It will start to rise slowly after that. It reaches 350F after about 30-35 minutes. Adjust the burner to hold it at 350 for the remaining time. The times and temperatures may vary slightly based on your setup and the volume of grease used. This is just a ballpark figure of what will mostly likely happen. The idea is to keep it between the 325 and 350 for the 40 minutes. Remove from the oil and let it drip for a moment or two. You can cut and serve if you are ready, however, most of the time no one is really ready since it takes so little time to cook. I wrap mine in foil and put it in a towel for around 20 minutes which is actually recommended. This also gives you some buffer time as the last of the items are set at the table and people gather. I have kept mine up to an hour and the turkey is still piping hot, however, I don't recommend more than 20 minutes. Do NOT cut up the entire turkey and put it on a plate and pass. Cut the turkey and serve each person per request. This way everyone gets to enjoy a fresh cut piece. The nice thing about the short time is that you can cook the first turkey and wrap it, put the second one in and after 40 minutes you can have two turkeys. You can season them two different ways or make one plain and one seasoned, etc. depending on who you are serving. Enjoy! this is txt file