After moving into an apartment several years ago, I've longed for a fried turkey. I use to fry a turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas for friends and family. Sometimes frying up to four in a outdoor propane fryer. I looked online and found the electric turkey fryer and I must admit I was a little bit of a skeptic. I went from site to site reading as many reviews as I could. After reading many positive reviews I decided to order one for my mother and one for myself. I fried several one pound Cornish Hens and battered chicken wings that took less than 10 minutes to cook. Then as a trial I bought a 12.20 pound turkey fried it and had co-workers as my testers before I cooked the final product for thanksgiving diner at a friend's house. The turkey fit perfectly in the basket, dropped right in. The 2 1/2 gallons of peanut oil took about 40 minutes to heat and the turkey took 51 minutes took cook. I just flipped the turkey out of the pan (it didn't stick to the bottom at all), and the skin was nice and crispy everyone loved it.
The only problem I see is, because this is an Extra Large unit make sure you look at the dimensions and take measurements to make sure you have adequate counter space. Unlike the regular size electric turkey fryer that fries up to 14 pounds the top doesn't fold in half so with low hanging cabinets, usage can be a problem. I had to purchase a small table to sit out from the counter, and because of the short cord I needed a 10 gauge extension cord (which isn't recommended) but I didn't have a choice with the small space of an apartment kitchen. Plus I wish it had the inset handles on the side like the regular version for easy pick up, but I was able to slide my hands under the bottom and move it with ease. Also, the XL fryer advertises that you can fry a 20 pound turkey but the directions recommend no more than an 18 pound turkey. I found Masterbuilt's instructional videos on the website and on YouTube very helpful while waiting for my product to be delivered.
Also if you are like me and usually scan usage instructions, DON'T! Read the instructions carefully on set up, use and cleaning before you use this product.
Otherwise, I highly recommend the product and look forward to using it many more times.
