This is kind of an impulse idea that we got earlier... i have an aluminum presto pressure cooker (can practically hold about 5L of liquid) and we are interested in frying maybe like 5 pounds of bird. We don't have a propane source and I was going to put it on a hot plate on our back patio.
Will this work? I know real deep-fryers are like 20-30 quarts which is wayyy more than what we have, but we are looking to serve 4 or 5 people, and I'm not by any means "serious about deep frying" so I don't want to go buy a $150 kit. What kind of oil would be best to use? How long should I cook something this small? like 2-3 minutes per pound?

If you havnt noticed, I know very little about frying large items, so any other tips ppl have to offer would be great. I know we won't turn out any prize winning piece of meat, but if we can make something "good" then I'll be happy.

thanks
-Jon

i just talked to someone about it and they think we should just use the stove inside and cover the pot. we originally thought this would be messy and a bad idea, but maybe its a better idea since the kitchen at working level is a more controlled environment than the patio at ground level? and i dunno if the hot plate would get enough heat into the oil

Deep frying turkeys is really 'in' right now. I bet you could find dozens of sites with good information on google if you do a quick search.

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I'd be sure to check on the vessel you're using. A regular pressure cooker, to my knowledge, isn't designed for deep frying, so you'll want to make sure you have the right equipment.

High heat, oil, and high pressure don't sound like things to screw about with unless you like visits to the burn unit, so do your research.

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pressure cookers work by making steam.
steam is made from water.
you dont use water when deep frying
there will be no pressure in the pot

Except for all that steam escaping from the bird as it fries, right?

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if theres enough water to create enough pressure for it to work, i think the bird lose a lot of water by then

Wait - we need to know if he's just going to fry the bird or if he wants to put on the lid on the pressure cooker to pressure-fry (ie KFC) the bird, which is apparently highly dangerous to do.

If deep frying, use any oil, I've seen peanut oil used, but veg oil is cheaper and rapeseed oil is healthier. I don't know if a hotplate is good enough, you want to keep the oil as hot as possible for a crispy finish, so you need a good heat source and lots of oil around the cookee.

Also bear in mind that hot oil will burn your skin in such a way that you look like KFC, no girl wants a freaky hubby, so be careful.

If the bird goes down into the oil raw, yeah, it'll expend a fair amount of water. Assuming that the machine used to cook it has a proper seal, plenty of pressure will be built up by plenty of steam of escaping.

The bigger issue is not overcooking the bird and having a Thanksgiving Artery Clog Special because the bird absorbed too much of the oil by being overcooked.

(That being aside from finding a proper vessel to do the cooking in.)

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"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the pig." --Robert Heinlein
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Captain Douche here, reporting from the South that every thanksgiving since this became the cool thing to do, news reports have covered house (and more often trailer home) fires started by turkey fryers. You been warned