CAJUN FRYER RECIPES

Steps:

• Evening Prior: Get your injector needle and set aside. Strain the Italian dressing to catch items too big for the injector needle. Melt the butter and add to the strained dressing.
• Take a handful of your favorite Cajun seasonings and add to marinade (I prefer Tony's Chachere's (TM) Creole seasoning, Chef Paul Prudhomme's® blackened seasoning, Zatarins® Creole seasoning, Cajun Shake seasonings, or any Cajun spice I can get my hands on).
• Add onion powder and garlic powder to taste. You can also purchase Cajun Injector seasoning from the store. The new latest and greatest is to buy the capsules filled with seasonings that you stuff into the meat like a roast. Once you start cooking the meat, the capsule melts and distributes flavor into the body of meat.
• Use the injector to inject marinade into the breasts, thighs, and wings. Stick the needle all the way in. As you slowly pull out, slowly press and inject spices into the chicken. Inject from multiple angles for maximum coverage.
• The more you use, the juicier the chicken will be when you cook it. Also, rub seasoning on the outside of the chicken, under the skin, and the inside cavity as well.
• Place chicken, legs up, on holder and place inside plastic oven roasting bag and chill overnight in an ice chest with a little ice.
• Morning of: Fill fryer approximately 1/3 with oil (you don't need peanut oil, but once you try it, you won't use anything else. It also smokes less).
• Dip chicken (while in the plastic bag) in oil and fill/drain as needed. Oil should just cover the top of chicken or chickens. Ensure you have a hole at the top of the plastic bag. Otherwise the bag will expand with air and you will not get an accurate reading. Take the chicken out of oil and place back in cooler.
• An alternative is to use water the previous day prior to seasoning/injecting chicken. Dip chicken in water and mark the level. Empty water and dry the pot. Then pour oil to that spot. I don't like doing it this way as we all know water and oil don't mix if the pot is not completely dried. :o)
• Ready to cook: Heat oil to 300°-350°F (it takes approximately 20 minutes). Remove chicken from plastic wrap and place in oil. Oil should drop to 300°F. Ensure you keep the temperature between 300°-350°F, but the closer to middle the better. Cook 2-3 minutes per pound. Never, ever cover pot with lid! You will have much more on your hands than a “smokin' Cajun chicken“...
• Remove and let the chicken rest before carving. One reader Darren comments: I have used both - restaurant fryers and propane burner and pot. In our restaurant we have a Vulcan commercial deep fryer and when we cater at outdoor events we use a propane burner with a pot. Regardless what they use as long as the temp of the oil, peanut is best, is 350 degrees at all times a whole chicken, between 4.75 lbs and 5 lbs takes from 42 to 45 minutes. It takes 9 min per lb for a chicken, Cornish game hen, pheasant, etc. It takes 3 min per lb for a whole turkey and 7 1/2 min per lb for just a turkey breast. The time varies depending on the type of oil you use but that is only a minute or two of the total frying time. Take my word for it. I know for a fact about my deep frying times.

Steps:

• Preheat the air fryer to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Rinse and dry salmon fillets with a paper towel. Mist fillets with cooking spray. Combine Cajun seasoning and brown sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle onto a plate. Press flesh sides of fillets into the seasoning mixture.
• Spray the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray and place salmon fillets skin-side down. Mist salmon again lightly with cooking spray.
• Cook for 8 minutes. Remove from air fryer and let rest for 2 minutes before serving.