The secret to a great deep-fried Thanksgiving turkey is very simple and direct: 3 minutes a pound, 340 degrees.

The optimal size for a turkey that is to be fried is 10-12 pounds. Anything more than that will work, but the presentation won’t be as good and you run the risk of the inside not being cooked through.

Not all oils will work for frying a turkey. Select an oil with a high smoke point — that’s the point at which the oil will start to break down or worse. Peanut oil is the standard oil, but if you have peanut allergies or you just want to go in another direction, cottonseed oil works fine.

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Figuring out how much oil you’ll need to cover the bird without it overflowing the pot is critical. But it’s pretty easy.

Fill you turkey fryer to about half way with plain old tap water. Dunk the bird (still in the plastic) into the pot. You’ll need about 3 inches of freeboard above the oil to prevent boil over, something nobody wants.

Mark the side of the pot or make a mental note as to the fill line.

Thaw your turkey COMPLETELY. This may seem elementary to any turkey-cooking process, including baking or smoking. But it’s especially critical when frying, because you don’t want any ice anywhere in the bird.

Completely thaw the bird at least 24 hours before you plan to cook.

Now, the fun starts. You can drop the turkey just as it comes from the store into the grease and everything will be fine. But would you not want to turn up the volume a bit if you could?

There are a number of commercial injections available on the market. I like the ones sold under the brand name Cajun Injections, but you can choose any you like.

Or, you can make your own solution. Back in the day before there were so many on the market, I used to mix a combination of liquid garlic, Tabasco and butter to make a pretty good potion.

Using the large injector needle that comes with many of the brands, fill the bird up with the juice. But do it in the right way.

Season the outside of the bird with Tony Chachere’s seasoning or some other suitable seasoning; salt and pepper works fine. Don’t over do it because most of the flavor will be on the inside.

After you season it, wrap the bird with plastic wrap or place it into a giant resealable plastic bag. Place it in the refrigerator overnight or until it’s ready to cook. In a pinch, eight hours will be plenty, but overnight is optimal.

Since frying is best done out of doors, this means ridding the surrounding area of anything that might catch fire, get in the way or otherwise cause you to have to call for help from the authorities.

Send the kids into the house, put the dog in his pen and alert the neighbors to what’s about to happen.

Part of what makes this process work is the use of a large heat-producing device that is most often powered with propane gas. A fish cooker or other outdoor cooker is fine; the little one that comes on the side of your gas grill most often won’t generate enough heat to get the job done.

After you’ve secured the area, placed the burner on a clean, smooth surface and checked on the kids, fill the pot with oil to the line you marked yesterday and fire up the burner. Take it easy on the flame, too much too fast is hard to control.

Insert the long-handled thermometer that came with the special turkey-frying kit into the oil and check it frequently. When it reaches 340-350 degrees it is ready for the bird. (Remember the 340 degrees in the secret handshake? This is it.)

You will also find in the box a weird harness device that looks sort of like a coat hanger on a long rod. Thread the bird onto the device head first and slowly, SLOWLY, lower it into the oil.

When the bird is totally immersed, remove the coat hanger device and select your most able friend or the most trusted member of the dining party and assign him the task of being the official time keeper.

Now comes the other part of the fryers code, the 3 minutes per pound. Fry the bird according to that simple formula and things will be just swell.

Once the bird is in and the timekeeper is at his post, you will note that the temperature of the oil will drop fast, sometimes as much as 25 degrees. This is normal and expected so don’t panic. The oil will slowly begin to creep up on it’s own so don’t go firing up the grill full blast to make up the difference.

Be patient and wait. If it’s a really cold day or your burner isn’t performing properly, you might have to bump the heat up just a smidgen. Again, don’t go crazy.

Don’t let the temperature get higher than 360 degrees. Peanut oil is good stuff but you can burn it and you don’t want that.

After the appointed time, use the coat hanger contraption to slowly and with great care remove the bird from the oil. A pair of long-sleeved oven mitts work well in this situation to keep from being splattered by the oil.

Allow it to drain for a few seconds before placing it onto a platter that’s been lined with paper towels.

It’s a good idea to check the internal temperature at this point to see if she’s cooked through. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thigh at the thickest part, being careful not to hit bone. It should be 180 degrees; if not, return it to the pot for a few more minutes of cooking.

You can also cut into the joint between the leg and thigh and if the juices are clear (no blood) it’s cooked. Remove the rod from the turkey, cover with aluminum foil and place bird number two into the grease and repeat the process from that point.

If you plan to eat it right away, let it rest for about 10 minutes.