METAIRIE, La. (WGNO)— It is a Thanksgiving tradition, the Dawnbusters Kiwanis Club and Krewe of Carrollton deep-fried more than 1,000 turkeys for Thanksgiving.
It is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year and known as the “World’s Largest Turkey Fry.” WGNO’s Kenny spent the day with the Dawnbusters Kiwanis Club and Krewe of Carrollton to see how they do it!
This large-scale turkey fry operation has been going on for 25 years and it continues to grow year after year.
“Our crews got here at 1 a.m. and started frying at 2 a.m.,” Mel Dussel with the Dawnbusters Kiwanis Club said.
The day before Thanksgiving is a busy day for the Dawnbusters Kiwanis Club and the Krewe of Carrollton. Together they are frying 1,050 turkeys, all part of their annual Thanksgiving turkey fry at the Sheet Metal Worker’s Union building in Metairie.
“This is the largest turkey fry in the world, self-proclaimed by the way,” Dussel said.
He said, “First of all the turkeys are injected with Cajun seasonings, then it is deep fried, you really have to know what you are doing to deep fry turkeys.”
Three turkeys go in each pot, there are 20 pots, and then the tasty turkeys are rotated every 45 minutes.
“We pull them out, the guys bring them and dunk them and keep time and keep track of the time the birds will cook, so that everything works to a science,” Chris LeRouge with the Krewe of Carrollton said.
“After a thousand turkeys your arms are a little sore tomorrow,” Mathhew Cotayn with the Krewe of Carrollton said.
For these guys all this hard work is worth it.
“100 percent of proceeds goes to our service projects throughout the year. We don’t keep a penny,” Dussel said.
Even local leaders are gobbling up these turkeys and they say they past the taste test.
“This is an annual tradition for my family. It is the reason why I don’t know how to cook a turkey because I’ve been buying turkeys here. They are delicious,” Cynthia Lee Sheng, Jefferson Parish President said.
Every year they are looking for more volunteers to help out. This year they had about 200 volunteers.
“I love getting together for a good cause and having lots of fun,” Cotayn said.
According to the National Turkey Federation, 88 percent of Americans eat turkey for Thanksgiving. 46-million birds are the main dish for the Thanksgiving meal.
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