MasterBuilt Turkey Fryer Reviews – Is it a Good Fryer for the Money?

Pros

Extremely versatile
Excellent basket drain clip
Drain valve for easy cleaning
Built specifically for turkey frying, but can be used for other items

Cons

Short power cord, must be close to outlet
Takes close to an hour to pre-heat oil

When Masterbuilt and Butterball get together to design a product, it has to do with turkeys. Masterbuilt Butterball Indoor Gen III Deep Fryer is an 11 quart monster that can easily accommodate your next Thanksgiving bird, and anything else you would like to throw in it. And all that in the comfort of your kitchen.

Description

Masterbuilt Butterball Indoor Gen III Deep Fryer takes all the hassle out of preparing a large holiday party. This safe and trouble-free fryer can cook 20 pound turkey in less than four minutes per pound. This incredible speed is enabled by the 1,650 Watt electric heating element, and heating temperature is controlled by a built-in thermostat. The space-saving design makes this large home appliance easy to place on an average kitchen counter, without having to pull up a special trolley.

Masterbuilt Butterball Indoor Gen III Deep Fryer is much more than just a fryer – it can also be used to steam vegetables or boil seafood.

This product comes in three versions: large, extra large and oil-free. This review covers deep fryers with oil only since the oil-free version is significantly different.

Pros of the MasterBuilt Fryer

Cooks very fast – turkeys up to 20 lbs get cooked in 3 to 4 minutes per lbs.
The fryer has an aluminum cooking basket that has a drain clip (it hangs at the edge of the pot before being taken out).
Square design does not take as much counter space as the round or oval one.
It has a drain valve for used oil to allow for easy cleaning.
Cooking requires less than three gallons of cooking oil.
Extremely versatile – it can be used for deep frying, steaming and boiling.
It has shut-off valve if temperature gets too high – over 375°F.
Very simple use with analogue temperature set-up and thermostat control.
Uses 33 percents less oil than other deep fryers.

Cons

Cord is too short.
It takes almost one hour to pre-heat the oil.

Technical Specs

14.8 x 16.14 x 14.80 inches ; 19.62 lb

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Customer Reviews

Masterbuilt Butterball Indoor Gen III Deep Fryer is one of the most popular kitchen appliances on Amazon. Of 523 customers who left their review, 368 gave it five stars. General consensus is that this fryer makes the best fried turkey ever – with wonderfully crispy skin and juicy tender meat.

Happy To Be Here loves her new fryer and has only one problem: it makes it tempting to fry food all the time, what her doctor would not recommend.

Zorknoft wrote that she cooked her 12 pounds turkey in 48 minutes only, and that it tasted wonderfully even without any seasoning or marinade.

Busyaunt reported great success with everything the family fried in her new Masterbuilt Deep Fryer – from wings to fish and home-made chips. They also tried steaming by putting a bit of water into the pot instead of oil, and it worked great for corn and potatoes.
steven schumann wrote that it takes very long time to heat the oil and that frying takes longer than in a propane deep fryer, but that the results are worth it.
Shingles did not have much luck with her Masterbuilt deep fryer – the turkey got stuck to the basket and she spilled oil all over the kitchen when trying to take it out.

Final Take: The Best Turkey Fryer on the Market?

Masterbuilt Butterball Indoor Gen III Deep Fryer is so good that it was almost impossible to find any cons for this review. Users reported great success in frying almost anything, but the holiday turkeys really make the investment in this fairly large appliance worth it.

After relatively slow start while the oil heats, cooking of a 12 pounds turkey is a breeze and it takes less than one hour. Frying is safe and easy, but the large quantity of oil might make your home smell of oil for a while. Some reviewers found a solution for this by using peanut oil, which has low smoking temperature.

Most reviewers commented that the food fried in this fryer is so delicious that it leads to the temptation to fry all the food all the time, what would not be a good idea, especially for people with high cholesterol. But, the solution for them is to use the steaming feature of the Masterbuilt Butterball deep fryer – just put a bit of water at the bottom of the pot instead of oil. Of course, it would not work for your Thanksgiving turkey, it would be a sin to steam that, but it is a good idea from time to time when you start feeling too guilty for eating too much fried shrimps, fried chicken wings, fried pork chops, fried potatoes…

Overall, the Masterbuilt Deep Fryer (Gen III) is an excellent investment if you like fried food, and especially if you often host large holiday parties.