Ravings of the Invisible

do not fill the pot with oil. the optimum seems to be between 1/5 and 1/4 full, depending on a: the volume of the pot, and b: the size of the bird. those suckers displace a greater valume than is apparent at first (or even third) glance, the oil will boil when you put the turkey in, and you do not want to be dumping hot oil all over your decking and possibly feet, depending on your upper-body strength - or worse, onto the propane burner under the pot.

another option is to put the bird in while everything is cold, add water to just cover it, then remove the bird. mark level, empty pot, fill to mark with oil, etc..