11/27/2025
Happy Thanksgiving, to you and yours!
HighVoltage https://hv247.com/Electric would like to share with you a little-known recipe for Tenderizing A 10lb Turkey by Benjamin Franklin the American way, with electricity!
December 1750—WARNING YOU SHOULD NOT TRY THIS!
It seems Benjamin like to impress his parlor guest with electricity “electric Fire” and he wanted to throw an electricity-themed dinner party. "A turkey is to be killed for our dinner by the electric shock, and roasted by the electrical jack, before a fire kindled by the electrified bottle," Franklin wrote to Collinson. Guests would drink their wine from electrically charged glasses so they would receive a subtle shock with every sip.
It's not clear if Franklin ever hosted such an elaborate dinner party, but we do know that he experimented with electrocuting various fowl using six-gallon Leyden jars. A Leyden jar is basically a glass jar partially filled with water, with a conducting wire sticking out of its cork. The jar was charged by exposing the end of the wire to an electric spark generated by friction—created by, say, rotating a glass plate so that it rubbed against leather pads. There were no standard units of electricity back then, but modern estimates indicate that a pint-sized Leyden jar would have had the energy of about 1 joule.
He experimented on killing chickens but when he tried turkeys, they would seem dead then only to come back to life. Ben was a hard charger lol, he just added more electric fire until he achieved the desired result, a dead turkey. Ben combined several Leyden jars to successfully kill a 10-pound turkey, writing to Collinson that "the birds killed in this matter eat uncommonly tender."
But alas, when preforming this act in 1750 seems Ben forgot his safety protocol. In a letter dated 25 December 1750, Franklin described the unfortunate episode: “I have lately made an experiment in electricity that I desire never to repeat. Two nights ago, being about to kill a Turkey by the Shock from two large Glass Jars, containing as much electrical fire as forty common Phials, I inadvertently took the whole thro’ my own Arms & Body, by receiving the fire from the united Top Wires with one hand, while the other held a chain connected with the outsides of both Jars.”
Although Franklin never lost consciousness, his arm tingled with numbness for the remainder of the evening, and his chest felt sore for the next few days.
Here is what Ben thinks to be the best recipe for a succulent tender Turkey.
Franklin recommended a battery of six large glass Leyden jars to electrocute and tenderize a 10-pound turkey or a lamb. Each jar held 20 to 24 pints (9 to 11 liters). Having learned from his own mistakes, he ended his letter with a warning: “The one who does the operation must be very aware, lest it happen to him, accidentally or inadvertently, to mortify his own flesh instead of that of his hen.”
Here at https://hv247.com we are going to stick to our safety protocol and cook our turkey the more traditional way, and buy our hen from a store ready to cook, we would suggest you take that route also. Or you could study electricity with a professional and learn about electrical flow and grounding, then attempt your own experiments with electricity and cooking. But not everyone is a book learner and somebody will try this in some form or fashion, you are on your own. May we suggest a few things you might consider or need before you’re sure to fail attempt.
1. live Turkey approx. 10lb maybe less?
2. 6 Large glass Leyden Jars or (capacitor equivalent)
3. A way to charge your jars or capacitor
4. A friend to dial 911
5. May we suggest dielectric boots or shoes
6. Insulated Gloves
7. An arc flash face shield
8. A gym mat to break you fall
9. A large plastic sheet for the floor beneath to catch any body fluids yours or the birds
10. A extra change of under garments
11. And last but not least please film this, as it will get plenty of likes, and I need to archive the attempt to add to our warning, and safety do(s) and don’t(s)
Please have a fun and safe thanksgiving and call a professional if you have electrical problems. During this time many will be installing Christmas lights again if it seems like you have put too much on an outlet you probably have, call a professional and ask or send us a PM and we will try to answer your question. Happy Thanksgiving.
