Delicious, dangerous fried turkey

It’s finally Thanksgiving week, and that means buying that Thanksgiving turkey and deciding how to cook it. Depending on the outcome, that decision could prove dangerous.
Many people do fry turkeys on Thanksgiving, but according to the Panama City Fire Department, there are some rules cooks should follow when preparing.
Home Depot has the turkey fryers on display. That means its Thanksgiving. But those who choose to fry their turkey need to be careful. Karen Stubbs is one of Home Depot’s department managers. She says that the first rule is to thaw the turkey before frying it.
“When it hits the hot oil, it’s going to cause an explosion and it’s going to catch on fire,” Stubbs said. “Also, make sure you fill the oil to the correct level in the pot, which is only halfway full.”
There are two types of fryers most retail stores sell — the conventional oil fryer with a thermometer and a hook that lowers the turkey down into the hot oil, and a newer, infrared fryer fries using strictly heat, so it reduces the hazard. Stubbs compares it to “a crock pot. It fries your turkey in the heat rather than using the oil to cook it in.”
Panama City Fire Investigator Lt Jimmy Talley said fire departments get many calls on Thanksgiving due to grease fires caused by turkey fryers. In fact, he said, the National Fire Prevention Association doesn’t even recommend it.
“Turkeys are extremely large items to cook and the fryers are extremely large, so I want to make this point that NFPA does not recommend frying turkeys,” Talley said. “However, we all know that we’re going to do it so, I want to give a few safety tips.
“Never leave the fryer unattended, especially if you have children and pets. Keep the fryer at least 25 feet away from the house. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy. Never try to put out a grease fire with water.”
Many families put up Christmas decorations during the Thanksgiving holidays as well. Talley noted that dry Christmas trees help ignite house fires every Christmas season.
Residents who put up a Christmas tree must make sure it is watered every day, to keep it from drying out and becoming a fire hazard, he said.