Each year, there are thousands of house fires, and trips to the emergency room for burns due to people incorrectly attempting to fry their Thanksgiving Turkey. Albeit a delicious way to cook your holiday bird, there is a right and a wrong way to go about it.
Ready to fry your Thanksgiving turkey? Here is the best way to go about it
- Make sure your turkey is completely thawed and or use a fresh turkey – NEVER attempt to deep fry a frozen one.
- Although this seems obvious, remove the wrapper and remove the innards – such as the neck and giblets from the turkey cavity.
- Pat your turkey dry, including the inside – do not skip this step. Water and hot oil do not mix.
- You can season the turkey to your heart’s content or even inject with oil-based flavorings.
- Tuck in the legs and wings for easy placement in your fryer.
- Fryers should ALWAYS be used outside – never inside.
- Never leave the fryer unattended because without any type of thermostat controls, the oil will continue to heat until it catches fire. When you are done cooking remember to turn off the propane, let the oil cool then discard.
- Never let children or pets near the fryer when in use or after use as the oil can splatter and remain hot for hours after your turkey is done
- Never put your fryer on a wood deck or close to your house or any other building – the chance of oil fires due to splatter are high.
- Do NOT exceed the maximum fill line of your turkey fryer – remember you are displacing a lot of volume when you put your turkey in the container. You do NOT want oil to spill over when you put your turkey in – it’s the biggest cause of burns and fire.
- Heat the oil to 375 degrees before putting your turkey in.
- Always wear heat resistance gloves when putting your turkey in, checking temps or removing your turkey from the fryer
- Keep your propane tank as far away from the fryer as possible.
- Once your oil is up to temp place the basket in the fryer for at least 30 seconds to get it up to temperature. Then remove the basket, place turkey in the basket and SLOWLY lower the turkey into the fryer.
- Cover your fryer and cook for 3-4 minutes PER pound. All the dark meat should have an internal temperature of 175-180 degrees and white meat 165-170 degrees. We suggest the digital thermometers with the long wires.
- Let the turkey sit for 20 minutes before carving – and enjoy!
At Baribault Fuel we always have your safety in mind – so please have a safe and wonderful holiday with family and friends!
