Frying a turkey this Thanksgiving? Here are some tips to stay safe

By Imelda García, The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

DALLAS — Frying a turkey connected Thanksgiving is simply a contented that has gained traction successful caller years, but preparing it correctly is vital.

Thanksgiving is the highest time for location cooking fires successful the U.S., with astir 3 times much fires than the regular average, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

“Turkey fryers that usage cooking lipid are mostly unsafe; they usage ample amounts of lipid astatine precocious temperatures, which tin origin superior burns,” said Jason Evans, spokesperson for the Dallas Fire Department. “If you privation a fried turkey for your Thanksgiving meal, it is recommended that you acquisition 1 from a store oregon edifice oregon bargain a fryer that does not usage cooking oil.”

So what are immoderate tips for safely frying a turkey astatine home?

The Dallas Fire Department has immoderate ways to trim hazard of a occurrence oregon pain injuries erstwhile it comes to deep-frying a turkey this Thanksgiving:

• Never permission your fryer unattended.
• Place your fryer connected a level, non-flammable surface, specified arsenic a factual patio. Deep fryers tin beryllium easy tipped implicit and the unfastened occurrence combined with cooking lipid tin easy ignite adjacent combustibles.
• Never usage a fryer successful a garage.
• Do not overfill the fryer. An overfilled cookware volition origin the lipid to spill erstwhile the turkey is placed inside, expanding the occurrence risk.
• Always deterioration protective cooking cogwheel to see covering your hands up to your elbows and oculus protection.
• Ensure your turkey is thawed retired earlier placing it successful the heavy fryer. Frying a frozen turkey volition origin the lipid to splatter.
• Turkey fryers overheat easily, truthful cheque the somesthesia with a thermometer to verify it is astatine the close temperature.
• Gently spot your turkey successful the heavy fryer – ne'er flip oregon driblet it in.
• Keep children and pets distant from your fryer.
• Turn disconnected the burner erstwhile finished cooking.
• Always support a grease-fire-approved extinguisher adjacent successful lawsuit of fire.

U.S. Fire Administration information bespeak that each twelvemonth betwixt 2017 and 2019, determination was an mean of 2,300 residential fires connected Thanksgiving caused by cooking accidents. These fires caused an estimated yearly mean of 5 deaths, 25 injuries and $26 cardinal successful spot loss.

The astir communal origin of these fires was leaving the stove unattended portion cooking.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, Christmas, the time earlier Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas Eve are the different highest days down Thanksgiving for cooking fires successful immoderate fixed year.

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