Thanksgiving: How to Fry Turkey Safely

WJHG/WECP/

Before making your way to the kitchen to prepare your Thanksgiving feast, the Panama City Fire Department wants to talk turkey with you.

The Panama City Fire Department says you should start thawing your turkey 24 hours before you plan on deep frying it, to prevent fires and burns. (WJHG/WECP)

If you’re frying your turkey this year, you’ll want to make sure you completely thaw it out before cooking it, so you can avoid burning yourself or catching your home on fire.

“What we saw here is this grease overflows, and it’s in excess temperatures of 400 degrees, so if that gets on you, that’s going to burn you severely and you’re going to have to go to one of the local burn units in Florida or Alabama,” says Howard Demro, Panama City Fire Department.

Once you completely thaw your turkey, frying should always be done outside and away from children and pets.

“You want to have your fryer far away from the house, typically about 30 feet away from any children or pets, anything that might get grease on it,” said Graham Tolbert, Panama City Fire Department.

“Dogs, I have a big dog, I’m sure everybody else does, he’s a big, old clumsy thing. If I do this when he’s in the backyard, he’s going to run into it… I have two kids, a 10-year-old and a four-year-old, and it’s the same thing, I have to make sure they’re inside when we fry our turkey at home,” Demro said.

The Panama City Fire Department also said you should be careful to not overfill the turkey fryer with oil.

“Also when lowering the turkey, you want to turn the propane tank off so that the flame is not active at that point, and you want to slowly lower the turkey in, and then you can turn the flame back on,” Demro added.

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