Funny PSA highlights real dangers of deep-frying a turkey the wrong way
I personally did not love turkey until my older brother got a deep fryer and dished up smoked, fried turkey. Wow.
So I’m just the messenger. But that message is important. Deep-frying a turkey the wrong way is dangerous. So if you don’t know how to do it, don’t do it.
A new, viral and very funny PSA warning about turkey frying from the Consumer Product Safety Commission emphasizes the need to “cook the turkey, not your home.”
Cook the turkey, not your home. pic.twitter.com/XQS0BkVshR
— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) November 16, 2023
It’s been dubbed Turkenheimer by a wag commenting on the video, a nod to the movie “Oppenheimer.” Because who doesn’t love things that blow up? Especially when there are snacks.
But the truth is, houses have burned because people deep-fried a whole turkey.
Humor aside, the safety commission warns that people need to stay close by if they’re deep-frying a bird, because “unattended cooking” has led to house fires. And it says dumping raw, unthawed turkey into already-hot oil is a common cause of house fires this time of year.
Experts suggest that the bird should be fried in pieces, not as a whole turkey plunged in a pool of hot oil.
Newsweek reported last year that “deep-fried turkeys cause an average of five deaths, 60 injuries and over $15 million in property damage every year, according to the New York City Fire Department. When done improperly, deep frying can lead to exploding birds, oil burns and dangerous fires.”
The article further said that “an average of 2,300 fires in residential building fires were reported on each Thanksgiving Day between 2017 and 2019, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Cooking was by far the leading cause of all Thanksgiving Day fires, according to the agency.”
Not all of them were related to frying turkeys.
Related
CNN reminds folks who deep-fry that the turkey needs to be thawed and dry. The pot must not contain too much hot oil. And the frying should be done far from structures, lest they burn down.
You also probably don’t want calling a plumber to be part of the festivities. So dispose of the oil properly and not down the drain.
The Asbury Park Press gathered some other tips ahead of Thanksgiving to avoid dinner-related problems, including scraping all food scraps from dishes, utensils and pans before washing them.
The Lakewood Fire Department told the Asbury Park Press to stay in the kitchen when things are cooking and keep flammable items away from the stove. It also recommends making sure that smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors work, keeping candles away from flammable materials and not leaving them unattended.
Finally, have an escape plan in case something goes wrong.
Do all that, then enjoy the holiday.
