It’s that time of year when family and friends gather to celebrate family traditions, or perhaps, start new ones. Worn recipe cards are pulled from their tucked away place, and testing new found googled recipes add an extra twist to the menu. Still for most, the turkey is the centerpiece of the table setting. Roasting turkeys in large roaster pans and in bags inside of the pans has been joined in recent years by the increasingly popular method of frying the Thanksgiving turkey.
Propane turkey fryers have sent many roasting pans into retirement. The fryers are used outdoors, but they can also be a safety hazard according to the National Fire Protection Association which recommends that only properly trained professionals who are using professional grade equipment operate these appliances. Propane turkey fryers use a substantial quantity of cooking oil at high temperatures. This poses significant danger that hot oil will be released when in the cooking process and the burners can ignite spilled oil causing a very high risk of burn injuries.
Safety First
According to a recent report published by the U.S. Fire Administration, an estimated 2,000 Thanksgiving Day home fires occur mostly between noon and 4 p.m. every year across the U.S. The leading cause of the fires-cooking. Sources say keep the following in mind if you decide to use a propane turkey fryer:
- Turkeys should be fully thawed, patted dry, and slowly lowered into the fryer, not dropped in quickly. An overfilled cooking pot will cause cooking oil to spill when the turkey is put in, and a partially frozen turkey will cause cooking oil to splatter when put in the pot.
- The oil should be at the manufacturer’s recommended setting and should not be above the recommended fill level in the pot. Without thermostat controls, deep fryers can overheat oil to the point of starting a fire.
- Do not leave the fryer set-up unattended and be prepared to be outside for several hours, even if it’s cold; and
- Do not use an outdoor fryer propane tank indoors
Every day, we at Terrell • Hogan, represent victims of personal injury and wrongful death as they seek justice, and lawsuits we have pursued have prompted safety changes. However, that came after the incidents, accidents and injuries happened. We believe it is important to try to help prevent injuries and wrongful deaths. One way is to publish information about consumer safety.
Burns From Consumer-Grade Deep Fryers
Turkey frying danger demonstrated; leave it to the experts, safety officials say
