The holidays are nearly here which means one thing — it’s time for turkey! Whether you’re feeding a huge crowd or just the two of you, turkey is the main course of choice for many people. In recent years, deep frying turkey has become extremely popular. Unfortunately, it’s also extremely dangerous.
If dealing with a fire and a ruined meal isn’t your idea of a good time, here’s what you need to know.
Why Deep Frying Is a Bad Idea
It might be fun, interesting, or exotic to say you fried the turkey this year, but let’s take a real look at what that might mean — especially if things go wrong.
- You or someone else might get splattered with hot oil. The sheer amount of oil required to fry a turkey plus the moisture make splatters inevitable. If the splatter is a big one, the burn will be very bad.
- If the oil gets too hot, and there’s too much moisture, you could literally set your turkey and your deep fryer on fire. Fireballs at Thanksgiving aren’t as festive as you might imagine.
- You’ll be cooking outside, in the cold weather, at the end of November or December. And you can’t take your eyes off the fryer for even a minute! If the oil begins to smoke, and you don’t catch it in time, the next step is a fire. So you’re either freezing the entire time or you’re starting a fire.
- Clean up can be a pain. Deep fryers have a lot of equipment and use a lot of oil. You can’t even begin to clean everything up until the oil is completely cool.
- Your turkey might not be as tasty as you want it to be. Sure, the skin is crispy but the bird is usually dry after being fried.
- In case it wasn’t clear from our earlier warnings, people have and do accidentally set their homes on fire while frying a turkey.
It’s okay to want to do something different for the holidays. But don’t do anything that could set your house on fire.
Other Ways to Cook Your Turkey
You can cook a whole turkey or just the bits and pieces — the breast is popular, but turkey legs are an option, too. You can brine it, stuff it, and season it anyway you want. But instead of deep frying your turkey, try one of these methods.
- Oven-Roasted: This is the classic way to cook a turkey. When you see a picture of a beautifully browned turkey, it’s been roasted. You do have to be careful with how long you cook it or it can get dry.
- Crock Pot: You can’t cook a whole turkey in a Crock Pot, but if you’re just working with the breast or leg, it’s a great option. You won’t heat up your whole kitchen, and it’ll be moist and tender when it’s time to eat.
- Instant Pot: That’s right, the latest, greatest cooking tool can cook a turkey, too! The length of time will depend on the size of the bird, but if you’ve got it, why not use it!
- Smoked: Got a smoker? Pop your turkey in it for an out-of-this world flavor that guarantees some of the best next-day turkey sandwiches you’ve ever tasted.
- Grilled: If you’re determined to cook your bird outside, why not grill it instead? You can grill a breast or a whole bird. The important thing is to make sure your grill can maintain a steady temperature so that it cooks the turkey all the way through.
If you insist on deep-frying your turkey this year, check your home insurance coverage first. In case of a home fire, you need to have enough insurance to help you fully repair or rebuild whatever is destroyed.
Need more coverage or a better policy? Contact Charlotte Insurance for a free quote.