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Community Corner

Safely Deep-Frying a Holiday Bird

Deep-frying a turkey can be delicious but dangerous without the right safety tools.

Each year, families gather around a roasted or baked turkey for the holidays. Some families decide to go outside of the box and deep-fry turkeys for the holidays, which is when things get more serious.

I grew up with my dad frying turkeys for the holidays. As newlyweds, my wife and I will fry a turkey for our first Thanksgiving together and may continue the tradition.

Several dangers can mount from deep-frying a turkey, though. More than 4,000 fires occur on Thanksgiving across the country, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

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Therefore, in order to ensure a safe holiday season, we’re showing how to safely deep-fry a turkey.

In order to reinforce the safety issues, we teamed up with to give step-by-step safety tips.

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Here are a few tips for deep-frying a turkey.

  • Make sure that the turkey is completely thawed out before frying. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises 24 hours for every four to five pounds.
  • Remember to remove the neck, giblets and timer in the turkey before frying.
  • When preparing the turkey, you can season it or buy a flavor-injector system sold in grocery stores such as and .
  • When taking the turkey out of the fryer, make sure the temperature reaches the recommended temperature of 165˚F, as recommended by the USDA.
  • Always refer back to your manufacturer’s manual for all questions, concerns and instructions.

Have a wonderful—and safe—holiday season.

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