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Should You Deep Fry A Turkey Around Kids?

by Ni'Kesia Pannell

When I was a kid, we never had turkey for Thanksgiving. I know that may sound shocking to many but. in my family, eating turkey was just out of the ordinary. My mom, who always cooked big meals, would whip up up a tasty ham instead. Though I'm not quite clear if my mom was reluctant because she wasn't sure if you should deep fry a turkey around kids or if she just didn't care for it then, it seemed as if once we got older, she started introducing it to our Thanksgiving menu.

Since we now have both ham and turkey for Thanksgiving, I've tried talking my mom into getting a deep fryer for the turkey every year. Although it never works, because my mom is so worried about injuries (to be fair, I am pretty clumsy and would probably trip into the vat.) And, now that we have my niece around, there's even more care that we have to take if we do decide to deep fry our turkey in the future.

To be honest though, deep frying a turkey can be really dangerous. According to Serious Eats, you should never use an outdoor frying setup to deep fry indoors or vice versa. There's a reason why the fryer was made to be used for a certain location, so you should adhere to that. In addition, you should never leave your deep fryer unattended. Boiling grease can cause serious harm, so you should always be around to keep track of what's going on.

With that noted, there should never be a time where your children are near you while you are deep frying your turkey. The grease that you use can get up to 350 degrees, and there's no guarantee that no one will get hurt. Safer Child noted that if you choose to deep fry your turkey this year, it should be done outside and within 10 feet of your house. Although that won't prevent the turkey from catching fire, it will keep your house and all that's in it safe. The same site also noted that you should keep an eye on the temperature of your turkey as any spike in temperature could mean trouble.

If you do choose to deep fry a turkey this Thanksgiving also be sure to be careful when you go to touch it because the extreme temperature is a burn hazard. Likewise, make sure that you have a fire extinguisher and burn kit handy just in case things take a turn for the worse.

Whether you're planning to deep fry this year or keeping it reserved for a few years down the line, just make sure you take all the precautions that you can to ensure everyone's safety for the Thanksgiving holiday.