Turkey Frying - Safety First

We're going to fry our turkey again this year. I don't think I'd have ever even considered it until I saw Alton Brown's "Turkey Derrick."

When you consider the turkey frying act, it is fraught with danger. You have a tank of propane about 4 feet away from the culinary equivalent of a rocket engine, atop which you've placed 4-6 gallons of peanut oil which you have heated to about 300° Fahrenheit (150° Celsius for you foreigners), into which you're going to drop 16 pounds of room temperature, damp meat. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to be too close when that happens.

I don't yet have a picture of this year's festivities, but here's a picture from last year.



As you can see, the rope allows you full vertical control of the poultry from a safe distance. And, of course, if you're going to fry a turkey, please keep a fire extinguisher handy. The house you save will likely be your own.