Recently I was in attendance at an all-day meeting and during a break in between sessions, a couple of colleagues and myself started bantering about a number of Holiday mishaps which we have been witness to over the years.
Whether somewhat comical or extraordinarily serious, there seemed to be endless numbers of examples.
One tangent we drifted into had to do with what, when done safely, might possibly be the tastiest way to cook a turkey that I have ever had the pleasure of indulging in.
When not done safely, however, this particular cooking procedure of this Holiday stable, could quickly turn into complete disaster.
I am, of course, referring to deep frying a turkey.
There are no video shortages on the internet of deep frying a turkey gone bad.
Sometimes one has to wonder if some of these folks are doing this on purpose or are simply oblivious to the commonsense factor which one would think should go along with all this.
From deep frying a frozen turkey in a garage, to doing the same thing on a 2nd floor deck located two feet from the house, there are some approaches to tackling this method that seemingly defy logic.
I can honestly say that perhaps the most delicious turkey I have ever eaten, has been a deep-fried turkey prepared by an employee and friend who had passed away a while back (RIP Keith) – which was done in what I observed to be an impressively expert manner.
This was years ago, and I can still taste that delectable first bite as it absolutely melted in my mouth.
Although potentially dangerous, if proper steps are taken, deep frying a turkey can be surprisingly easy to do.
Just as on the internet there are numerous ways that exhibit an attempt at making this Holiday meal one to remember, which ends up turning into one that one might not like to remember, there are most likely just as many, if not more, showcases of how to correctly make this experience a good one!
We receive calls on occasion where we are asked to come in and help put back together an area that the person calling in may be a tad embarrassed about.
With the old adage of hindsight being 20/20, after someone sets fire to an area in their home while deep frying a turkey and has to call a contractor to help sew things back together, I assure you that the call is often made with the person’s tail surely being between their legs.
For when they look back on what they did, they typically openly acknowledge that it probably was not the smartest thing they have ever done.
Similar to anything else, many times when accidents occur with this angle of cooking a Holiday turkey, they often do so when someone is not following instructions which are right in front of them or while they are trying to take a shortcut.
A deep-fried turkey is not only a tasty alternative to other more traditional ways of cooking it, but also a much quicker way…unless of course your attempt goes wrong due to some foolish decision that could have easily been avoidable.
In a case like this, not only might you lose out on the main piece of your Holiday meal, but the loss may end up being much greater!
If you do choose to deep fry a turkey, please do so safely to ensure that you are truly able to enjoy the fruits of this unique way of cooking!!
Gobble! Gobble!!