Thanksgiving cooking, the safe way

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chad Padgett
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  With the tree leaves slowly changing to reds and browns and the morning air getting that winter chill, it is feeling more and more like Thanksgiving, which means turkey, family, friends and a lot of cooking.

Have a safe and healthy holiday with the following tips suggested by Team Dover members.

"People should thaw their turkeys in the fridge, rather than letting them sit out on the counter," said Master Sgt. James Crampton, 436th Force Support Squadron food service section chief. "Turkeys left to sit out on the counter to thaw have a better chance of forming bacteria. A turkey will unthaw at about five pounds a day, so a 15 pound turkey would take three days to unthaw."

A turkey should be cooked until the internal temperature is 165 degrees fahrenheit. Many turkeys come with a pop-up thermometer, but this should still be verified with a meat thermometer for safety.

"A lot of people are experimenting with deep frying turkeys," said Staff Sgt. Carolina Angulo, 436th Force Support Squadron dining facility. "This can be dangerous if they don't thaw the turkey first. Putting a frozen turkey in a deep fryer will cause a fire and will not only ruin the food, but could result in a trip to the emergency room."

If someone is unsure of how much oil to use when deep frying a turkey, one tip is to fill the fryer with water first and lower the turkey in. If the water spills out, make a note of the water level when you take the turkey out. Clean out the fryer, dry the turkey and then use oil.

Also, make sure that the fryer is on solid, level ground away from both the house and anywhere small children may be playing.

"If the cooking grease does catch fire, it's important that people remain calm," said Staff Sgt. Jepthy Fellabaum, 436th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department. "They'll want to put the lid on the pan to smother out the fire, never use water as it will only make the fire bigger. Metal lids are better than glass, glass lids can break under the heat of a grease fire. Never try to move a pan with a grease fire, a lot of people are burned every year by the grease that splashes on them because they tried to move the pan. It's also always important to have a full fire extinguisher placed somewhere in the kitchen."

Some kitchen tips are easily over-looked, such as not wearing loose clothing or jewelry while cooking, or never leaving the cooking food unattended.

With these simple tips, Team Dover members can enjoy a safe and memorable Thanksgiving.