Thaw the turkey all the way through first

Because ice becomes steam faster than the oil can make room for it. Many people say it in different words: water in the bird flashes to steam on contact with oil at frying temperature, the oil erupts over the rim, and the overflow meets the burner flame under the pot — one person warns of a fireball that burns people and structures, and one person warns that a partly frozen bird turns the oil into a burning mist. The rule is one sentence: do not fry a frozen or partly frozen turkey. Thawing takes days, not hours — the USDA’s rate, which this page carries as its own line since its pages could not be reached today, is about 24 hours in the fridge for every four to five pounds, and some people say a twenty-pound bird is a five-day job. In a hurry, the USDA’s cold-water method is about thirty minutes per pound with the bird in its wrapping and the water changed every thirty minutes; one person, a certified food handler, points out the water is changed to keep bacteria down, not just to move heat, and one person warns never use warm water for the same reason. One person says a microwave thaws but does not cook a whole turkey, and one person points out a frozen bird cannot be smoked either, because it sits too long in the temperature range where bacteria grow. Then dry: some people say pat the bird dry inside and out and make sure the pot is dry, because any water left does the same thing the ice does, smaller. Cooked means 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh, the USDA’s figure; people’s own cooking temperatures for the oil and the bird are gaps this page does not fill.

Measure with water first, many people say, and others agree: never guess. Two methods, and people argue which across some discussions — put the bird in the empty pot, cover it with water plus a margin, lift the bird out and mark the line; or fill with water first, lower the bird, and mark where the water rises. Either way the pot is then emptied and dried completely before oil goes anywhere near it. The margin matters: one person warns that cold oil takes up less room than hot, so a pot filled to the mark cold can overflow when it heats; another says the bird’s cavity does not fill until it is almost under, so you need more headroom than it looks. One person’s rig takes about five US gallons depending on the bird. Overfilling is one of the two ways the fire starts — people put it plainly, one person each: excess oil is a fire risk, excess water is a fire risk — and it is a rule in its own right. One person uses oils with a higher smoke point to cut flare-ups; which oil is best is otherwise not covered here.

Far from anything that burns, on level ground, with two people, and with the flame off when the bird goes in. Many people put the fryer twenty to forty feet from the house, decks and cars — some on the driveway or the street — and the Seattle Fire Department’s figure is at least ten feet, never under a garage or awning; Prince William County says not in, on or under any structure that can catch fire. One person warns that the driveway must not slope, or burning oil runs where you do not want it, and one person warns that the propane tank sits uphill of the pot. Some people use a garage for the escape route it offers, and people warn against it, one person each — never under an open garage door, one says; questioned even with a hose ready, says the other — and the fire departments say never in, on or under a garage at all; this page sides with the fire departments. Some people object that the street brings bystanders into range, and one person describes a child killed colliding with a driveway fryer; the discussion gave no answer, and this page treats it as a reason for a perimeter and a second adult. Then the lowering: many people say turn the burner off before the bird goes in, so a splash or an overflow has nothing to light, and relight once the oil settles; others say shut the propane at the tank; one person with fifteen years of frying calls the flame-off rule wrong and gives no reason, and this page keeps the rule. Lower slowly, on the fryer’s hook or stand — the Seattle department says a broom handle and a metal hook — with a second person, some people say; one person warns a pool hook throws flaming oil ten feet, and one person warns that dropping the bird in is how the splash-over fires start. Watch the oil the whole time it heats, the fire department says; if it overheats, let it cool on its own, people warn, one person each — never add cold oil or water to bring it down. Keep the lid on the pot while it cools afterwards, one person warns, because animals fall in.

The safety line above is the answer, and the grease-fire page linked below carries the fire services’ full sequence for a pan; this is the fryer version. Some people warn never water, because water under burning oil becomes steam and throws the fire outward — in one discussion, one person argues a swimming pool’s worth of water would do it in one go, and the answer is that any water displaces oil and an extinguisher or smothering is safer. Never a powder from the kitchen: some people corrected one who suggested powdered milk, because combustible powders in the air can explode from a spark. Gas off at the tank if you can reach it. A lid, or a Class K extinguisher, the type made for cooking oil; one person warns the extinguisher should not live in the kitchen where the fire starts, and people say, one person each, that plastic-valved extinguishers have failed — whether a home extinguisher expires is argued, one person saying residential units last for years if the gauge is in range against others saying check the date, and this page says check the gauge. If it is not out immediately, the county’s words: get out, stay out, call 911. Some people add that if you think you put out a house fire yourself, call the fire department anyway, because of hidden hot spots and the smoke. And this is all here for a reason: turkey fires are on the news every year, some people say, and some people describe the fire they had.

People argue that in one discussion, and again on whether anyone will follow the advice at all; people’s own decider is how much risk you will carry for a faster, juicier bird, and how much you have handled propane and hot oil before. Those who fry say it cooks in about 45 minutes and comes out moist, and people point out, one person each, that an unbreaded bird takes up little oil. The alternatives, with no taste winner declared: an electric indoor fryer, some people say, has no open flame and safety sensors, though it is slower and recovers temperature poorly, and people argue, one person each way, whether any indoor frying is sensible — the Seattle Fire Department recommends electric fryers and air fryers as the safer route; spatchcocking and roasting, one person says, gets a whole bird done in eighty to ninety minutes with no oil, against some people who prefer the fryer; cutting the bird into pieces and frying those, some people say, is less oil and less lifting; smoking, some people in one discussion prefer to frying and one does not, and a frozen bird cannot be smoked either. One person says to check whether the local fire department offers a free turkey-frying service — worth a phone call locally, and this page cannot say where. Afterwards: some people reuse the oil for several birds, one person warns storing it takes fridge or freezer space, and the disposal page linked below has where it must not go. Seasoning the night before or the morning of is one person each way, and one person warns most of a surface rub is lost in the oil anyway.