Thirteen Great Thanksgiving Cooking Safety Tips

Thanksgiving is about to arrive and with it lots of fun and quality time with family and friends.Followed shortly after by a ton of cooking of course. While Thanksgiving is a great time of year, it can cause problems and if you’re not careful your dinner could turn into a nightmare. In order to help your day go off without a hitch I have thirteen great safety tips to make your cooking experience a happy one.

Fry your turkey outside on concrete or dirt: If you like to fry your turkey rather than bake it you will want to do it outside and away from a flammable surface. Hot oil can quickly cause flammable materials to catch fire, so to prevent this fry on a concrete or dirt surface.

Have someone in the kitchen at all times: While we like to spend time with family on Thanksgiving, it is important to have someone watching all the food to make sure that nothing out of the ordinary happens. Fires can happen quickly inside the home so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Keep hot food and liquids away from children: Make sure to keep all hot foods and liquids out of reach of children and cover up all hot food to make sure children do not have easy access.

Keep knives and sharp objects away from children

Unplug all electronic cooking devices after use: While it’s common to want to eat right after a long day of cooking, be sure to unplug all electronic cooking devices before sitting down to eat.

Make sure your turkey is fully cooked: Even though your turkey may look cooked on the outside it is important to check the inside and make sure the internal temperature is correct. Be sure to check close to the bone as this tends to be the last place the turkey is fully cooked. If there is any pink present your turkey is not done.

Keep any materials that can catch fire away from all cooking surfaces

Use serving forks when lifting your turkey: Even after you have let your turkey cool it is still really hot on the inside. To prevent injury when lifting it to carve, use a set of serving forks to separate your hands away from the edges of the turkey and provide better stability.

Clean your oven and other cooking surfaces before you begin cooking

Keep a fire extinguisher on hand in the kitchen

Keep all first aid supplies on hand and burn treatment supplies nearby

Check all smoke detectors in the home to make sure they are operational before cooking

If a grease fire occurs, turn off the heat and cover the fire with a lid, spraying the outside with an extinguisher.