Its Getting Close to Turkey Time!!

As I sit here lounging casually on my porch, it is a balmy 80+ degrees on this delightful Halloween evening, and the children are practically buzzing with excitement over all the candy they’re collecting. (Okay, I have to admit it — I’m just as giddy, especially since my all-time favorite candy is Almond Joy. No need to judge me, please!) Before we know it, we’ll be inundated with oodles of videos showcasing how to whip up the world’s most tantalizingly juicy turkey. It's also that season of the year when we start hearing about the most unfortunate Thanksgiving mishaps and accidents that keep happening, despite our best intentions. Here are some of the most common and tragic blunders we see or hear about year after year that you will definitely want to avoid:

Turkey Frying Fires - We have all seen those infamous videos online. Someone (usually a male, let's be honest) decides this will be the year he bravely takes on the challenge of frying a turkey. He’s probably just fed up with the usual dry roasted turkey experience that leaves everyone feeling a little disappointed. “This year we’re going to fry the turkey, and it’s going to be absolutely amazing!” Then what happens? Inevitably, they either drop the turkey into the bubbling oil too quickly or the skin of the bird isn’t entirely dry, or even worse, the bird is still frozen solid! In any of these scenarios, the results are generally the same: the oil bubbles extravagantly over the top of the pot and dances dangerously close to the flame of the fryer, prompting someone to hastily dial 911 to prevent Thanksgiving from turning into an all-out blaze! YIKES!!

Frozen Turkey - If you’re like me, and you happen to be a child of the glorious, nostalgia-filled 1980s, I’m sure you remember those sitcom moments where, on Thanksgiving morning, someone dramatically pulls the turkey out from the freezer to prepare it for roasting. And after 3 agonizing hours sitting on the counter to ‘defrost,’ what do we end up with? A gloriously still frozen turkey! This sounds like something straight out of an episode of Who's the Boss? or another classic show, but believe me, it genuinely happens! Don’t let it happen to you!

Burnt Turkey - In the unfortunate scenario mentioned above, someone might think it’s a good idea to simply crank up the oven's heat to accelerate the cooking process. What a total nightmare that is! You can’t do that, my friends! That is a surefire way to guarantee you end up with burnt skin and possibly raw meat lurking beneath — so gross!

Alright, by now, I’m going to assume that if you are reading this, you already know how to deftly sidestep these culinary pitfalls. So, remember to give yourself at least a week to properly defrost your beloved bird, ensure the skin is thoroughly bone-dry before you even think about frying it, and keep in mind: we cook to temperature, not just time, so don’t rush the process. Trust me, your Thanksgiving dinner will thank you for it! Come check out the next blog post to learn about how to solve the challenge of a dry turkey!