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Tips to fry your turkey — not your home

By Will Vitka

WASHINGTON — The last thing anyone wants this Thanksgiving is for a fire to gobble up their house.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue is sharing some tips this year from the Consumer Product Safety Commission for those who want to use a turkey fryer to cook up dinner.

  • Use turkey fryers outside only and away from your home.
  • Never use a turkey fryer in a garage or on a porch.
  • Completely thaw and dry turkey before cooking.
  • Do not overfill the oil in the turkey fryer.
  • If the oil begins to smoke, immediately turn the gas supply off.
  • Never leave the turkey fryer unattended.

For those who have forgotten the age-old wisdom of “fire bad,” the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has video to illustrate how turkey fryers and housing don’t really get along.

Forget how grandma did it: USDA says don’t wash the turkey

By Kristi King
To help families avoid falling ill this Thanksgiving, food safety experts are working to dispel commonly held myths. [related_gallery align="right"]The most common holiday food safety mistake? Washing the bird, said Janell Goodwin, a technical information specialist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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