Stories From The Street: Real Men Cook With Fire

You know the drill: Real men cook with fire. So he goes out and buys a turkey fryer, $30 worth of peanut oil, and lights the gas burner. The boys hang out waiting for the oil to heat up enough to drop the bird in for a 20 minute cookoff. Real men don’t read directions! […]

November 10, 2010; 3:40 PM • by Dave Daniels

You know the drill: Real men cook with fire. So he goes out and buys a turkey fryer, $30 worth of peanut oil, and lights the gas burner. The boys hang out waiting for the oil to heat up enough to drop the bird in for a 20 minute cookoff. Real men don’t read directions!

If they did, the part about not filling the fryer with too much oil would prevent many holiday fires. So now the oil is boiling, and ready for the big bird drop. As the turkey is lowered, the oil is displaced and gets closer to the top of the fryer.

What happens next is only matched by 4th of July fireworks. The moisture in the bird adds to the boiling action and the oil begins to overflow. As it hits the burner, the gas flame ignites the oil.

As the event unfolds the cook and onlookers realize the fryer is on the deck, attached to the house, and now the deck is on blazing. They spring into action running for the nearest water supply. It makes sense to throw water on a fire, unless it’s a flammable liquid fire! As the first cup of water hits the oil, it erupts into an even bigger fire and then someone suggests to call the fire department.

And you can figure out the rest of the story.

Be safe during the holidays. If you do the fryer thing, follow the directions, place the fryer away from the house, garage or shed, and have a dry chemical extinguisher ready for action!

November 10, 2010 3:40 PM 0