Dropped a whole frozen turkey in my deep fryer last Thanksgiving

It was 3 years ago at my brother's house in Phoenix. I thought it was thawed but nope. That thing hit the oil and it erupted like a volcano. Oil all over the patio and my nephew's bike got coated. Has anyone else had a frozen food surprise go this bad?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlie_ellis11d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly the real surprise here is that nobody talks about what happens to the oil itself after that. That frozen turkey dumped in there creates a massive thermal shock that breaks down the oil's smoke point permanently. So even if you clean up the mess and try to reuse that oil later, it's gonna burn and smoke way worse than before. Plus all those frozen juices introduce water which turns into steam explosions and also makes the oil go rancid faster. Basically you ruined the oil forever in about 3 seconds.

charles_kelly4311d ago

Wait, wait wait. The oil itself is permanently ruined? I've been frying turkeys for like fifteen years and never once considered what happens to the oil's chemistry after one of those explosions. So basically you're telling me that even if you fish out the turkey and filter all the burnt bits, the oil is just junk now? That's wild. I always figured you could just strain it and use it again for another batch of fries or something. But that thermal shock thing makes sense now that you say it. It's like when you heat up a cast iron pan too fast and the seasoning cracks. Same idea but with hot oil and bad decisions.

gracewebb11d ago

Respectfully disagree a bit here. I've seen this play out in person and I think the oil being "permanently ruined" is overstating it. If you get the turkey out fast enough and filter the oil through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, you can still use it for frying once or twice more. The smoke point drops some, sure, but it's not like the oil turns into poison instantly. I've had fryers blow up at work and filtered the oil back into the jug. Worked fine for another batch of wings a week later. You just have to watch the temp closer and not push it past 350. The real waste is all that oil splattered on the ground and your nephew's bike.