SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Firefighters in Wilmington, North Carolina - not far from where B.J. Leiderman, who writes our theme music, hangs his hat - wanted to make certain people know how to properly fry a turkey. The cooking style is one of the biggest fire risks on Thanksgiving because, well, the pot can explode. Reporter Kelly Kenoyer went to the demo to learn more.
KELLY KENOYER, BYLINE: It's a Southern tradition. A Cajun-injected turkey, fried in peanut oil. And firefighter Chris Blanchard has perfected his recipe.
CHRIS BLANCHARD: Then I put it in a brine for 24 hours. The brine is brown sugar, kosher salt, garlic, Worcestershire sauce.
KENOYER: He'll inject it with some Cajun butter, then use a mix of Cajun spices on the skin.
BLANCHARD: Coat it really good, put it back in the refrigerator while you're waiting on your oil to heat up and then dunk it in. That's it.
KENOYER: It's got to be fully thawed and patted dry for safety reasons. Water and oil do not mix. The New Hanover County Fire Department had a pot set up outside, and when it came time to dunk the bird into the oil, Blanchard wore long sleeves and long pants with fire-safe gloves, the turkey on a long metal hook.
BRITNEY MELVIN: You're going to lower it down slowly.
(SOUNDBITE OF HOT OIL SIZZLING)
KENOYER: That's Britney Melvin, the community risk reduction coordinator for the fire department. She set up this demo as a public safety announcement, hoping for a viral video. That's why she also set up a risky version of the turkey frying with a fire truck at the ready.
(SOUNDBITE OF FIRE TRUCK ENGINE)
KENOYER: A frozen turkey in hot oil can be a disaster. The ice on the outside melts and the water sinks to the bottom of the pot. The hot oil turns it into a whole lot of steam. That has to go somewhere and it can blow all the oil out of the pot and straight into the fire. For this demo, the frozen turkey got the bomb treatment, dunked in the oil from the end of a long pole, with observers standing 40 feet away.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Oh, yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Rube Goldberg, the release mechanism, you know, just drops in.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF HOT OIL SIZZLING)
KENOYER: It created a bit of a flare-up around the pot and the oil spat everywhere, but no real explosion, to Melvin's disappointment.
(LAUGHTER)
MELVIN: New Hanover County Fire Rescue is so good at putting out fires that we can't start one (laughter).
KENOYER: But Blanchard says at least his Cajun turkey won't go to waste. It'll have a safe home in the bellies of firefighters.
BLANCHARD: So a covered dish thing today, so everybody kind of brought stuff, Thanksgiving-type foods - sweet potato pudding, rice and gravy. What else? Green bean casserole, a bunch of different desserts.
KENOYER: Maybe this demo was just a fun excuse for a department potluck. And even though the test turkey didn't explode, Blanchard's secret recipe sure smelled nice.
For NPR News, I'm Kelly Kenoyer in Wilmington, North Carolina. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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