Man Gets Patent for Turkey Fryer

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, thoughts of a turkey feast are not far behind. Several years ago, a new way (at least to most of us) to fix turkeys hit the scene.

There was the traditional baked turkey, which eight times out of 10 was dry to eat.
Then along came the smoked turkey with its distinguishing and new taste.

Alas, next came the “deep fried turkey.” Still today, this is not a very well know delight but it is gaining fans each year. Normally the first reaction is “What about all of that grease?” ever hear about cholesterol? But surprisingly, deep fried turkeys do not really offer a greasy taste. The skin is seared, keeping the hot oil from coming in contact with the meat while allowing it to cook internally.

Those who have not tried one may want to.
Why the turkey cooking lesson? Deep fried turkeys, although delicious, are responsible each year for at least one person’s burning down their home from not properly handling the frying pot and burner.

One Monticello resident saw the problems and possible fire hazards associated with turkey fryers and decided to do something to solve it.

Joe Johnston, of the Piedmont Community, who was the Piedmont volunteer fire chief for many years, came up with an idea of how to almost eliminate the hazards. He took his idea to a metal shop and constructed a special Turkey Fryer Pot. The pot worked great—so great that Joe found himself frying turkeys for everyone that could talk him into it.

“Thanksgiving day became a work day of sorts, frying so many turkeys,” said Mr. Johnston.
But his son Joey Johnston quickly added, “But he loved doing it for everyone, because he knew how great they tasted.”

Having worked on and obtained several patents (four issued and one pending) where he works, oldest son Joey, talked his father Joe, into letting him try to get a patent on his specially designed fryer pot.

Joey adds, “I saw the advantages to it, made a couple of additions of my own, and realized that we had something that I felt was patentable. Since I had experience working on patents, I went to work on investigating this and found that it had a real good chance.

“Not only are they hard to get, but they are very expensive. I then hired the lawyer that I had worked with on my other patents and we began the process. This takes much longer than most people realize, and it gets a little nerve racking in the process.”

“We filed the application in September 2003 and finally received the “Official Patent number 7,044, 049 issued May 16, 2006.”

Now begins the hard part of deciding the best way to market the patent. This will take some time as well. Until then we will eat turkey this Thanksgiving from a Patented Turkey Fryer Pot.

Joey Johnston presented his father with the actual patent last week, and the two of them pointed out the unique qualities of the patented turkey fryer pot.

Other fryer pots are easily overfilled and easily tipped over. This pot, however, has a “collar” to protect the cook and the cooking area from spills.

To make the pot even safer, the Johnstons put safety chains, assuring the pot stays upright on the burner. It is virtually impossible to turn over.

The younger Mr. Johnston pointed out that in the past Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has not certified a turkey pot because of its inherent dangers. This new patented one, however, may be worthy of the UL stamp of approval.

The patent affects two versions of the turkey fryer—the pot with the “collar” or the “collar” may be purchased separately.