A disposable aluminum roasting pan seems like a great way to reduce holiday home chef stress. But beware—burn specialists say aluminum roasting pans might seem great for a no fuss clean-up but those pans aren’t built to handle the big birds on your holiday menu. They bend or tip easily and can be dangerous to the cook. One reason why this type of burn is so dangerous is that grease sticks to the skin and burns longer than something like water, which is more likely to roll off the skin.
There are annual alarming spikes in grease-related burns around the holidays. What makes things worse, is that often the people who are doing the cooking–-older women—are least likely to heal well. If you’re a grandma with a frail skin, and maybe diabetes, a grease burn like this isn’t just painful, it could require amputation.
There’s a simple solution: Use a sturdy pan (check the weight it’s designed to hold to make sure the bird matches the pan). And put a rimmed cookie sheet beneath it in the oven to make lifting easier and help catch leaks and splashes.
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