Waterbury police officer Neil Crespo pulled a fried turkey out of the oil Thursday afternoon while helping to prepare 100 turkeys for the annual PAL Thanksgiving meal, Saturday, November 17th, from 11 am to 5 pm. Fifty of the turkeys were donated by the Waterbury Elks Lodge and the Fat Bastards, a local motorcycle club, 25 were donated by S&P Carting, and 25 were donated by the Ryan Gomes Heart Foundation. Cooking began at 8 am Thursday morning and will end Friday night. Dozens of off-duty police officers volunteer their time frying, baking and serving a full Thanksgiving meal to anywhere from 500 to a 1000 area residents. Photographs by John Murray
Waterbury police officers Matt Lemos, left, and Neil Crespo prepare turkeys fro frying. Below, Lemos gingerly drops a turkey into the scalding oil.
The average cooking time for the turkeys was 35 minutes.
There is no charge for the meal and everyone is invited. You don’t have to live in Waterbury to attend. The meal will be served at Waterbury PAL, 64 Division Street, Waterbury, CT 06704. Phone: 203-346-3921