Food Safety Tips for Holiday Meals and Turkey

Watching The Accidental Tourist you may made you apprehensive to roast your own holiday turkey, for fear of undercooking it can making everyone sick. Turkey, like other poultry and raw meat requires certain handling to ensure that the food is safe to eat. As with other raw meats, food safety can be ensured with proper cleaning, storage, handling storage temperature and cooking temperature. Follow these food safety tips when preparing and cooking your holiday turkey to ensure a happy and safe holiday meal.

Selecting and Preparing a Turkey for a Holiday Meal

Expiration Date

To ensure proper food safety, the first thing you need to do when buying a fresh or frozen turkey from the grocery store is to check the expiration date. Sometimes it's easy to be complacent and assume that the grocery store always keeps track of expiration dates.

Defrosting Safely

Frozen turkeys may be safely defrosted three ways.

The first safe way is in the microwave, if your microwave is big enough and it has a defrost setting. Once the turkey is defrosted using a microwave, immediately put it in the oven.

The second way is to submerge the frozen bird in a sink full of cold water. Keep the turkey in its package. The USDA recommends that you check the water every half hour to ensure that the water is still cold. If it's not let the water drain and re-fill the sink with cold water.

The final safe way to defrost a frozen bird for a holiday meal is in the refrigerator. The USDA advises that to defrost a turkey in the refrigerator requires one day for every five pounds. For example, for a ten pound turkey, allow two full days of defrosting time. For 12 pounder, allow for two and half days of defrost time.

To Stuff or Not to Stuff

While it is traditional to stuff a turkey, it is not the best idea when you are concerned about food safety. You can cook stuffing in the same pan as the holiday bird, just don't stuff it inside the bird.

Cooking the Turkey