Turkey Time: Cooking Safety

November 24, 2010

It’s Thanksgiving, time for family and friends to gather and give thanks. And time for cooks to ponder the correct way to prepare their turkey.

Today, we are taking a look at the proper way to cook your turkey with tips from Dorthy Lee, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent for the Escambia County Extension Office.

Clean

Begin every meal preparation with clean hands, and wash hands frequently to prevent any cross contamination. As a rule, hands that have come in contact with raw meat or poultry should be washed for twenty seconds in hot, soapy water.

Separate

Raw meat and poultry products may contain harmful bacteria, so make certain that the juices from those products do not come in contact with food that will be eaten without cooking, like the salad. Also, never place cooked food on an unwashed plate that previously held raw meat or poultry.

Cook
Use of food thermometer should be a standard operating procedure in your kitchen and, when used correctly, will ensure that your turkey is cooked to perfection. To be safe, the
temperature of a whole turkey should reach 180°F between the breast and the innermost part of the thigh.
If you stuff your turkey, the center of the stuffing must reach 165°F. If the stuffing has not reached 165°F, then continue cooking the turkey until it does. Let the turkey stand twenty minutes after removal from the oven before carving.

Chill
This is another important step because food-borne bacteria can grow while food sits unrefrigerated. Refrigerate or freeze perishable leftovers within two hours of cooking. To prepare your leftovers, remove any remaining stuffing from the cavity and cut turkey into small pieces. Slice the breast meat. Wings and legs may be left whole. Refrigerate stuffing and turkey separately in shallow containers.

Use or freeze leftover turkey and stuffing within three to four days, gravy within one to two days. Reheat thoroughly to a temperature of 165°F, or until hot and steaming.

For more information, call the Escambia County Extension office, (850) 475-5230.

Comments

5 Responses to “Turkey Time: Cooking Safety”

  1. David Huie Green on November 24th, 2010 3:05 pm

    that’s why they’re talking about food thermometers. The time to get there is not as important as getting there.

    roasting 325 Degrees Fahrenheit
    Weight in lbs. 8 12 14 18 20 24
    Time in hours unstuffed 2.75 3 3.75 4.25 4.5 5
    Time in hours if stuffed
    3 3.5 4 4.25 4.75 5.25

    four and a half hours at 325 roasting in an oven, unstuffed, 4 and three quarter hours if stuffed (which is surely why we use dressing, outside of the bird)

    oven roasting at 425 degrees F.:
    Weight in lbs.
    8 12 14 18 20 24
    Time in minutes unstuffed 64 96 112 144 160 192
    Time in minutes if stuffed
    80 120 140 180 200 240

    or roasting a 20 pounder at 425, unstuffed 160 minutes (2 hours, 40 minutes), stuffed, 200 minutes (3 hours, 20 minutes)

    Still, if the idea is to not get sick, use the blessed thermometer, this would just give you an idea.

    David for boiled turkey

  2. james chof on November 24th, 2010 12:36 pm

    I have a 30 pounder and will be stuffed, how long does it have to cook at 300F

  3. cindy calhoun on November 24th, 2010 11:35 am

    how long should i cook a 20 lb turkey

  4. Linda on November 24th, 2010 9:06 am

    If I put the oven on 500 degrees to start for 30 minutes and turn it down to 350 to cook the remaining time,how long will it take to cook a 19 pound turkey?

  5. Bennie on November 24th, 2010 7:42 am

    How hot should the oven be? How long per pound?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News