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Talking turkey: Tips for safe cooking 4:32 p.m., Nov. 20, 2006--If you'll be hosting Thanksgiving dinner, you've got a lot to juggle--the guest list, menu planning, grocery shopping, food preparation and table setting. With all the hustle and bustle, don't get careless and forget about food safety. “If a turkey is improperly handled--during the defrosting, cooking or cooling stages--it can become a haven for certain bacteria, such as Staphylooccus aureus,” Sue Snider, Cooperative Extension food and nutrition specialist at UD, said. “This bacteria produces toxins that can cause food poisoning.” According to Snider, there are five common mistakes people make when cooking a turkey. Mistake No. 1: Defrosting the turkey at room temperature. Bacteria can grow on a turkey that is defrosting at room temperature. While many people believe that cooking the turkey will kill the bacteria, this isn't always the case, Snider said. Toxins such as those produced by Staphylooccus aureus can't be destroyed at medium oven temperatures. To defrost your turkey safely, keep it in the refrigerator, allowing one day for every 5 pounds of turkey. For a speedier thaw, use the cold-water method. Submerge your wrapped turkey in cold water and add ice or more cold water every 30 minutes. A 16-pound turkey can defrost within nine hours using this method. Mistake No. 2: Stuffing the turkey the night before. Because stuffing is so dense, it takes a long time to heat up and cool down. The cavity of the bird can insulate it and prevent it from cooling to the proper temperature, providing an ideal environment for the growth of bacteria. To avoid this risk, stuff the turkey immediately before cooking. Remove the stuffing from the turkey immediately after cooking, or, better yet, cook the stuffing separately. Mistake No. 3: Cooking the turkey at too low a temperature. Using an oven temperature below 325 degrees Fahrenheit is risky because the temperature inside the turkey can remain in the danger zone of 40-140 degrees, in which bacteria can multiply rapidly. For safe cooking, the internal temperature must reach 180-185 degrees, Snider said. Don't rely on plastic pop-up thermometers to tell when you the turkey is done. Use a good quality meat thermometer. Mistake No. 4: Partially cooking the turkey the day before serving. Interrupted cooking can increase bacterial growth. Cook the turkey completely at one time to minimize the heating and cooling periods. Mistake No. 5: Cooling the turkey on the counter or whole in the fridge. A cooked turkey is too big to cool quickly enough in the refrigerator and it leaving it to cool on the counter provides ideal conditions for bacteria to grow. Promptly refrigerate what you don't eat--cut the bird into smaller portions that are packed or wrapped separately. |
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