|
|
|
Food safety tips for holiday turkey cookingBy Luann Boyer CSU Extension, family and consumer agent, Morgan County Thanksgiving, and other events with lots of people and lots of food, provides a prime opportunity for careless food handling that could result in food borne illness. Here are food safety tips to make sure guests remember the event as good times and not because of illness. Start off preparations by thawing the turkey correctly. Food should always be thawed in the refrigerator so the outer surface does not get warm as it thaws. Room temperatures are the perfect situation for bacteria to multiply to a large enough number to cause illness. If you have a large turkey, like 20 pounds, it may take 4 to 5 days to thaw. If the refrigerator is extremely cold or full of other food, it could even take longer because air can't circulate throughout the cabinet. The ideal temperature for a refrigerator is 37 degrees. If you absolutely cannot spare the space in the refrigerator for thawing, you can do it in the sink under continuously running cold water Do not thaw food under warm or hot water. You can also thaw it in the microwave oven, but do it right before you are ready to cook the turkey. There are a lot of ways to cook a turkey. Roasting a turkey is done in an uncovered pan where heat from the oven circulates around the turkey during the cooking process. In roasting, the heat seals the surface fat of the skin which prevents juices from escaping. When you cook a turkey in a covered roaster or wrap completely in foil, you are actually steaming the turkey. Steaming usually results in drier meat because juices are more likely to leach from the bird. Whether you roast or steam your turkey, the oven temperature should be 325 degrees. This temperature allows all parts of the turkey to reach 165 degrees internally which is necessary to destroy salmonella or campylobacter bacteria that can cause illness. Never cook poultry at an oven temperature lower than of 325 degrees. When cooking turkey, the usual time per pound is 15 minutes. But, to make sure you've killed any bacteria, you must insert a thermometer into the muscle of the turkey thigh to check. Don't trust the thermometers that come in some turkeys. Studies show they are not very accurate. It is recommended that you NOT put stuffing into the turkey. If you do, it adds 5 to 10 minutes per pound for cooking time, and there is an increased risk for food borne illness if the stuffing doesn't also reach 165 degrees before eating. For questions you may have on holiday cooking or food safety, contact the Morgan County Extension Center at 970-542-3544. 11/24/08 Date: 11/18/08
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
Market Snapshot Inside Futures |
