There are only three safe ways to thaw a turkey and if you bought a giant, frozen bird your time has run out for one of them. Every year, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) compiles Thanksgiving food safety tips for consumers, including safe methods for thawing. There are three of them: refrigerator, cold water … Read more
If you’re thinking about frying your turkey for Thanksgiving, the National Fire Protection Association says that outdoor gas-fueled turkey fryers that immerse the turkey in hot oil are dangerous and should not be used. The fryers “pose a significant danger that hot oil will be released at some point during the cooking process,” according to … Read more
The USDA is reminding consumers that turkey leftovers should be frozen after three or four days in the refrigerator. That means if you have any turkey left over from Thanksgiving dinner, it should be in the freezer by Monday. Correctly refrigerating all leftovers is critical to preventing foodborne illness. The bacteria in food left at … Read more
For everything you need to know about cooking a turkey, the Turkey Federation has the answers. Visit their site for information about temperature checks, stuffing, preparation, oven roasting, deep frying, and grilling the bird for your holiday celebration. They also offer information on safely storing leftovers and have lots of recipes too. The USDA has … Read more
The USDA offers food safety information for your Thanksgiving turkey stuffing. Their fact sheet is full of questions and answers all about how to safely prepare, cook, serve, and handle stuffing. The mixture of bread crumbs or cubes, seasoning, eggs, broth, and fruits or vegetables is called stuffing when baked inside the turkey, dressing when … Read more
When you cook your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter turkey, you want to be sure it is properly cooked and safe to eat. Sometimes, when you slice into a turkey, the meat will appear pink. Since we are cautioned to cook poultry until no more pink is visible, juices run clear, and the meat is at … Read more
The Partnership for Food Safety Education has put together a Holiday Food Safety Success Kit to help you make your Thanksgiving and holiday meals safe and delicious. Cooking the turkey is the biggest chore on Thanksgiving day and the one most fraught with potential peril. Thawing a frozen turkey can be complicated. A bird that … Read more
Thanksgiving is this Thursday; are you ready? If you purchased a frozen turkey, it should already be thawing in your refrigerator. The USDA offers food safety information for thawing poultry. Never ever thaw meats at room temperature. As soon as any part of meat gets warmer than 40 degrees F, bacteria will start to multiply … Read more
FightBac.org and Eat Turkey are offering a new Thanksgiving food safety infographic. When you’re cooking and handling so much food on this typical American holiday, you need to be extra vigilant about food safety. Most likely your holiday guests will include those in high risk groups, including small children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic … Read more
The USDA is reminding consumers that ‘Ask Karen‘, the food safety app offered by that agency, can help you make a safe Thanksgiving dinner. In addition, the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (1888-674-6854) offers bilingual help. Ask Karen has a searchable database of almost 1,300 questions submitted by consumers, along with the answers. The app … Read more