Turkey Day Safety

Posted in Our Weblog on November 22, 2023

It’s that point of yr once more. The mercury begins to drop, the leaves change coloration, and a feast of a vacation is simply across the nook. Right here’s some Turkey Day Security tricks to make your desk meals poisoning- free!

Meals security is essential when getting ready all meals, however throughout bigger gatherings corresponding to Thanksgiving, there are a couple of completely different variables. People are typically touring with their dishes to be served at one other location and the meal lingers on for a couple of hours as folks graze and socialize. These may be components for a recipe of catastrophe.

“Whereas the 4 steps to meals security – clear, separate, cook dinner, and chill – are essential each day and at each meal, they’re significantly essential on Thanksgiving,” mentioned USDA Deputy Beneath Secretary Sandra Eskin. “There’ll seemingly be many company and lots of scrumptious dishes at your vacation desk, however you don’t need to invite any foodborne pathogens. Observe these 4 steps – specifically keep in mind to make use of a meals thermometer – and your Thanksgiving dinner shall be a protected one.”

Listed below are a couple of tricks to serve up America’s greatest meal safely.

Clear Fingers and Sanitize Surfaces

Wash your arms, wash your arms, wash your arms! Say it louder for the parents within the again. WASH YOUR HANDS! Handwashing is step one in avoiding foodborne sickness. Clear arms cut back the probabilities of spreading germs and consuming germs.

Wash arms for at the least 20 seconds with cleaning soap and water earlier than, throughout, and after dealing with meals. Wash arms earlier than you begin, when shifting to 1 step to a different, particularly after dealing with uncooked meals, and earlier than serving and/or consuming. “In a current research, 97% of members in a USDA check kitchen failed to scrub their arms correctly.”

Correct Handwashing Steps:

Moist arms with clear, working water. – Heat water is finest.
Lather your fingers with cleaning soap.
Scrub soapy arms and fingers totally for at the least 20 seconds. – Think about singing the Blissful Birthday tune twice.
Rinse your arms below clear, working water. – Heat water is finest.
Dry arms off with a clear towel or air dry them.

Preserve surfaces cleaned and sanitized. Make sure to clear and sanitize any surfaces which have touched uncooked turkey or different meat and its juices and can later contact different meals. These surfaces embody however should not restricted to kitchen counters, sinks, stoves, tabletops, chopping boards, and many others.

Keep away from Cross-Contamination

Sharing is caring, however cross-contamination isn’t. Cross contamination within the kitchen is the “unfold of micro organism from uncooked meat and poultry onto ready-to-eat meals, surfaces, and utensils.

Having separate chopping boards for uncooked meat and poultry and for vegatables and fruits is a good way to keep away from cross contamination. Slicing boards ought to be cleaned after every use, however segregated gear can cut back that threat even additional.

One current research discovered that “sinks are probably the most contaminated areas of the kitchen.” Wash your sink out recurrently, and specifically after coming involved with uncooked meat and/or poultry.

Regardless of what your grandmother may need informed you, don’t wash your uncooked poultry within the sink. In reality, the USDA recommends towards it. Washing uncooked poultry within the sink may cause dangerous micro organism to splash and aerosolize all through your kitchen. Make sure to clear and sanitize any areas which may are available in contact with the turkey earlier than and after cooking.

Thaw the Turkey Safely

Turkeys are reasonably giant items of meat. Whereas most meats observe this rule of thumb, turkeys specifically, shouldn’t be thawed in scorching water or on a countertop. Components of the turkey can thaw method earlier than others, permitting dangerous micro organism to develop to infectious numbers.

There are three protected methods to thaw that chook safely – Within the fridge, in chilly water, and within the microwave.

No time to thaw? You possibly can cook dinner a very frozen turkey within the oven (NOT in a fryer). It’ll, nevertheless, take at the least 50% extra cook dinner time. Confirm a protected temperature with a meals thermometer.

Fridge Thawing

The easiest way to thaw a turkey is to put in a fridge. This methodology is gradual and protected, permitting it to thaw at refrigeration temperatures. On the whole, this usually takes roughly 24 hours for each 4 to five kilos of uncooked weight. After thaw, the meat is protected in a fridge for one more day or two.

Chilly Water Thawing

Don’t have time to attend a couple of days to thaw within the fridge. Chilly water thawing can get the job completed a little bit quicker. Fully submerge the turkey in its unique wrapping in a cold-water bathtub. Permit half-hour per pound, altering water each half-hour till the turkey is totally thawed. Utilizing this methodology, the turkey have to be cooked instantly following thaw.  Bear in mind to scrub the sink!

Microwave Thawing

A good quicker methodology of cooking includes thawing within the microwave. If the turkey matches within the microwave, this could possibly be an possibility for you. Observe the manufacture’s suggestions for thawing poultry. Thawing utilizing this methodology requires the chook to be cooked instantly. When thawing within the microwave, some areas of the meals might grow to be heat and start to cook dinner throughout the thawing course of. This might convey meals into the “hazard zone” permitting for micro organism to develop to infectious numbers.

Cook dinner Completely

Make sure to totally cook dinner your turkey. The protected inside temperature for poultry is 165 °F. At all times use a meals thermometer to make sure applicable inside temperature is met. Insert the meals thermometer into the thickest a part of the breast, the innermost a part of the wing, and the innermost a part of the thigh. Even when the turkey has a pop-up thermometer, the USDA nonetheless recommends utilizing a meals thermometer to test the inner temperature in these three areas.

Stuffing

The age-old Thanksgiving query. To decorate or to stuff? Some households make dressing, the place the cornbread-based facet is baked on the facet, whereas others go the extra conventional route the place it’s cooked stuffed contained in the turkey. The USDA recommends AGAINST stuffing the turkey as “this usually results in bacterial progress.” So, if you’re in a familial battle – blame the USDA to win the dressing warfare.

Should you insist on stuffing, observe these steps to attenuate threat for a fortunately stuffed chook:

Put together the moist and dry components individually and refrigerate till you’re prepared for them. Combine the moist and dry components collectively simply earlier than stuffing.
Be able to cook dinner as soon as the chook is stuffed. Don’t stuff the poultry and depart within the fridge earlier than cooking. Instantly place stuffed, uncooked turkey into an oven set no decrease than 325 °F
Stuff loosely. Don’t pack it in. Plan for not more than ¾ cup of stuffing per pound of chook.
Plan for an extended bake time. A stuffed turkey takes a bit longer to cook dinner. Use a meals thermometer to measure the inner temperatures on the thickest a part of the breast, the innermost a part of the wing, and the innermost a part of the thigh and the middle of the stuffing to make sure it has reached a protected inside temperature of 165 °F.
Don’t get in a rush. Permit the cooked turkey to face 20 minutes earlier than eradicating the stuffing.

The Two-Hour Rule

Although folks might cycle out and in of the kitchen on this grazing vacation, leaving meals out greater than two hours may be harmful. Refrigerate all perishable meals inside two hours of being cooked. This time is reduce to 1 hour if the ambient temperature is above 90 °F.

This two-hour rule is to maintain scorching meals out of the hazard zone. The “Hazard Zone” is temperatures between 40 °F and 140 °F. That is the temperature ranger the place micro organism start to multiply rapidly and develop to numbers that trigger meals to be unsafe to devour. At all times preserve scorching meals cold and warm meals chilly, and discard any meals not noted for greater than two hours.

When transporting meals, contemplate the next suggestions:

Transporting scorching meals – Place dishes in insulated containers and/or wrap in foil. Preserve temperatures above 140 °F. Plan to warmth meals simply previous to leaving to make sure meals are consumed inside 2 hours of cooking.

Transporting chilly meals – Place chilly objects in a cooler with ice or gel pack. Preserve temperatures at or beneath 40 °F.

Leftovers

Leftovers are inevitable, as that is the #1 over-cooking vacation. Most households make extra meals than they will devour. Make sure to retailer leftovers safely.

Retailer meals in small, shallow containers and refrigerate. Thanksgiving leftovers ought to be consumed inside 4 days. If frozen, the leftovers are protected to devour indefinitely (if correctly thawed and heated). For very best quality, devour inside two to 6 months (relying on the meals).

Blissful Thanksgiving

Have an pleasant and protected Thanksgiving. Blissful Thanksgiving from MakeFoodSafe.com, from our household to yours!

By: Heather Van Tassell