How to Safely Thaw a Turkey

Will you be roasting, deep frying, or microwaving your turkey this Thanksgiving, or will you opt for a no-clean-up meal out at your favorite restaurant?

“Job number one for our agency is making sure that food is safe before it gets to market”. On Thanksgiving Day, three times the national average of fires per day are reported!

This year, cheaper birds should help reduce the cost of a traditional Thanksgiving Day spread for 10 people to $49.87 from last year’s $50.11 record, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). If you have a 12-pound turkey, simple math shows that it should roast in the oven for four hours. Using the food thermometer is the best way to ensure your turkey is cooked to a safe internal temperature but not overcooked. Once a turkey is thawed, it can be left in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days before cooking.

If you have questions about your Thanksgiving dinner, you can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) to talk to a food safety expert. I was having this discussion with a friend of mine who is now expecting, and she asked me a question that had me stumped: can you eat leftover turkey if you’re pregnant? Plan to cook the poultry immediately after microwave thawing because it will be hot in some areas and susceptible to bacteria, USDA said.

Never use in, on, or under a garage, breezeway, carport, porch, or any structure that can catch fire. Beer is fine cooled outside but keep the other food in a fridge. Submerge the turkey in a container with enough cold water to cover the bird, and change the water every 30 minutes. This way, you won’t forget about the bird as you watch the parade or football. The survey checks the prices of turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of celery and carrots, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk when setting its meal price. But for those preparing the meal, it can be a stressful time. Learn more about how to safely prepare stuffing. The safest method is to thaw the turkey in the refrigerator.

But it’s also important to keep in mind the need to be attentive in the kitchen, especially when reheating the inevitable leftovers from a Thanksgiving feast.

“We absolutely eat turkey on Thanksgiving”. For personal preference, cooks may choose to cook it to higher temperatures.

Defrosting a turkey in cold water can melt days off the process.