When to thaw turkey? Expert shares food safety tips for Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving dinner is incomplete without a turkey. With just a few days left until the holiday, millions are rushing to check off things from their grocery list. While the focus remains on the recipe, it is equally important to prep your meals cautiously. Whether you decide to stick to tradition or unleash your creative side with new recipes, food safety measures are a must when it comes to cooking meat. From properly thawing out turkey to what to do with leftovers, Penn State Food Safety Expert Mary Alice Gettings recently shared these tips with CBS:

Food safety expert shares cooking tips for Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving cooking tips: Turkey basics for food safety

According to Gettings, you should begin thawing out your turkey if it is still frozen. However, it depends on the size of the bird. “For every five pounds, one day,” she said. “So, a 25-pound turkey, you’re looking at Saturday afternoon, early Sunday morning.” In case you decide to thaw it in water, you must “keep the water cold” and “change it every 30 minutes,” she explained.

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Before and after cooking the turkey, it is essential to keep the temperature outside the danger zone, which is 40 to 140 degrees, Gettings said. It is recommended to keep a thermometer handy by Thursday. “The turkey needs to be 165 degrees,” she added. The same temperature applies to the stuffing as well.

Gettings explained that it is best to stuff your turkey loosely at the last minute. It will keep the bird from drying out by the time the stuffing is done. She added that once it is all done, you should let it sit for about 20 minutes to allow the full flavour to develop.

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When it comes to leftover turkey, “you have about two hours from the time you take it out of the oven until you put it into the refrigerator,” Gettings said. “All the leftovers, not just the turkey, but all the leftovers, should be put into the fridge by 4:00.”

In order to avoid bacterial growth, you have to keep the leftovers out of the danger zone – cold dishes under 40 degrees and hot dishes over 140 degrees. Gettings added that turkey can be safely refrigerated up to 3-4 days. Meanwhile, frozen turkey can last up to six months.