what should the food worker do to safely thaw the turkey

April 07, 2022 Post a Comment

The holiday season is beginning, and so now is the time to kickoff thinking about when to purchase a fresh turkey and how to properly and safely ready the entire meal.

All turkeys, like other fresh meat and poultry, are highly perishable and care needs to be taken when purchasing, storing, preparing, and cooking them to avoid foodborne affliction.

turkey_cooking_holidays_food_safety_illness — Paradigm Source: Shutterstock

Turkey Statistics

Turkey consumption has most doubled over the past 25 years. Co-ordinate to the National Turkey Federation, 88% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. And the amount of turkey consumed is staggering: 46 meg turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, 22 meg on Christmas, and xix 1000000 turkeys on Easter.

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Fresh or Frozen Turkey?

There is no significant difference in quality between a fresh or a frozen turkey; the selection is based on personal preference or time restraints.

For fresh turkeys, the USDA recommends to buy a fresh turkey within 1-ii days of when to exist cooked and served. Fresh turkeys, like other fresh meat and poultry, are highly perishable and intendance needs to be taken when purchasing and storing them to avoid spoilage.

Don't Launder the Raw Turkey

According to a food-safety survey conducted by the FDA, 68% of people wash a whole turkey before cooking it. Nonetheless, the USDA does not recommend washing raw meat and poultry before cooking considering it tin spread leaner upward to three feet around the sink.

Cooking meat and poultry to the right temperature kills any bacteria present, so washing meat and poultry is not necessary.

Safely Thaw Your Turkey

If finding the right-sized bird is critical, buy a frozen one early & salvage yourself the trouble of running from store to store later during Thanksgiving week. Keep the turkey frozen until yous're fix to thaw & cook information technology!

A frozen turkey is rubber indefinitely, but a thawing turkey must defrost at a safe temperature. When the turkey is left out at room temperature for more than ii hours, its temperature becomes unsafe equally information technology moves into the danger zone between xl°F and 140°F, where bacteria can grow rapidly.

Thaw turkeys in the refrigerator , in a sink of cold wate r that is changed every 30 minutes, or in the microwave . Never thaw your turkey by leaving it out on the counter. Bacteria tin multiply apace at room temperature, so don't thaw foods on the counter!

The easiest way to become that frozen bird thawed is in the refrigerator. It will defrost at a rate of about 4 pounds per day, so the average 16-pound turkey could take at least 4 days to completely thaw! If y'all fail to give your turkey enough time to thaw, it volition cook on the outside, merely the inside will be super raw.

Check out all the means to thaw a turkey below in the USDA infographic:

USDA Three Ways to Safely Thaw a Turkey — Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Turkey – Cooking to Proper Internal Temperature

To brand sure the turkey has reached a safe internal temperature of 165°F , check by inserting a nutrient thermometer into:

the thickest part of the breast;
the innermost role of the fly; and
the innermost part of the thigh.

Turkey pop-up timers only check the internal temperature in i expanse and are non recommended.

Roasting a Basic Turkey

The duration of roasting a turkey depends on a number of things, including whether or not the bird is stuffed, how big it is, and if information technology has been thawed.

Follow simple steps to properly roast a turkey. First, preheat oven to 325°F. Side by side, identify thawed turkey in a large roasting pan, breast side up, and embrace with a piece of aluminum foil.

Bake turkey using the chart below. Remove foil during last hr of melt time to brown. Melt until meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, wing, and thigh reads at to the lowest degree 165°F.

Size of Turkey	Unstuffed	Blimp
x-12lbs	3 – 3 ¼ hours	iii ½–3 ¾ hours
12-16bs	3 ¼ – 3 ¾ hours	3 ¾ – 4 ¼ hours
16-20lbs	iii ¾ – 4 ¼ hours	iv ¼ – 4 ¾ hours
20-24lbs	4 ¼ – iv ¾ hours	4 ¾ – v ¼ hours

After the turkey is removed from the oven, let it residue for minimum 30 minutes. The juices need to resettle into the meat.

turkey_food_safety_food_illness_ — Image Source: Shutterstock

Turkey Stuffing – Cook Separate

Is it safe to cook the stuffing inside a turkey?
The USDA recommends that the entire turkey is cooked to 165°F – including the stuffing! If the stuffing doesn't reach 165°F, the bacteria won't exist killed off and could cause foodborne illness. Cooking stuffing inside the turkey to 165°F oftentimes means overcooking the bird – so it's all-time to cook the stuffing separate.

Store Leftovers Promptly

1 of the critical factors in controlling bacteria in food is controlling temperature. Bacteria grows apace between twoscore°F and 140°F, cut the turkey off the bone and refrigerate information technology within 2 hours of the turkey coming out of the oven .

Leftovers will last for 4 days in the fridge , and so if you know you won't use them right away, pack them into freezer numberless or airtight containers and freeze. For all-time quality, use your leftover frozen turkey within iv months .

leftovers_party_food_safety_illness — Image Source: Shutterstock

Summary

All turkeys, like other fresh meat and poultry, are highly perishable and care needs to exist taken when purchasing, storing, preparing, and cooking them to avoid foodborne disease.

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Source: http://foodsafetytrainingcertification.com/food-safety-news/holiday-turkey-food-safety-tips/

Christy Oundiciat