TURKEY TALK

USDA hot line helps cooks with food-safety tips

Family Features

What gov- ernment agency is open on Thanksgiving Day? The United States Department of Agriculture, on the job to protect public health through food safety. For 25 years, the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline has helped Turkey Day cooks weather a variety of culinary storms and travails. In recent years, the hot line has developed the innovative “Ask Karen” feature (www.AskKaren.gov) on the Web that allows consumers to type questions online and receive an immediate reply from USDA’s virtual representative 24 hours a day. And from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time, users can “chat” with a food-safety expert.

These efforts are just part of a long-running campaign by USDA’s food safety educators to teach Americans about the dangers of food -borne illness and the importance of adopting safe cooking and food handling behaviors. The statistics show that approximately 5,000 Americans will die each year due to a food borne illness — that’s almost 14 people a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thanksgiving dinner is an ideal time to put food-safety tips into practice because it is the most challenging for average American consumers to cook. Food-safety considerations are often overlooked, especially since there may be several cooks preparing food for the cele bration. “Food that is mishandled can cause very serious consequences for all, especially for ‘at-risk’ groups — infants, young children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems,” said Diane Van, USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline Manager.

“Thanksgiving dinner can be a challenging meal to prepare because it is so time-consuming and complex,” said Van. When you factor in thawing the turkey, cooking the turkey, preparing side dishes and desserts — and making sure guests are accounted for — it is easy to forget that food safety is the most important ingredient to making the meal an enjoyable one.”

Keep everything clean: Keep hands and surfaces clean. Wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before and after handling food. Run cutting boards and utensils through the dishwasher or wash them in hot soapy water after each use. Keep countertops clean by washing with hot soapy water after preparing food.

Don’t cross-contaminate: When you prepare Thanksgiving dinner, keep the raw turkey away from vegetables and side dishes. Consider using one cutting board for fresh produce and bread and a sepa rate one for raw meat, poultry and sea food. Wash the cutting board with hot, soapy water after each use; then rinse with clear water and air dry or pat dry with clean paper towels.

Cook the turkey and stuffing to a safe temperature: Regardless of the method of cooking, you can’t tell if the bird is done by the color of the cooked poultry. The only way to know for sure if the turkey is safely cooked is to use a food thermom eter. Every part of the turkey and the center of the stuffing should reach a safe minimum internal tempera ture of 165 degrees. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook poultry to higher temperatures.

Store leftovers safely: Discard any turkey, stuffing, side dishes and gravy left out at room temperature longer than two hours. Divide leftovers into smaller portions, and refrig erate them in covered, shal low containers for quicker cooling. Be sure to consume refrigerated turkey, stuffing, side dishes and gravy within 3 to 4 days or freeze the leftovers for later use.

Keep egg-rich desserts chilled: Pumpkin pie is as much a staple of the holiday meal as the turkey. Foods made with eggs and milk, such as pumpkin pie, must first be safely baked to a mini mum internal tempera ture of 160 degrees. Then, they must be refrigerated after baking. Eggs and milk have high pro tein and moisture content; when foods baked with these products are left at room temperature, conditions are ripe for bacteria to multiply.

FROM START TO FINISH

Preparing your turkey

It is unsafe to thaw a frozen turkey at room tempera ture. Two safe ways to thaw your turkey are in the refrigerator or in cold water. See the chart below for estimated thawing times. Whether you have a frozen or a fresh turkey, cook it within 1 or 2 days of purchase or after thawing.

In the refrigerator (40 degrees or below)

Allow approximately 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds.

4 to 12 pounds: 1 to 3 days

12 to 16 pounds: 3 to 4 days

16 to 20 pounds: 4 to 5 days

20 to 24 pounds: 5 to 6 days

Keep the turkey in its original wrapper. Place it on a tray or in a pan to catch any juices that may leak. A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. If necessary, a turkey that has been properly thawed in the refrigerator may be refrozen.

In Cold Water

Allow approximately 30 minutes per pound.

4 to 12 pounds: 2 to 6 hours

12 to 16 pounds: 6 to 8 hours

16 to 20 pounds: 8 to 10 hours

20 to 24 pounds: 10 to 12 hours

Wrap your turkey securely, making sure the water is not able to leak through the wrapping. Submerge your wrapped turkey in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 min utes. Cook the turkey immediately after it is thawed. Do not refreeze.

Cook It Your Way!

No matter which method you use to cook your turkey, use a food thermometer to insure that your turkey and stuffing are cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For rea sons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook turkey to higher temperatures.

These times are approximate and should always be used in conjunction with a properly placed thermometer.

Approximate Whole-Turkey Cooking Times

Times for fresh or thawed turkey in a preheated 325-degree oven:

Weight: 8 to 12 pounds; unstuffed timing: 23/4 to 3 hours; stuffed timing: 3 to 31/2 hours.

Weight: 12 to 14 pounds; unstuffed timing: 3 to 33/4 hours; stuffed timing: 31/2 to 4 hours.

Weight: 14 to 18 pounds; unstuffed timing: 33/4 to 41/4 hours; stuffed timing: 4 to 41/4 hours.

Weight: 18 to 20 pounds; unstuffed timing: 41/4 to 41/2 hours; stuffed timing: 41/4 to 43/4 hours.

Weight: 20 to 24 pounds; unstuffed timing: 41/2 to 5 hours; stuffed timing: 43/4 to 51/2 hours.

Electric Roaster Oven

Generally, the cooking time and oven temperature setting are the same as for conventional cooking. Preheat the oven to at least 325 degrees. Place the turkey on the roaster oven rack or other meat rack so the turkey is raised out of the juices that collect in the bottom of the oven liner. Leave the lid on throughout cooking, removing it as little as possible to avoid slowing the cooking process. Always check the roaster oven’s use and care manual for the manufacturer’s recommended temperature setting and time.

Grilling a Turkey

Outdoor cooking of a big bird for the holiday meal is becom ing a popular cooking method. During grilling, a turkey cooks by indirect heat in an outdoor covered gas or charcoal grill, and a pan of water is placed beneath the grilling sur face to catch the fat and juices that drip from the turkey as it cooks. Cooking is done by the hot, smoky, steamy air.

Turkeys that are 16 pounds or less are the recommended size for safe grilling. A larger turkey remains in the “Danger Zone” — between 40 and 140 degrees — too long. Do not stuff the turkey. Because cooking is at a low temperature, it can take too long for the temperature of the stuffing to reach 165 degrees. Also, smoked stuffing has an undesirable flavor.

More Ways to Cook a Turkey

Deep-fat frying, smoking, using an oven cooking bag, roast ing in aluminum foil, microwaving, using a pressure cooker, and cooking a frozen turkey without thawing it first are other ways to get the big bird done.

For information about these methods, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline or read the publication “Turkey: Alternate Routes to the Table” at www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Turkey_Alt_Routes/index.asp.

Where to get information

USDA features www.AskKaren.gov, a website where you can type and receive answers to your food safety questions 24 hours a day.

Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. year-round and on Thanksgiving from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Listen to “Food Safety at Home” Podcasts any time at www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Food_Safety_at_Home_Podcasts/index.asp.

“Let’s Talk Turkey” pamphlet is available at www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Lets_Talk_Turkey.pdf.