Don’t Wash Your Thanksgiving Turkey, CDC Warns

Nov. 22, 2021

With Thanksgiving nearly right here, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued tips about the most secure approach to put together your turkey.

First of all, you shouldn’t wash or rinse your chook. That could seem counterintuitive, however washing the turkey can unfold germs and micro organism throughout your kitchen.

“Federal food safety advice has recommended against washing turkey or chicken since 2005, but some habits are hard to break,” the CDC says, citing a 2020 survey that discovered 78% of respondents did rinse or wash their turkeys.

“Old recipes and family cooking traditions may keep this practice going, but it can make you and your family sick. Poultry juices can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops.”

Next, don’t take into consideration thawing your frozen turkey on the counter. When a turkey is left at room temperature for greater than two hours, its temperature turns into unsafe and will attain “the danger zone” between 40 and 140 levels Fahrenheit, the CDC says.

Instead, thaw the turkey in a container within the fridge; in a leak-proof plastic bag in a sink of chilly water (ensuring to alter the water each half hour); or within the microwave, when you personal one large enough to accommodate a turkey.

Other kitchen suggestions from the CDC:

Keep it clear. Wash your fingers with cleaning soap for 20 seconds after dealing with turkey. Use a separate reducing board for uncooked turkey and by no means place different meals on a plate or reducing board that has held uncooked turkey. Wash reducing boards and utensils with scorching soapy water.

Cook your stuffing totally. Whether you prepare dinner it contained in the turkey or in a casserole dish, use a meals thermometer to verify the middle of the stuffing hits 165 levels Fahrenheit. If you prepare dinner it within the turkey, wait 20 minutes after eradicating the chook from the oven to take the stuffing out; this permits it to prepare dinner extra.

Use a meals thermometer in your turkey. The thawed chook needs to be positioned in a roasting pan inside an oven set at 325 levels Fahrenheit or greater. Even in case your turkey has a pop-up temperature indicator, use a meals thermometer and ensure it at the least 165 levels at thickest parts of the breast, thigh, and wing joint. Let your turkey sit for 20 minutes earlier than carving.