Thursday is Thanksgiving—a date circled on the calendar when a turkey dinner and maybe some football take center stage.
For some Montanans, this gathering of family and friends may be the first time they have been in charge of preparing the turkey.
Billings Chef Bill Jensen, the Billings School District’s high school culinary arts instructor, shares important tips for the turkey novice and reminders for the turkey veteran on this big food day, including the first rule of turkey:
“Turkey and its juices are contaminated with germs and can make people very sick, and you have to pay strict attention to cross contamination,” says Jensen.
Turkey safety begins with the frozen turkey and keep it frozen in its packaging until it’s time to thaw the bird.
The refrigerator is probably the best place to thaw it.
“You want to keep it in its original packaging, and you want to put it in a container in case the package is broken and leaks. You want to catch that volatile liquid because it’s a ticking time bomb,” Jensen says.
Allow 24 hours of refrigerator thawing for each 4 to 5 pounds of turkey.
Another method is in cold water in the kitchen sink or even the sink in the utility room.
“You want to be sure the bag is leak proof and you want to make sure that’s its fully covered by cold tap water. And you want to change the water every 30 minutes,” adds Jensen.
You are going to allow 30 minutes of thawing for every pound of turkey. A turkey thawed in cold water must be cooked immediately.
-Never thaw your turkey on the counter.
-Never rinse the turkey. Just pat it dry with a paper towel.
-Never place cooked or fresh food near the bird or around it.
Most chefs and professional cooks no longer put stuffing inside the turkey. Jensen says the problem with stuffing inside a turkey is it needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees to be safe.
(Problem with that is… once the internal part of the stuffing inside the turkey reaches 165 degrees, the white meat is completely overdone and shoe leather. Now, I love Mom’s turkey, don’t get me wrong, Mom. Sorry Mom. But that breast meat was leather,” Jensen laughed.
There are many ways to cook the bird: in the oven, deep-fried grilled, smoked. But one thing remains consistent. The turkey needs to reach a safe minimum temperature of 165 degrees as measured by a food thermometer in three places: the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the thigh and the innermost part of the wing.
Jensen has a suggestion for those pop-up temperature probes in most commercial turkeys have these days.
“Throw those things in the garbage,” Jensen recommends.
The problem is the probe is in the breast and that not in the thigh which needs to reach 165 degrees to assure the turkey is thoroughly cooked. If there is stuffing, it, too, must reach 165 degrees for the turkey to be done.
Once the turkey is done cooking, let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes before carving.
“Because right when it comes out the internal liquids and juice are moving and they are volatile,” comments Jensen. “And so if you cut into it right away they leak out and your turkey dries out. You want the turkey to rest just for the temp to come down, the cooking process to slow down. Those liquid will retract and go back in and stay where they are supposed to be.”
Once the meal is over it’s time to take care of leftovers. Always refrigerate leftovers within two hours of serving to prevent any illness.
Cooked turkey and dishes made with turkey such as casserole, can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or can be frozen to store longer.
For more tips on turkey safety you can go to the US government website at FoodSafety.gov.
