Holiday meal starts with safe measures

November 17, 2017 Last Updated: November 19, 2017 06:01 PM Community

Butler County Community College hospitality program student Savannah Neyman cuts up potatoes as hospitality management instructor and hospitality program coordinator Jennifer Taylor cuts mushrooms to prepare for Thanksgiving at the community college.

Choosing a turkey, buying items for side dishes and readying the table for guests are the easy parts of preparing a great holiday meal. Other parts are more challenging; for example, getting that turkey to the table.

While filling pumpkin pies, Savannah Neyman, a student in Butler County Community College's hospitality program, paused to talk turkey.

She said many people put their big bird on a counter to thaw.

“They shouldn't be doing that,” she said. Instead, they should allow enough time to thaw the turkey safely in the refrigerator.

“For every five pounds of turkey, thaw it for one day. So, for example, if you have a 20-pound turkey, it would take roughly four to five days to thaw out,” Neyman said.

“When thawing the turkey, put it on the bottom shelf,” said Jennifer Zellefrow, registered and licensed dietitian and food service director for the Moniteau School District.

She noted other thawing methods. “You can submerge the turkey in cold water and change the water every half-hour or, if it's a small enough turkey, you could do it in a microwave.”

After thawing, the turkey presents other issues.

“You don't want to wash your turkey at home. You're creating an opportunity for pathogens to spread,” said Jennifer Taylor, hospitality management instructor and hospitality program coordinator at BC3. “When water hits the turkey, it splatters on the counters.”

She also recommended preparing meat separately from produce. She said hands, knives and utensils, cutting boards and countertops all should be washed after working with raw turkey and other meat.

“You want to make sure you're washing your hands in hot soapy water for 20 seconds,” Zellefrow agreed.

An antibacterial or disinfectant cleaner works well for sanitizing counters, Zellefrow said.

“I get a lot of questions about stuffing a turkey and whether we should or we shouldn't,” Taylor said.

She shared advice for cooks who want to put the stuffing inside the turkey instead of baking the stuffing separately.

She said it is not a good idea to put a stuffed bird in the refrigerator. Rather, store the stuffing separately and then put bird and bread together just before roasting the turkey.

For each pound of turkey, Taylor said, put ½ to ¾ cup of stuffing into the turkey cavity.

“When you're stuffing the bird, don't overstuff it,” she said. “As the stuffing cooks, it expands, and so it needs some space to allow for that expansion.”

The lowest cooking temperature for a turkey is 325 degrees, she said. That keeps the turkey from spending too much time at a lower temperature that could allow bacteria to multiply.

“When you're roasting your bird when it's stuffed, it's going to take a little longer. So you would want to plan accordingly. Maybe add on 45 minutes to an hour cooking time,” Taylor said.To be sure the turkey is done, she recommended using a bimetallic stem thermometer — a food thermometer — to determine when cooking is finished.She said to check the temperature at the breast, in the stuffing and other places on the turkey following the directions for the thermometer being used.“The stuffing and turkey have to get above 165 degrees. That may mean your turkey legs may actually come up to 185 degrees,” Taylor said.Roast turkey and its trimmings taste good the first time around, but the leftovers are favorites, too.Taylor said, “You want to break down the turkey into smaller pieces and remove the stuffing if you have a stuffed turkey.”“Store the leftovers within two hours to prevent bacteria from growing,” Zellefrow said. “You want to separate them into small containers so they can cool quickly. You don't want to run the risk of increasing the temperature in your refrigerator.”For safety, Zellefrow said storage for the leftovers should be at less than 40 degrees.The turkey, potatoes, stuffing and other leftovers — including the delicious pumpkin pie — all require refrigeration.When it's time to reheat, Taylor said to bring the hot food to 165 degrees once more.It's turkey time again.For more information about turkey preparation and leftovers from the feast, visit the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service website, www.fsis.usda.gov, for “Let's Talk Turkey — A Consumer Guide to Safely Roasting a Turkey.”