Responsible Serving of Food for your Turkey Dinner

HomeResponsible Serving^® of Food for your Turkey Dinner

What's the number one rule for Thanksgiving dinner? Don't make your guests sick.

That means you'll need to properly thaw and cook your Thanksgiving meal and safely handle any leftovers. We'll cover the food safety basics and give you links to more detailed information.

Keeping things clean
Remember to wash your hands thoroughly before cooking and immediately after handling any raw poultry, meats, eggs, or items containing those raw ingredients.

You should also thoroughly wash any counters, sinks, and kitchen utensils that come in contact with raw turkey, raw meats, eggs or items containing those raw ingredients.

Safe thawing of food
The proper ways to thaw a turkey are thawing in a refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. Leaving a turkey to thaw at room temperature is not safe and may result in food-borne illness.

For specific directions on safe thawing methods, please visit this link from the USDA:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Lets_Talk_Turkey/index.asp

Is the turkey done?
Use a meat thermometer to make sure that your turkey is properly cooked and has reached the proper internal temperature

Use a meat thermometer to make sure that your turkey is properly cooked and has reached the proper internal temperature

To be safe, poultry must reach an internal temperature of 165Â° F and stay at that temperature for at least 15 seconds.

Be sure that your turkey has been cooked thoroughly by using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat (test the inner part of the wing and thigh and the thickest part of the breast).

Don't rely on the pop-up button to tell if your turkey has finished cooking, always double-check with a food thermometer.

Handling leftovers
Thanksgiving is a big day for grazing while you watch football or after you wake up from that post-turkey nap. However, leaving leftovers out all afternoon and evening is asking for a stomachache (or much worse).

Put leftover food away immediately after the main meal and either let guests get extras from the fridge as they want it or bring the leftovers back out later in the day.

According to USDA guidelines, any turkey, stuffing or gravy that is left at room temperature for more than two hours should be discarded.

For more information about Thanksgiving Food Safety, here are some more helpful links:

USDA: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Lets_Talk_Turkey/index.asp
CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/features/turkeytime/

For more information about food safety and proper food handling, check out our Food Safety for Handlers course.

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