It’s the season to enjoy good company and great food.
It’s also the season to take extra precautions when cooking your holiday turkey.
Interior Health’s Kevin Touchet, Manager of Environmental Health has these suggestions when it comes to thawing your turkey.
“If it’s coming out of the freezer or frozen state, there are a couple of ways to thaw it out and that’s in a sink full of cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes. Or in the refrigerator on the lowest shelf and put a tray down below that bird just in case there are any drippings that come off of it.”
Touchet said it’s not a good idea to thaw the turkey at room temperature because it allows harmful bacteria to grow and not to try and thaw it in the microwave as the outside temperature of it will be raised but the internal core could still be frozen.
And when handling the turkey, Touchet, has this suggestion.
“After you’ve been handling the bird make sure to wash your hands, any utensils and work surfaces. Those kinds of surfaces other than hand washing you might want to use some sanitizer on those surfaces. A little bit of diluted bleach can help to disinfect after you’ve done that washing step. Let the cutting board and the knives and those kinds of things sit in the sink for a couple of minutes afterward.”
Touchet said it’s important to cook the turkey thoroughly with an oven temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for at least 20 minutes a pound.
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