Show Cook Turkey Day Daybird DayI I bird with care Thanksgiving dinner is a happy occa occa- occasion slon sion for family gatherings but day all cooking and large quantities of food may lead to bacteria and food poisoning According to Georgia La Lauritzen Utah State University extension food and nutrition specialist you need to careful careful- carefully ly monitor the temperature of your food t to avoid harmful ba bacteria terla Most bacteria forms in food in the temperature range of 40 to 1400 F Lauritzen says so It Is Important to Lo keep the food out of this temperature range as much as possible For this reason Lauritzen says it Is best not to stuff your turkey the night before especially if you are adding cook cook- cooked ed dressing to an uncooked turkey It will cause the turkey to warm up and keep the dressing from cooling to a safe s-afe temperature quickly Many of the turkeys today have built built- In timers which pop out when the bird Is cooked but you still should double check checkwith checkwith with a meat thermometer Lauritzen says A well done turkey should reach 1700 F in the deepest part of the breast and in the joint between the thigh and the body cavity If the turkey is stuff stuff- stuffed stuffed ed the dressing should also exceed F Lauritzen says that after the big feast you should work quickly at storing your leftovers for maximum safety you want to to get the the leftovers to toa temperature a beloW below 40 F as soon as possible it Is best to slice the turkey and wrap it In plastic The same goes for the stuffing Lauritzen says Put it in a apan apan pan no deeper than one inch for quick cooling She says the traditional pumpkin pie can also be a bacteria problem If len left too long because it usual usual- usually usually ly contains dairy products which can easily spoil It is a much misunderstood wives tale that food should completely cool before it is put in the refrigerator Lauritzen says Maximum bacteria safety means keeping food either above F or below WF 40 F as much as possible |