It’s time to start defrosting that frozen turkey if you want it ready for Thanksgiving Day. The Department of Agriculture wants to encourage food safety tips to prevent dangerous foodborne illnesses. When it comes to defrosting your turkey, USDA Food Safety Expert Meredith Carothers recommends that you do so in the refrigerator, never leave it out to thaw on the kitchen counter.
“Refrigerator is the safest way to thaw your turkey and we say it takes about 24 hours for every four to five pounds. So if you have a 20-pound turkey, you want to give yourself four to five days in order for that to get fully thawed.”
More than 46 million turkeys will be cooked this Thanksgiving according to USDA.
The traditional way to cook a turkey is in the oven but many Louisianans prefer to cook it in a deep fryer. Carothers urges Louisianans to make sure the turkey is fully thawed before it goes in a deep-fryer.
“When a frozen turkey or those ice crystals come in contact with hot oil it rapidly creates steam that can cause that oil to bubble over.”
USDA doesn’t recommend stuffing a turkey due to the increased risk of cross-contamination. A stuffed turkey also takes longer to cook.
But if you decide to stuff your turkey, Carothers suggests placing the turkey in the oven right away especially when using hot stuffing.
“Because the warm stuffing can cause bacteria that are inside that turkey cavity to start to multiply and certain bacteria they multiply to dangerous levels can produce toxins that are heat resistant and won’t be killed by the cooking process.”
If you have any food safety questions you can call the USDA hotline weekdays from 10 am to 6 pm and on Thanksgiving Day from 8 am until 2 pm at 1-888-674-6854 or chat live at ask-dot-usda-dot-gov.
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