Don’t cook your goose

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Tomas Widemond
  • 60th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  It's the start of the holiday season. Families will soon travel far and wide to gather around the table for the joyous occasion of enjoying a traditional well-prepared meal.
While it's important to spend time with your loved ones, it's also important to remember food safety. 

Here are some important food safety tips to assist you and your family in preparing a safe holiday meal, courtesy of the 60th Aerospace Medicine Squadron's Public Health department at David Grant United States Air Force Medical Center: 

Hand washing: The presence of bacteria on raw poultry is potentially everywhere. This can easily contaminate your hands, utensils, and work surfaces as you prepare the turkey. If these areas are not cleaned thoroughly before working with other foods, bacteria from the raw poultry can then be transferred to other foods. After working with any raw poultry, always wash your hands, utensils, and work surfaces before they touch other foods. The take home message here is the culprit of most food-borne illnesses stem from practicing unsanitary habits, so please wash your hands between each task. 

Thawing turkeys safely: Thawing turkeys must be done within a safe temperature. The "danger zone" is between 40 and 140 degrees -- the temperature range where food-borne bacteria rapidly multiplies. While frozen, a turkey or any other poultry is safe indefinitely, but as soon as it begins to thaw, bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to grow again if it is in the "danger zone." 

A simple measure for safe thawing would be to place the turkey in the refrigerator at least one full day before cooking your meal. Be sure to plan ahead; the refrigerator thawing process requires 24 hours for every five pounds of meat. Therefore, a 15-pound bird requires about 72 hours to fully thaw out. Keep your turkey wrapped and do not remove from the refrigerator until fully thawed out. Any interruption affects the thawing process and adds to it. 

However, if you're one of those last-minute planners whose bird is still frozen rock solid and your family is getting in the car to come to your house, don't panic. Submerge it completely in cold water and keep exchanging with fresh water every 30 minutes. In this case, it takes approximately one hour to thaw two pounds of meat, so if you have a 14 pound turkey, it should take approximately seven hours to thaw out. 

Cook your food thoroughly: For optimal safety and to ensure food is cooked adequately, prepare and cook the stuffing outside the turkey in a casserole dish. However, if you place stuffing inside the turkey, do so just before cooking, and use a food thermometer. Make sure the center of the stuffing reaches a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. Bacteria can survive in stuffing that has not reached 165 degrees, possibly resulting in food-borne illness. 

Set the oven temperature to no lower than 325 degrees and be sure the turkey is completely thawed. Place the turkey breast-side up on a flat wire rack in a shallow roasting pan 2 to 2-1/2 inches deep. Check the internal temperature at the center of the stuffing and meaty portion of the breast, thigh, and wing joint using a food thermometer. Since your cooking times will vary, the food thermometer must reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. Also, let the turkey stand 20 minutes before removing all stuffing from the cavity and carving the meat. 

However, if you're into the popular alternative of deep-frying your turkey, extra precautions need to be taken. Always use an Underwriter's Laboratory approved deep fryer to help keep you from hurting yourself or others while making your holiday meal, and remember these important tips: 

· Turkey fryers should always be used outdoors at a safe distance from buildings and other flammable materials.
· Never leave the fryer unattended. Most units don't have thermostat controls, so the fryer oil will continue to heat until it catches fire. Watch and ensure it does not get out of hand.
· Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and be careful if using marinades. Oil and water do not mix--water can cause oil to spill over, which may cause a fire.
· Keep a fire extinguisher nearby. Never use water to extinguish a grease fire.

It's also important to remember proper cooking temperatures for all other food items, as this will impede bacteria growth in your holiday meals. The simple rule to follow is if your food is going to be out for more than four hours, keep cold foods cold, below 40 degrees, and hot foods hot, above 165 degrees. 

By following all of these safety tips of proper hand washing, thawing, and thorough cooking, I assure you and your family will not only have an excellent holiday meal, but also a great pastime.