How To Safely Prepare Your Thanksgiving Turkey

How much do you need?

Butterball has a turkey calculator that allows you to enter the number of people attending (adults and children) and whether you want some turkey left at the end for sandwiches. It’ll calculate the size of the turkey, and how much stuffing you’ll need.

For example, if you’re having 10 adults at dinner, you’ll need a 15 lbs. turkey and about 11 cups of stuffing. That amount should provide you with some leftovers.

Fresh or frozen?

The benefit of buying a fresh turkey is that it needs no thawing and is ready to cook. But those can be hard to find if you don’t have connections at your local butcher or poultry farmer – frozen versions can be bought weeks in advance, but need a few days to thaw before roasting.

How to thaw your bird

There are two methods – the refrigerator or submerging in cold water. Experts advise against leaving the raw turkey out on the counter at room temperature because it could promote the growth of bacteria, such as salmonella.

To safely thaw turkey in the fridge, leave the packaging on, and store it breast-side up on a tray or cookie sheet. Allow one day of thawing for every four pounds of bird.

If you don’t have the time to spend days thawing your turkey, a quicker method is to submerge it in a sink of cold tap water. Put the packaged turkey in the sink, breast-side down and fill up the sink with cold water until the bird is completely covered. Drain and refill the sink every half hour to keep the surface cold. You can expect that it’ll take 30 minutes per pound to thaw the whole turkey.

How to safely handle turkey

If you’re thawing a turkey in the refrigerator, place a tray underneath to catch any uncooked juices, which could pose a bacterial risk.

Thawed turkey can be kept in the fridge for up to four days before cooking.

Put raw turkey on a non-porous surface – which is easy to clean up afterward. Use two different cutting boards – one for your raw meats, and one for your vegetables and other ready-to-eat food.

Clean cutting boards and any other surfaces that have touched the raw bird with hot soapy water.

Use paper towels to clean up turkey juice, not cloth.

Stuff turkey just before roasting, not the night before.

Use a food thermometer to determine whether the turkey is done.

The turkey should be cooked to an internal temperature of 60C and a final temperature of 175C in the thigh. If stuffed, the stuffing should reach 70C degrees.

If you don’t have a meat thermometer to measure the temperature of the stuffing, cook the stuffing separately.

Within two hours of cooking, store your leftover turkey in the fridge. Keep the meat in separate containers from the stuffing, gravy, and veggies.

Tips courtesy www.butterball.com

For more information on preparing all your holiday favourites without endangering your family or guests, check out the Canadian Food Inspection Agency suggestions here.

And for more turkey talk, click here.

Here’s a turkey recipe that’s easy to follow and includes all the trimmings.

Roast Turkey with Herbed Stuffing

6.75 kg (15 lb) turkey

60 ml (1/4 cup) butter, softened

2 ml (1/2 tsp) each dried sage and thyme

5 ml (1 tsp) each salt and pepper

Herbed Stuffing

180 ml (3/4 cup) butter

625 ml (2 1/2 cups) chopped onions

250 ml (1 cup) each chopped celery and fennel (or 500 ml/2 cups celery)

20 ml (4 tsp) dried sage

5 ml (1 tsp) each salt, dried savory, marjoram and pepper

2 ml (1/2 tsp) dried thyme

3.5 l (14 cups) cubed white bread

250 ml (1 cup) chopped fresh parsley

Stock:

1.125 l (4 1/2 cups) chicken stock

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) white wine or water (approx)

1 onion chopped

125 ml (1/2 cup) each sliced carrot and celery

Gravy

60 ml (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour

30 ml (2 tbsp) butter

2 ml ( tsp) each salt and pepper

For herbed stuffing, in large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; fry onions, celery, fennel, sage, salt, savory, marjoram, pepper and thyme, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add bread and parsley; toss to combine. Set aside. Make-ahead: Let cool; refrigerate in airtight container for up to 24 hours.

Remove giblets and neck from turkey; place in large saucepan and set aside.

Pat turkey with paper towels inside and out. Loosely fill neck cavity with stuffing; fold neck skin over stuffing and skewer to back. Lift wings and twist under back. Stuff body cavity. Tuck legs under band of skin or tie together with string.

Immediately place turkey, breast side up, on rack in roasting pan. In small bowl, mix together butter, sage and thyme; rub over turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tent with foil, dull side out, leaving sides open.

Roast in 160 C (325 F) oven, basting every 30 minutes for 4 hours. Remove foil; roast until meat thermometer inserted in thigh registers at 85 C (185 F) and stuffing 74 C (165 F), about 1 hour longer. Transfer to cutting board; tent with foil and let stand for 20 minutes.

Stock: Meanwhile, in saucepan with turkey parts, add stock, wine, onion, carrot and celery; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and skim off fat; simmer for 3 hours. Strain into measuring cup, adding enough wine to make 750 ml (3 cups). Set aside.

To make gravy, skim off fat in roasting pan; cook over medium heat 1 minute. Whisk in stock and bring to boil, stirring to scrape up brown bits; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in butter, salt and pepper. Strain if desired.

With carving knife and fork, cut legs from turkey, twisting loose if necessary. Cut thigh from drumstick at joint; carve dark meat from each piece. Cut off wings. With tip of knife toward body cavity, carve breast thinly, gradually angling knife to slice thick part of breast.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Nutrients per each of 10 servings: about 693 calories, 67 g protein, 33 g total fat (16 g sat. fat), 28 g carbohydrates, 219 mg cholesterol, 3 g fibre, 1,500 mg sodium.

Source: Canadian Living’s Everyday Favourites (Transcontinental Books Inc.)