Turkey Cooking Times Safety First

Turkey Cooking Times Safety First…

Using a thermometer is the only safe way to be assured that food has reached a temperature high enough to destroy harmful bacteria. The following are guidelines to safeguard your friends and family during the holiday season:

* Turkey must reach an internal temperature of 185º F
* Insert a fork into the thigh or breast of a turkey, if juices are clear the turkey is fully cooked
* Do no refreeze thawed poultry
* Within 2 hours of the start of your meal, all perishable foods must be refrigerated
* If you cook a turkey that comes with a pop-up timer, the cooking process can be almost foolproof. However, if you stuff the turkey, you still need to use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the stuffing to make sure it has reached a minimum temperature of 165°F.
* Leftover stuffing that was originally cooked inside the turkey and has been removed should be reheated to a minimum temperature of 165°F.
* Stuffing that is placed inside the turkey is often undercooked because many cooks do not allow for the extra turkey cooking time required for a stuffed bird. This increases the chances of food poisoning.
* The meat near the bones of a turkey (or any poultry) may still look a bit pink even if a meat thermometer indicates that the turkey is fully cooked. This is because younger turkeys have bones that are more porous than older turkeys, which allows red pigment to leach out from the bones to the nearby meat during the cooking process. The turkey is safe to eat as long as the proper internal temperature has been reached and the juices run clear.
Turkey cooking time...

TURKEY COOKING TIME-2

Approximate Turkey Cooking / Roasting Times

Whole Turkey Cooked at 325º

Weight	8 to 12 pounds	12 to 14 pounds	14 to 18 pounds	18 to 20 pounds	20 to 24 pounds	24 to 30 pounds
Unstuffed	2¾ to 3 hours	3 to 3¾ hours	3¾ to 4¼ hours	4¼ to 4½ hours	4½ to 5 hours	5 to 5¼ hours
Stuffed	3 to 3½ hours	3½ to 4 hours	4 to 4¼ hours	4¼ to 4¾ hours	4¾ to 5¼ hours	5¼ to 6¼ hours

Oven-Safe Bag

The preparation and turkey cooking / roasting steps are identical to the steps used for preparing and roasting a turkey without an oven bag except for the following additional steps:

• Add a small quantity of flour to the bag and shake it to coat the inside of the bag.
• Place the turkey inside the bag and close the opening with the twist tie provided.
• A few holes should be punctured in the bag to allow some steam to escape during the roasting process.

The oven-roasting bag keeps the turkey very moist and it speeds up the roasting time. The following cooking times can be used as a guideline for an unstuffed turkey roasted in an oven bag in a 350°F conventional oven. An additional 30 minutes or more may be required for a stuffed turkey. The only true gauge for determining proper doneness is with a meat thermometer. The breast must reach an internal temperature of 170°F and the thigh must reach 180°F.

Turkey cooking time .....

8 to 12 pounds	12 to 14 pounds	14 to 18 pounds	18 to 20 pounds	20 to 24 pounds	24 to 30 pounds
1½ to 2 ¼ hours	2¼ to 2¾ hours	2¾ to 3½ hours	3½ to 4 hours	4 to 4½ hours	4½ to 5 hours

Cooking Turkey Safety-1

Cooking Turkey Safety-1

Stuffing Safely

* Never stuff the turkey in advance in an effort to save time.
* Once you have decided on a stuffing recipe, mix ingredients quickly and lightly stuff the washed cavity just before placing the turkey in the oven.
* Chopping vegetable ingredients and bread preparation can be done in advance, but liquids and/or moist ingredients should not be added to dry ingredients until just before stuffing the turkey.
* Allow 1/2 to 3/4 cup stuffing per pound of turkey.
* Stuffing needs room to expand during cooking, do not over-stuff.
* The stuffing recipe may be more than your turkey can hold. Place extra stuffing in a greased pan or casserole dish and bake separately.
* Stuffing contains potentially hazardous ingredients, such as broth, eggs and meat, etc. That means these ingredients could cause illness if not properly cooked and stored.
* Stuffing must be cooked to a minimum temperature of 165°F to be safe.
* Stuffing should be removed from the cavity of the bird to a separate dish before carving the turkey.
* Do not leave stuffing and other leftovers out for more than 2 hours. Refrigerate leftovers immediately following the meal.
* Store leftover stuffing in the refrigerator and use within 1 to 2 days.
* Reheat leftover stuffing to 165 degrees F before serving.
* For safety, prepare stuffing or dressing for the turkey according to these directions.

Cooking Turkey Safety

Cooking Turkey Safety

Thawing Safely

In the refrigerator

* Thaw the turkey in its original wrap on a tray placed in the bottom section of the refrigerator.
* Allow about 24 hours of defrost time for every 5 pounds of turkey. Example: a 20 pound turkey will take 4 to 5 days to thaw.
* Do not thaw on the counter. Thawing at room temperature increases the risk of bacteria growth.
* At room temperature, bacteria on the turkey can grow rapidly when the outside portion of the bird begins to thaw. These bacteria can multiply to dangerously high levels producing toxins that cooking may not destroy.

In cold water

* Thawing in cold water is safe too. Submerge the bird in its wrapper in a deep sink of cold water and change the water every 30 minutes to keep it cold.
* Allow 30 minutes per pound to defrost a turkey in cold water. Do not use warm or hot water.

Microwave Thawing

* Microwave thawing is another option. Make sure your microwave oven is large enough to hold the turkey especially if the oven has a rotating tray.
* Check manufacturer's instructions for the size turkey that will fit into your oven.
* Caution: Microwave defrosting is irregular, creating hot spots, which may encourage bacterial growth. Cook the Turkey immediately after defrosting. Do not store in the refrigerator for cooking later.
* A turkey must be kept at a safe temperature during thawing. Learn three safe methods.
Turkey cooking time....

TURKEY COOKING TIME-1

TURKEY COOKING TIME-1

You should cook a turkey until it is done but not over-done. You measure how long to cook a turkey not with a clock - but with a thermometer.
Some of the variables which influence cooking times for turkey include: the size of the turkey, the weight of the bird, the moisture content, the temperature of the turkey when it goes into
the oven, the cooking temperature, loss of oven heat caused by opening the oven door, temperature fluctuation caused by the oven thermostat, incorrect oven temperature caused by a mis-calibrated thermostat, even altitude will effect cooking time.

And when we move to the backyard, the list includes: outdoor temperature, wind, and numerous other factors dependant on the cooking method and type of cooker.
So how long to cook a turkey doesn't have an precise answer.
There is a range of times when it might be done.
Even if you do use a probe thermometer we still recommend double checking with a good instant read thermometer to be certain that the whole bird is done but not overdone.
The final temperature of the bird, after "resting" for 15 to 20 minutes, should be not much more than 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature will continue to rise 5 to 10 degrees after the turkey is removed from the oven.
Turkey Cooking Time...

Turkey Roasting Hints and Tips

Turkey Roasting Hints and Tips (turkey cooking time)

Do you know that a "frozen" turkey is fresher than a "fresh" turkey?
The frozen turkey have been frozen immediately upon preparation. The so called fresh turkeys can sit in your store for days. Types of Turkeys.

* It takes a full 24 hours to defrost every five pounds of frozen turkey in the refrigerator. A 20-pound turkey needs to defrost for a full four days. Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity as soon as they can be removed (which will be before the turkey is fully defrosted).

* Use a shallow roasting pan. If you use a deep roasting pan, you wind up steaming the meat.

* Do not stuff your turkey ahead of time as harmful bacteria growth could spoil the uncooked turkey. Just before roasting, stuff the body and the neck of the turkey. Do not pack in as the stuffing will expand during cooking. If packed in too tightly, it will be very dense instead of light. Sew the abdomen closed and sew the legs together close to the body so that the stuffing cooks evenly.

* Roast your turkey breast-side down on a v-shaped rack until the last hour or so in the oven, then turn it to brown the breast. The result is a moister white meat.

* To prevent the breast meat from drying out, loosely cover just the breast with a triple thick sheet of aluminum foil, butter on on the inside to prevent sticking. Remove after the first hour of roasting so the breast has time to brown.(Turkey cooking time)

* Never rely on the little plastic thermometer in some turkeys to pop out. If you wait for it, the turkey will overcook. Instead stick an instant read thermometer several inches down through the skin between the thigh and the breast so the tip ends up about an inch above the joint. The turkey is ready when the thermometer reads 165 degrees F.

Take The Guesswork Out Of Cooking.

* Let the cooked turkey "rest" after it have been removed from the oven. While the turkey cooks, the juices are forced away from the heat to the middle of the turkey. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes after it is removed from the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the turkey. A moist turkey is easier to carve.

* Baste, baste, baste.

* If you need your oven to reheat or cook side dishes, it's better to serve the turkey at room temperature with hot gravy than to reheat it. Reheating dries out the meat. The interior of a large turkey will stay quite hot for at least an hour.

* Using A Cooking Bag: This is an easy way to cook your turkey. It keeps all the juices and flavors in the bag and the turkey is automatically basted while it cooks. You end up with more juices than cooking the conventional way because they do not evaporate during roasting. The juices also do not burn and stick to the pan.
Turkey cooking time...

Turkey Cooking Time

Turkey Cooking Time

The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a change in the "Single Minimum Internal Temperature Established for Cooked Poultry". The new Turkey cooking time recommendation is as follows:

"A whole turkey (and turkey parts) is safe when cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F as measured with a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook turkey to higher temperatures."

This new cooking temperature is a change from previous 180°F for a whole turkey and 170°F for turkey breast. The single minimum internal temperature change to 165°F was recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) in a press release earlier this year. All turkey cooking time recommendations is updated (11/08).