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Cooking turkey – some tips to avoid food poisoning this Christmas

Cooking Turkey Safely

Cooking Turkey Safely

Cook the perfect turkey with our tips on defrosting and cooking poultry safely, and how to store leftovers.

Defrosting your turkey

Preparing the turkey

Cooking the turkey

Storing leftovers

Defrosting your turkey

If you buy a frozen turkey, make sure that the turkey is properly defrosted before cooking it. If it’s still partially frozen, it may not cook evenly, which means that harmful bacteria could survive the cooking process.

Defrosting should be done in the fridge if possible (or somewhere cool) and separated from touching other foods, with a container large enough to catch the defrosted juices. This is important to stop cross-contamination.

Defrosting checklist

Work out defrosting time in advance, so you know how much time to allow – it can take at least a couple of days for a large turkey to thaw.

When you start defrosting, take the turkey out of its packaging, put it on a large dish and cover. The dish will hold the liquid that comes out of the thawing turkey.

Remove the giblets and the neck as soon as possible to speed up the thawing process. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw turkey, giblets or any other raw meat.

Before cooking, make sure there aren’t any ice crystals in the cavity. Test the thicker parts of the turkey with a fork to tell whether the meat feels frozen.

Turkey (and any other poultry) is best defrosted in a covered dish at the bottom of the fridge so that it can’t drip onto other foods.

Pour away the liquid that comes out of the defrosting turkey regularly to stop it overflowing and spreading bacteria. Be careful not to splash the liquid onto worktops, dishes, cloths or other food.

Bear in mind what else is you have stored in the fridge. Cooked meats need to be covered and stored higher up.

If the bird is too big for the fridge, put it somewhere out of reach from animals and children where it won’t touch other foods. A cool room, shed or garage are all good places.

If you’re not using the fridge, watch out for sudden changes in room temperature, as they could prevent the turkey from thawing evenly.

Defrosting times

To work out the defrosting time for your turkey, check the packaging for any guidance first. If there aren’t any defrosting instructions, use the following times to work out roughly how long it will take to thaw your turkey.

in a fridge at 4ºC (39ºF), allow about 10 to 12 hours per kg, but remember that not all fridges will be this temperature

in a cool room (below 17.5ºC, 64ºF), allow approximately three to four hours per kg, or longer if the room is particularly cold

at room temperature (about 20ºC, 68ºF) allow approximately two hours per kg

When your turkey is fully defrosted, put it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it. If this isn’t possible, make sure you cook it immediately.

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Preparing the turkey

Keep the uncooked turkey away from food that’s ready to eat. If raw poultry, or other raw meat, touches or drips onto these foods, bacteria will spread and may cause food poisoning.

Bacteria can spread from raw meat and poultry to worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils. To keep your Christmas food safe, remember the following things:

After touching raw poultry or other raw meat, always wash your hands with warm water and soap, and dry them thoroughly.

There’s no need to wash your turkey before your cook it. If you do, bacteria from raw poultry can splash onto worktops, dishes and other foods. Proper cooking will kill any bacteria.

Always clean worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils thoroughly after they have touched raw poultry or meat.

Never use the same chopping board for raw poultry or meat and ready-to-eat food without washing it thoroughly in warm soapy water first. If possible, use a separate chopping board just for raw meat and poultry.

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Cooking your tukey

Plan your cooking time in advance to make sure you get the bird in the oven early enough to cook it thoroughly. A large turkey can take several hours to cook properly. Eating undercooked turkey (or other poultry) could cause food poisoning.

Three ways you can tell a turkey is cooked:

the meat should be steaming hot all the way through

none of the meat should be pink when you cut into the thickest part of the bird

the juices should run clear when you pierce the turkey or press the thigh

If you’re using a temperature probe or food thermometer, ensure that the thickest part of the bird (between the breast and the thigh) reaches at least 70°C for two minutes.

Turkey cooking times

The cooking times below are based on an unstuffed bird. It’s better to cook your stuffing in a separate roasting tin, rather than inside the bird, so that it will cook more easily and the cooking guidelines will be more accurate.

If you cook your bird with the stuffing inside, you need to allow extra time for the stuffing and for the fact that it cooks more slowly.

Some ovens, such as fan-assisted ovens, might cook the bird more quickly – check the guidance on the packaging and the manufacturer’s handbook for your oven if you can.

As a general guide, in an oven preheated to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mark 4):

allow 45 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes for a turkey under 4.5kg

allow 40 minutes per kg for a turkey that’s between 4.5kg and 6.5kg

allow 35 minutes per kg for a turkey of more than 6.5kg

Cover your turkey with foil during cooking and uncover for the last 30 minutes to brown the skin. To stop the meat drying out, baste it every hour during cooking.

Cooking times for other birds

Other birds, such as goose and duck, need different cooking times and temperatures. The oven should always be hotter for duck and goose in order to melt the fat under the skin.

goose should be cooked in a preheated oven at 200ºC/425ºF/gas mark 7 for 35 minutes per kg

duck should be cooked in a preheated oven for 45 minutes per kg at 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6

chicken should be cooked in a preheated oven at 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 for 45 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes

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Storing leftovers

Keep cooked meat and poultry in the fridge. If they are left out at room temperature, bacteria that causes food poisoning can grow and multiply.

After you’ve feasted on the turkey, cool any leftovers as quickly as possible (within one or two hours), cover them and put them in the fridge. Ideally, try to use up leftovers within 48 hours.

When you’re serving cold turkey, take out only as much as you’re going to use and put the rest back in the fridge. Don’t leave a plate of turkey or cold meats out all day, for example, on a buffet.bacteria

 

If you’re reheating leftover turkey or other food, always make sure it’s steaming hot all the way through before you eat it. Don’t reheat more than once. Ideally, use leftovers within 48 hours.

Find out more on storing food safely in our food hygiene section.

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12 tips for a healthy Christmas and Thanksgiving

Tips for a safe Christmas and Thanksgiving

Tips for a safe Christmas and Thanksgiving

From defrosting turkey to using leftovers, these food safety tips will help stop your turkey from knocking the stuffing out of you this Christmas. (and Thanksgiving)

Avoid cross-contamination

Keep all raw food, whether it’s turkey or vegetables, separate from ready-to-eat foods to avoid cross-contamination. Use separate chopping boards for raw food and ready-to-eat food. Raw foods can contain harmful bacteria that are spread very easily to anything they touch, including other foods, worktops, chopping boards and knives.

Set the fridge to 5°C

Store food that needs to be chilled in the fridge until you need it. Make sure the fridge temperature is below 5°C. Don’t pack food too tightly, as the cold air needs to circulate to cool food down. If you’re storing food such as fresh vegetables outside in a garage or shed, keep them in a sealed container.

Wash your hands

Always wash and dry your hands thoroughly before and after handling food, especially when handling and preparing raw meat and poultry. You also need to remember to wash and dry your hands after going to the toilet, touching the bin or touching any pets. Bugs are spread between food, surfaces and utensils most effectively on wet or damp hands.

Defrost turkey safely

Defrost the turkey on a large dish and cover, preferably in the fridge. Remove the giblets and the neck to speed up thawing. Alternatively, defrost the turkey in a cool, clean place where the temperature is fairly constant. Keep in mind that the temperature of where the turkey is kept will affect thawing times.

Turkey defrosting times

It can take up to 48 hours for a large turkey to thaw. To work out the defrosting time for your turkey, check the packaging. If there aren’t any defrosting instructions, use the following times as a guide:

in a fridge at 4ºC (39ºF), allow about 10 to 12 hours per kg

in a cool room (below 17.5ºC, 64ºF), allow approximately three to four hours per kg

at room temperature (about 20ºC, 68ºF), allow approximately two hours per kg

A turkey is fully defrosted when there are no ice crystals inside the cavity and the meat is soft when you insert a fork or skewer. Once thawed, store it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. If this isn’t possible, you should cook it immediately.

Don’t wash the bird

Eighty per cent of people say they wash their turkeys before cooking them, but this significantly increases the risk of food poisoning by splashing germs around the kitchen. Don’t wash your bird, because it will only spread germs. Thorough cooking will kill any bacteria that might be present.

Cook turkey properly

Seventeen per cent of people aren’t sure how to tell when their turkey is cooked. Make sure your turkey is steaming hot all the way through before serving. When you cut into the thickest part of the turkey, none of the meat should be pink. If juices flow out when you pierce the turkey or when you press the thigh, they should be clear. If you’re using a temperature probe or food thermometer, ensure that the thickest part of the bird (between the breast and the thigh) reaches at least 70°C for two minutes.

Find out more about turkey cooking times.

Goose and other birds

Other birds, such as goose and duck, have different cooking times and temperatures. The oven should always be hotter for duck and goose in order to melt the fat under the skin.

goose should be cooked in a preheated oven at 200ºC/425ºF/Gas Mark 7 for 35 minutes per kg

duck should be cooked in a preheated oven for 45 minutes per kg at 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6

chicken should be cooked in a preheated oven at 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 for 45 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes

Wash your veg

Most of the bacteria on vegetables will be in the soil attached to the produce. Washing to remove any soil is therefore particularly important. When you wash vegetables, don’t just hold them under the running tap. Rub them under water, for example in a bowl of fresh water. Start with the least soiled items first and give each of them a final rinse. Washing loose produce is particularly important, as it tends to have more soil attached to it than pre-packaged fruit and vegetables.

Know your dates

Sniffing food is not a reliable way of telling whether food is still safe to eat. Some harmful bacteria don’t always change the way foods smell, taste or look. Food with a “use-by” date goes off quite quickly and it can be dangerous to eat after this date. Food with a “best before” date is longer-lasting. It may not be at its best quality after this date but should be safe to eat. Eggs can be eaten a day or two after their best before date, as long as they are cooked thoroughly until both yolk and white are solid, or if they are used in dishes where they will be fully cooked, such as a cake.

Preparing a buffet

Cold items for a buffet should remain covered and in the fridge until the last minute. Don’t keep them out for more than four hours. Food kept out for longer could be open to harmful bacteria if left to get warm at room temperature. Foods which are cooked and intended to be served cold should be cooled as quickly as possible, ideally within one to two hours. You can cool food down faster by separating it into small batches, placing it in a container and placing the container in a shallow dish of cold water.

Cool leftovers

Cool leftovers as quickly as possible, ideally within 90 minutes, then cover and refrigerate. Splitting food into smaller portions can help cooling. Use leftovers within two days and reheat until they are steaming hot all the way through. Don’t reheat leftovers more than once. If you want to keep leftovers longer than two days, you can freeze them instead. Cool leftovers as described above before putting them in the freezer. Once defrosted, don’t refreeze the leftovers unless you cook them again first.

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Behçet’s disease – what are the signs and symptoms of Behçet’s disease? Find out more about this autoimmune condition!

Behçet's disease and the Silk Road

Behçet’s disease and the Silk Road

Welcome to the latest in our series of informational blog posts looking at some different auto-immune conditions.  For a fuller explanation of what it means to have an auto-immune condition please go to our previous blog on the subject – https://patienttalk.org/?p=939

Behçet’s disease (also called Behçet’s syndrome) is a rare medical condition which leads to inflammation of the blood vessels.  This in turn can cause some of the following symptoms:-

1)   Mouth ulcers.  In fact almost all people with Behçet’s disease will get mouth ulcers.

2)   Genital ulcers.  Again around 85% of people with the syndrome will develop very painful genital ulcers.

3)   Skin lesions such as acne appear in most cases of the condition.  The skin in general can also become more sensitive.

4)   Inflammation of the joints can occur leading to arthritis like symptoms.

5)   Inflammation of the eye.  While only a minority of people with Behçet’s disease develop this symptom it can lead to permanent loss of vision.

6)   Inflammation of the veins and central nervous system.  This is rare however.

Currently the causes of Behçet’s disease are unknown.  However some theories suggest a combination of genetics combined with environmental factors such as infections like Herpes or Hepatitis.

One of the interesting features of the condition is its incidence across the globe.  In the UK for example there are only a few hundred people with the condition. But in Turkey it runs into the tens of thousands.  In fact it is most common in countries which were once part of the Silk Road.  This includes much of the Middle East, Central Asia and China.  Though Japan has high rates as well.  This, of course, does point to a genetic origin.

Because Behçet’s disease is widely considered to be an auto-immune condition typical treatments involve immunosuppressants.

One of the features of these kinds of blogs is that we really like feedback from our readers.  It would be great if people with Behçet’s disease could use the comments box below to tell their stories.  You might like to consider the following questions though any aspect of your story will be of interest to our readers.

a)   What were your original symptoms of Behçet’s disease?  How did the condition develop?

b)  Which healthcare professionals have you seen as part of your diagnosis and treatment?

c)    What treatments for Behçet’s disease have you used and how successful were they?

d)  What do you think the causes of your Behçet’s disease might be?

We look forward to reading your contributions.

 

Many thanks in advance.