WHAT KIND OF TURKEY SHOULD YOU BUY?

Americans buy more turkeys this time of year than any other. With so many choices available in the bigger cities, many of us are confused about which kind of turkey we should buy: pre-brined or not brined, organic, natural, free range, antibiotic free or kosher. Some stores, such as Whole Foods Market, even let you know how happily that turkey lived before it was ended up in your shopping basket (the Global Animal Partnership rating).

But one of the choices that most American shoppers make, no matter what other criteria they use, is whether to buy frozen or refrigerated turkey.

Frozen turkeys are flash frozen immediately after packaging to 0°F or below and are kept in the store at that temperature until you buy them. That means they can be bought quite a while before you cook as long as you have a big freezer. In fact, that frozen turkey you bought last year to cook for Thanksgiving, and then decided to go out instead, is still safe to eat – as long as you kept it properly frozen.

Refrigerated turkeys are deep-chilled to 24 to 26°F after packaging. They have a short shelf life. There will be a "use by" date found on the weight tag or weight sticker.

If you buy a frozen turkey, one of the main safety issues is how to thaw it. This is where you can run into trouble. The turkey should be thawed in the refrigerator, in its original packaging, not at room temperature (it will take about 5 hours per pound of turkey). If it won’t fit in the frig, or you are rushed, thaw it in cold water, changing the water frequently (estimate about 30 minutes per pound of turkey).

But once your turkey is thawed, remember that you should use it in about seven days – no longer than that. I would use it within 3 days, just to be safe. In the meantime, make sure it is kept cold in the refrigerator until ready to roast.

As for that refrigerated (unfrozen) turkey, you would be wise to cook and eat it before the “use-by” date expires.

Happy Thanksgiving.

TSF

SAFE THANKSGIVING TURKEY LEFTOVERS

My whole neighborhood smelt like a roast turkey today. It seems that everyone who is cooking Thanksgiving lunch/dinner in this part of California, is cooking one of these huge birds. That will mean a lot of leftovers. What can you safely do with all this turkey and stuffing?

If you think you will be likely to want to eat the turkey in the next few days, separate the stuffing from the turkey, slice up the turkey and put it in sealed containers in the meat tray in your refrigerator.

But if you ate so much turkey that you feel you don't want to see it ever again, put it in the freezer. You may change your mind after a few weeks. And if you freeze it properly in freezer wrap or freezer bags or containers, it will keep for at least a month. By then you may feel like eating it again. The safest way to defrost it then is in the refrigerator.

Actually, I should confess at this point that this is all theory. Personally, I have never had turkey leftovers in my life. The size of that bird totally intimidates me. The few times I have tried to cook it, the meal has been a disaster. Leftovers? Who would want them? I cook duck or goose instead. Much easier. And there usually aren't any leftovers.

To your good health,
TSF

HAVE A SAFE "TURKEY DAY"

Tomorrow - November 24, is officially Thanksgiving Day, sometimes known as "Turkey Day" in the U.S. I heard a TV commentator (on a business program) say today that this celebration dates back to 1942. Not quite true. That was the year that a joint resolution by both houses of the U.S. Congress in 1941 designated as the beginning of an annual Thanksgiving holiday to be held on the last Thursday of November. But the holiday itself dated back much further. And so does the turkey part of the celebration.

George Washington actually proclaimed the first Thanksgiving Day in 1789. After that, he and various subsequent Presidents renewed the tradition, although the date kept shifting a bit, and it wasn't celebrated every year. But the whole idea of such a day really dates back much earlier to the colonial settlers of the "New World."

Turkey seems to have usually been part of the feast. However, don't picture a big fat turkey such as we eat these days. What was eaten centuries ago was a scrawny wild turkey, like that bird that seems to always turn up in our neighborhood about this time of the year, and wander down the road. No one quite knows why it has never been run over - or, roasted.

So yes, these days we eat huge turkeys thanks to genetic improvements, better feed formulation and modern management practices. No, hormones are not allowed to be used in turkey production in the United States. We usually eat these turkeys between the ages of four and nine months (older ones are too tough).

Enough of the background: let's turn to the safety aspects. Raw turkeys quite often carry bacteria which can make you ill -and there are plenty of cases of "stomach flu" (really food poisoning) every year around this time, due to undercooked or poorly stored turkey. So remember some simple rules.

First, think of safety when basting, stuffing or otherwise handling the raw turkey. Wear disposable gloves, or thoroughly wash your hands afterwards, and don't let the raw turkey contaminate any surface (for instance, don't put it down on a counter - use a tray, foil sheet, or something that can be washed or discarded).

When roasting the turkey, you need to make sure that you roast it to an internal temperature of 165ºF or higher. Check by inserting a food thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh or the thickest part of the breast, and recheck in the other breast or thigh, in case it has cooked unevenly. It's quite OK to cook the turkey at a very low oven temperature (such as 325ºF) for a longer period of time, rather than at a higher temperature, as long as you do this internal temperature check.

And what if you start to carve, and when you get closer to the bone, you find that in spite of your focus on safe temperature, some of the meat is pink instead of white? Don't panic. It's safe, as long as you have cooked all parts of it to 165ºF and the juices run clear. What happens is that when you roast, smoke or grill very young turkeys, with immature and porous bones, the hemoglobin inside can leach out into the turkey meat, turning it pink.

Enjoy! And even though it has been a pretty rough year everywhere in the world, let's be thankful for what we have - including that turkey.

To your good health,
TSF