Common Thanksgiving Cooking Mistakes

Every year the news is filled with stories of holiday celebrants who have experienced calamitous misfortune instead of joyous revelry. Perhaps the need to put out a feast of epic proportions overcomes common sense or fridge capacity resulting in poor food storage choices. Perhaps inexperience preparing the once a year menu produces an environment wherein food poisoning is expected. Or perhaps the dual distractions of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and NFL games in the middle of a weekday prove overwhelming to some. Whatever the reason, far too many spend the night in the local emergency room seeking to be cured of the holiday.

In an effort to fend off these conditions for at least some, here are some common mistakes people make in preparing for this holiday:

-Keeping fresh turkeys uncooked for longer than 2 days. Everyone knows the local market will run out, but this really is a no-no. If the turkey must be fresh, I would suggest investigating local butchers who may arrange for you to order and pay in advance to retrieve a bird delivered within the 48 hour time frame.

-Buying pre-stuffed turkeys may be tempting for those amongst us with too many dishes and not enough counter space to prepare them all, but the organisms incubating in these birds are indeed foul. Even if you are tempted to pre-stuff the bird the night before, you should not. As you combine several ingredients and introduce bacteria from one food source to another, deferring cooking permits organisms to flourish. Instead, rise a few minutes earlier or sit down to dinner a few minutes later to avoid this common ‘preparation’ mistake.

-Partially cooking the turkey the night before is also a common mistake people make. Interrupting the cooking process itself may actually increase the amount of bacteria present as the heat and humidity you’ve just provided promotes growth.

-Cross contamination of food from preparation surfaces and utensils. Placing uncooked meats on kitchen surfaces leaves a residue that must be properly cleaned in order to avoid transference. The same is true for the utensils you need to prepare the meal. Utilizing the same knives, forks, spoons, etc. used to prepare the turkey on other dishes is fine, as long as they were properly sanitized first! Continually cleaning counters, cutting boards, and utensils is the only way to avoid this common mistake.

-Thawing a frozen turkey at room temperature could leave you with a bird covered in surface bacteria. To avoid this, either plan far enough in advance to thaw in the refrigerator – requires hours per pound – or immerse in cold water. If you choose the water method, remember to change the water every 30 minutes. Additionally, if your microwave will accommodate the size, a turkey can be thawed using this modern convenience.

-Don’t overstuff the turkey. Despite the temptation to serve 30 people stuffing from inside the bird, make sure you do not fall prey to this. You’ll either end up with toxic, undercooked stuffing or you’ll have to overcook the bird to reach a safe temperature. Perhaps limiting each guest to one spoonful out of the bird is best!

-The most common source of tragedy these days seems to stem from deep fried turkey mistakes. These can be the most hazardous mistakes one can make as house fires can prove deadly. Never place the cooker in a garage or under a carport – basically avoid any structure attached to the house or one you would like to keep such as a shed. Also, avoid placing it on a wooden deck or within 10 feet of flammable items. Leaving the hot oil unattended or permitting children and pets to play in the vicinity are also recipes for disaster. Placing a frozen turkey into the hot oil is also a common mistake as the ice crystals and oil do not mix well. Finally, only dispose of the oil after it has completely cooled. Nothing puts a damper on the evening quite as fast as having to put out a trash can fire!

Now that you know what not to do, here are some tips to help make Thanksgiving safer for everyone:

-To figure out how much oil to use in the deep fryer, place the turkey in the pot and fill it with water until it reaches the level you desire. Then remove the turkey and mark the water line. After this, you simply replace the water with oil until that line is reached and you are ready!

-Although you may be tempted to lay down for a nap after overindulging in Thanksgiving fare, leftovers should be promptly refrigerated rather than left out at room temperature. If you cannot resist the nap, anything left out in the open should be disposed of rather than saved.

-Since you’re putting away leftovers, you should remember to divide the entire cooked turkey up into containers. Leaving the meat on the carcass is not the best storage method.

-Remember to dispose of leftovers, even if they’ve been properly cared for, in appropriate time limits. Gravy and stuffing should not be kept longer than two days with other items safe for up to four days.

-Use the right utensils for the job. If you’re peeling potatoes and don’t have a peeler, a paring knife is much better suited for the task than a cleaver. When cutting, make sure you’re knives are in proper working order and cut away from the body! Also, use a cutting board, plate, or some other item that can easily be cleaned between items.

Hopefully this information helps someone out there avoid catastrophe. Everyone deserves a Happy Thanksgiving without having to apologize to hospital staff for the mess maid in their waiting room. With that, enjoy the feast and make sure you get plenty of rest for those Black Friday sales.