Households will soon be preparing for Thanksgiving Day.  While most people will sit down to a roasted turkey, there are also options for deep-frying a turkey and, for those running behind, you can place a still-frozen turkey in the oven and still end up with a meal that you will enjoy.  Following are tips on […]

Are you interested in brining a turkey, but aren’t quite sure how to do it safely?  USDA is at your service!  Though brining may sound like something only done commercially or by a certified chef, it’s quite simple with the right strategy —that means following safe food preparation steps. Brining simply means to soak your […]

Many families purchase a frozen Thanksgiving turkey, and getting the turkey to the table involves “The Big Thaw.”  Turkeys must be kept at a safe temperature during “the big thaw.”  While frozen, a turkey is safe indefinitely.  However, as soon as it begins to thaw, bacteria present before freezing can begin to grow again.  Turkey must […]

Fresh?  Frozen?  Organic?  Natural?  Hen or Tom?  There are plenty of decisions to make when purchasing your Thanksgiving turkey.  Turkeys to be sold fresh are quick-chilled to 40°F or lower at the processing facility, but must not go below a temperature of 26°F.  You may think that turkeys chilled to this temperature would be ‘frozen’, but they […]

Turducken.  The name doesn’t sound appetizing, but once you cut into the triple layers of chicken, duck, and turkey, you can see why people bypass the traditional Thanksgiving turkey for this all-in-one, mega-stuffed delicacy. The Turducken was born in Louisiana when someone decided to debone a chicken, put it inside of a deboned duck that […]

Whether serving the meal yourself or sharing ideas with others on preparing an upcoming holiday feast, everyone will be grateful for recipes that include special food safety tips! Just in time for the holidays, the Partnership for Food Safety Education shares recipes, videos and more with food safety prompts that will help even the novice chef prepare a […]