Safety Tips for your Thanksgiving Leftovers

Food safety is important any time of year but with the holidays come expansive menus, leftovers and the potential for food poisoning or foodborne illnesses. As part of your meal preparation, we recommend keeping the following food handling tips in mind this holiday season.

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        Follow the two-hour rule. Hot, perishable food that sits out longer than two hours is considered unsafe and in the “food danger zone” (between 40 and 140 F) when bacteria can quickly multiply.  Quickly refrigerate perishable foods, such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs. Uncooked foods, such as cold salads or sandwiches, also should be eaten or refrigerated promptly.

When storing leftovers, don’t overfill the refrigerator, cold air needs to circulate around the food. Also, the faster leftovers can cool, the better. The best way to decrease the cooling time for leftover turkey is cut it into smaller pieces to decrease the surface area that needs to be cooled and then store it in shallow pans or containers.

 Leftover turkey can keep for three to four days in the refrigerator and should be kept in airtight, leak proof containers or wraps. After four days risk of food poisoning increases. If you don't think you'll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them immediately. In the freezer, leftovers should be eaten within six months.

     

 

    

      

       When you're ready to eat leftovers, reheat them on the stove, in the oven or in the microwave until the internal temperature reaches 165 F (74 C).

Sending leftovers home with guests is nice and lessens the amount of space taken up in your refrigerator but the two-hour rule should still apply. If your guests have a long drive ahead of them, suggest they use a cooler with some ice. 

Be aware that foodborne illnesses are caused by harmful organisms, such as bacteria in contaminated food. Because bacteria typically don't change the taste, smell or look of food, you can't tell whether the food is dangerous to eat. In short, if you're in doubt about a food's safety, it's best to just throw it out.

A few of our favorite recipes for your leftovers

Turkey Panini

Turkey and Broccoli Turnovers

Hot Open Faced Turkey Sandwich

Tips for Cooking a Perfect Turkey

As the centerpiece of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, the Turkey is usually the most intimidating thing to prepare, however, it can be the easiest!  Scott from our Cooking School has come up with this handy guide of "Turkey Tips" to ensure you present your guests with a golden, moist turkey.

Brining a Turkey
Why Brine your Turkey?
Soaking a turkey in a brining solution will help ensure a moist, juicy cooked meat.  The salt-water brine solution increases the juiciness of the meat by breaking down the protein structure.  Water and seasonings will be infused and absorbed into the meat during the cooking process.  The moisture and flavor is maintained during the cooking which leaves you with a juicy, moist turkey.

How to Brine a Turkey
Tip:  Only brine a turkey that has not been injected with a salt solution.  This will create an over salted turkey.

1. Remove giblets and place your turkey into a stockpot or bucket and make enough room on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator to ensure any spills will not contaminate foods below.
2. Create your brine using the following ratio (creating enough to fully cover your turkey in your stockpot or bucket)
• 2 cups Kosher Salt and 1 cup brown sugar to every two gallons of water (or you can use Stonewall Kitchen's Farmhouse Brine)
• Additional herbs & spices to your taste
3. Dissolve salt and sugar in two cups of hot water.  Stir in remaining gallon, plus 3 1/2 quarts of cold water.
4. Cover your turkey in the solution and refrigerate for at least 10 hours, but no longer than 24 hours.
5. When ready to cook, poor off your brine, rinse the turkey well with cool tap water and pat dry with paper towels.

Gravy Cooking Tip:  Remember, the turkey has already absorbed a significant amount of salt from the brining process, so be aware that the pan drippings you will use for gravy will have a high salt content.

Creating a Turkey that is Golden Brown

• Brush the skin with melted butter or oil prior to cooking. This makes for a more golden and crispy skin.
• Place the bird on a rack in a roasting pan and place into a preheated, 350 degree F oven.
• An unstuffed, 8-12 pound turkey should cook for about 20 minutes per pound
• An unstuffed, 13-16 pound turkey should cook for about 15 minutes per pound
• Bake until the skin is light golden color and then cover the bird loosely with a foil tent. During the last 45 minutes of baking, remove the foil tent to brown the skin. Basting the turkey is not necessary, but helps promote even browning.
• The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F at the thigh. To get an accurate reading, insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. The thermometer should point towards the body and should not touch the bone.

Be sure to check out our Side Dish Tips as well as our Favorite Recipes for Thanksgiving!