USDA food safety staff explain why a restaurant doggy bag left in a car overnight must be thrown out: bacteria double every 20 minutes, and reheating destroys the bacteria but not the toxins they leave behind. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within three to four days.
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Chemical
Arsenic, Antibiotics and Asthma Drugs in Your Turkey? Yes!
A rough year for turkey producers: studies found turkey carried two to three times the antibiotic-resistant staph of other meats, Pfizer kept its arsenic-containing Histostat for turkeys after dropping the chicken version, and Cargill recalled 36 million pounds over salmonella.
Advisories
Turkey FUNdamentals: Deep Fat Frying a Turkey
USDA's Diane Van sets out safe turkey frying: most fryers take a 12-to-16-pound bird, never stuff it, measure the oil by first covering the turkey with water, keep the pot under three-quarters full, and thaw about 24 hours per four to five pounds.
Supplements
Does Tryptophan in turkey cause sleepiness?
Turkey contains plenty of tryptophan, but no more than most poultry, so the holiday drowsiness likely comes from something else. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid used to make serotonin, niacin and auxin, and supplements are believed to aid sleep because tryptophan leads to melatonin.
Cooking
Turkey gravy recipe from drippings
A step-by-step recipe for four cups of turkey gravy made from pan drippings, turkey stock and six tablespoons of flour whisked into the reserved fat.
Cooking
How to carve a turkey
Rest the roasted turkey under foil at least 15 minutes on a clean cutting board, then pull the wishbone, separate the legs at hip and knee joints, cut each breast away along the breastbone and through the wing joint, and slice against the grain. Cut through joints, never bones.
Cooking
What temperature to Cook a Turkey - Safe Cooking
Two temperatures matter: the oven setting and the bird's internal temperature, which must reach at least 165F in the deepest part of the thigh or the thickest part of the breast. Pan colour and depth, foil tents, lids, oven bags and rack position all shift the timing.
Cooking
How long to cook a turkey per pound
Turkey cooking time depends on whether the bird is frozen or stuffed, its size and the oven setting. The piece gives refrigerator thawing times of 24 hours per 4 to 5 pounds, notes the government advises against stuffing, and puts 325F as the lowest usable oven temperature.
Cooking
Countdown to Thanksgiving: Cooking the Turkey
The USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline answers its most common Thanksgiving questions: roast at 325 degrees F and use a thermometer to confirm 165 degrees F in the innermost thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast, with stuffing reaching 165 degrees F too.
Cooking
Cheesy Turkey Casserole
A school foodservice contest recipe scaled for steam table pans: rotini and cubed cooked turkey in a cheddar and milk sauce seasoned with parsley, white pepper and dry mustard, topped with buttered bread crumbs and baked at 350F. A 2 oz serving has 197 calories and 19 g protein.
Cooking
Turkey Brine Recipe
A turkey brine recipe built on a gallon of vegetable broth, a cup of sea salt, rosemary, sage, thyme and savory, plus a gallon of ice water and optional honey, with the bird refrigerated in the brine overnight. Brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster.
Cooking
Turkey Basics: Safe Cooking
Roast a whole turkey at no lower than 325 degrees and use a food thermometer to confirm 165 degrees internally. Timing shifts with a partially frozen or stuffed bird, pan color and depth, foil tents, oven bags, lids and rack position. Cooking stuffing separately is safest.
Cooking
leftover turkey recipe ideas
A recipe for vegetable and turkey stir-fry that uses diced leftover turkey with ginger, garlic and chopped leafy greens such as kale, mustard or collard greens, followed by links to other leftover-turkey dishes.
Nutrition
Grandma's leftover turkey soup recipe
Leftover turkey, bones and drippings simmer with giblets, onion, carrots, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, celery tops and peppercorns for about four hours at 180 to 200 degrees, finished with poultry seasoning, a bouillon cube and cooked noodles.
Cooking
Leftover turkey recipes, turkey soup
Two recipes for turning leftover turkey into soup: one built on tomato soup, canned tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and sour cream, and a simpler version using onion and ginger powder, corn starch and condensed tomato soup.
Dining
Tired? It's not your turkey's fault
Turkey is not why you feel sleepy after Thanksgiving: egg white, sesame flour and soy protein hold more tryptophan per 100 grams, and little of the amino acid crosses the blood-brain barrier to become serotonin. A dietitian blames the size of the meal and suggests drinking enough water.
Cooking
How to carve a turkey
Step-by-step turkey carving instructions: rest the roasted bird under foil for 20 minutes, then use a sharp thin-bladed knife to separate the thighs, drumsticks and wings at the joints rather than cutting through bone, and slice the breast thinly from each side.
Cooking
Turkey cooking times -Updated
USDA timetables for stuffed and unstuffed turkeys at 325 to 350F run to about 5 hours for a 24-pound bird, with cooking time doubled for a bird roasted from frozen. The innermost thigh, the breast or the stuffing must reach 165F.
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