Safe internal temperature for turkey where can be checked with a thermometer

Every cook’s goal is to perfectly cook the turkey, the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table.

While gathering with family and friends surrounded by food is a joyful occasion, serving food that has not been cooked to a safe temperature can lead to potential foodborne illness.

Cooking a large turkey, whether male (male) or female (female), is a Herculean task and probably the largest food most people have ever cooked.

It is important to cook the turkey to a safe internal temperature. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered the safe cooking temperature for the whole turkey — breast, legs, thighs and wings — and all other poultry.

This temperature is 165 degrees.

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It is important to have an instant read thermometer to check the temperature. You can purchase thermometers at grocery stores, hardware stores, warehouse stores, kitchen supply stores, and kitchen appliance retailers.

To check the doneness of the turkey, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and the thickest part of the breast. The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. If the turkey does not reach this temperature, continue cooking until it reaches this temperature. Be sure to wash the food thermometer before checking the temperature again.

If the turkey is stuffed, the center of the stuffing must also reach a temperature of 165 degrees before removing the turkey from the oven. It is recommended not to stuff turkeys and to cook the stuffing in a separate bowl away from the bird. However, if you must stuff the turkey, do so right before cooking and stuff it loosely. Regardless of whether the stuffing is inside or outside the turkey, it needs to be cooked to 165 degrees.

Here are approximate roasting times for turkeys.

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: [email protected]. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.

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Safe internal temperature for turkey where can be checked with a thermometer

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