How to Avoid Stuffing a Turkey the Night Before Cooking
Many people enjoy cooking a nice turkey dinner for their families on Thanksgiving and Christmas. These days can be hectic, so some of the food dishes are prepared in advance. Since uncooked turkey contains harmful bacteria, it is best to avoid stuffing it the night before. The turkey can be prepared the night before, as can the stuffing. The two should only be combined a half hour before the turkey is finished cooking. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Preparing the Turkey Ahead of Time
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Set your turkey on a tray and place it in the refrigerator.
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Calculate how many hours you need to keep the turkey in the refrigerator to thaw it. Each pound of turkey needs five hours to thaw. So if you are cooking a 10-lb. turkey, you would need to leave it in the refrigerator for 50 hours, or just over two days.
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Check that the turkey is completely thawed the night before you plan to cook it. If it isn't, you can set it in a pot of cold water. It will take one hour for each pound of turkey to thaw this way. So a 10-lb. turkey would take 10 hours to thaw in a pot of cold water.
Preparing the Stuffing Ahead of Time
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Follow the instructions on your box of stuffing, or make stuffing using your favorite recipe.
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Let the stuffing cool, and place it in a bowl.
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator.
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Stuff your turkey about 30 minutes before it is done. You can put the stuffing inside of the turkey straight from the refrigerator. This is the safest way to cook a stuffed turkey, while doing most of the preparations ahead of time.
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Tips & Warnings
Prepare as many dishes as you can the night before your big dinner. That way, you have time to stuff your turkey on the day of the meal. Some dishes that can be prepared the night before are the pies, macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, coleslaw, candied yams and mashed potatoes.
It can take more than two hours for the oven's heat to go all the way through a stuffed turkey, and until it does, bacteria transferring to the stuffing from the turkey can be multiplying. Therefore, stuffing your turkey ahead of time increases the risk of food poisoning.
