Thanksgiving food tips from USDA: When it comes to the bird, safety’s the word

Today’s guest blog on turkey safety is by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

USDA Thanksgiving Food Safety Infographic

Whether you’re a Thanksgiving cooking pro or newbie, preparing one of the largest meals of the year can be stressful. To avoid making mistakes that could cause foodborne illness, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service wants you to be aware of these common Thanksgiving myths:

• Myth: You should wash your raw turkey
  Food safety experts — including us at USDA — don’t recommend washing raw meat and poultry before cooking. Many bacteria are quite loosely attached, and when you rinse these foods the bacteria will be spread around your kitchen. In fact, research shows that washing meat or poultry in water spreads bacteria throughout the kitchen — onto countertops, other food, towels and you. Water can splash bacteria up to three feet surrounding your sink, which can lead to illnesses.
  
  Researchers at Drexel University have shown that it’s best to move meat and poultry straight from package to pan, as the heat required for cooking will kill any bacteria that may be present.
  
• Myth: You can’t cook a frozen turkey
  If your turkey is still icy on Thanksgiving morning, don’t panic! It’s perfectly safe to cook a turkey from the frozen state. It’ll just take longer to cook. A solidly frozen turkey will take at least 50 percent longer to cook than a thawed turkey. If you cannot separate the giblet package from the turkey at the start, just remember to remove it carefully with tongs or a fork a few hours into the cooking process.
  
• Myth: The bird is done when juices run clear
  Do you check if your Thanksgiving turkey is done by poking the turkey to see if the juices run clear? Do you also keep repeating this process until everyone is hungry and you are left with a dry turkey?
  
  The only way to determine if a turkey is safely cooked and ready to serve is to take the temperature of the turkey with a food thermometer in three locations: the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing and the thickest part of the breast. The thermometer should read 165°F.
  
  The juices rarely run clear at this temperature, and when they do the bird is often overcooked. Using the food thermometer is the best way to ensure your turkey is cooked to a safe internal temperature, but not overcooked. 

If you have any Thanksgiving myths you want to check out, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline — 1-888-674-6854 — where you can talk to a food safety specialist in English or Spanish between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST, or chat live at AskKaren.gov. The Meat and Poultry Hotline will even be open on Thanksgiving Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST to take last-minute calls.

Download and share USDA’s turkey safety infographic in English or Spanish.

Check out our new emergency preparedness cookbook, “Recipes for Disaster”

Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month?

We know what you’re thinking: “What’s nutrition got to do with emergency preparedness?” Actually, it’s really smart to think about nutrition when you’re preparing for emergencies, because food is an important part of any emergency stockpile.

Last year, we held our Emergency Stockpile Recipe Contest to get people thinking about what they’d cook if the power went out. We got a lot of great recipes, which we announced on the blog in April.

Now, we’ve taken those recipes, along with recipes from our own staff, and created a free cookbook called “Recipes for Disaster." The cookbook also includes tips for stockpiling food and water, advice on putting together an emergency kit on a budget and even checklists so that you know what to pack.

You can download “Recipes for Disaster” here. We hope it makes it a little easier — and tastier — to get prepared!

Let us know your favorite recipe in the comments.

Announcing the winners of APHA’s Get Ready Emergency Stockpile Recipe Contest

Last week, during National Public Health Week, APHA’s Get Ready team prepared and tasted all of the entries into our Emergency Stockpile Recipe Contest. Announced in March, the contest challenged cooks to come up with a healthy, tasty recipe they could make from non-perishable foods that they would have in their emergency stockpile — no cooking or heating allowed.

Overall, judges were impressed by the creativity and taste of the recipes. We’re proud to say that our Get Ready Blog readers have definitely raised the bar on eating well during an emergency!

The votes are in, and we’re very pleased to announce our winners:

Easy Orange Curry Chickpeas
Submitted by Jess Apfe of  Berkeley, Calif.
Our staff was really impressed by this recipe — several people remarked that they would serve this dish “even if it wasn’t an emergency!” Aside from the great taste, we also liked that the recipe was high in fiber and protein and great for vegans or gluten-free eaters.

Black Bean Casserole
Submitted by Sandy Dulany of Springdale, Ark.
This was another popular dish. It was easy to prepare, and the addition of peanut butter added a nice touch of sweetness. As Dulany wrote with her submission, emergencies are more than just tornadoes, so it’s important to get ready for anything that comes your way. “Think snowstorms, power outages,” Dulany wrote. “Life happens — be prepared!”

Aloha Chicken Poppers
Submitted by Kadija Anna Bridgewater of Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Brigewater describes her Aloha Chicken Poppers this way: “An easy-to-prepare chicken salad with a sweet taste of Hawaii. It is served on crackers, and is sure to be a hit with the whole family!” It was definitely a hit with APHA’s Get Ready team!

Troubled Times Trifle
Submitted by Heather Anne Kennedy of Troy, Ohio
This dessert was popular with the Get Ready team, who liked the taste as much as its preparation. We loved that the directions included steps for kids to help out, as preparing food could be a fun way to distract children during an emergency. And we loved Kennedy’s story: “My grandfather always said that a good trifle recipe could settle disputes, reconcile friends and perhaps even stop a war — it’s perfect in good times and in times of crisis.”

All four of our top winners will receive a three-day emergency kit from the American Red Cross.

We had so many great recipes that we selected four runner-up recipes as well:

Emergency AAC Rolls
Submitted by Kellie Foglio of Salem, Wis.
We loved that Kellie included alfalfa seeds, which she turned into sprouts using water and a little sunlight. Fresh greens during an emergency!

Southern Style “Barbeque”
Submitted by Jennifer Short of Terra Alta, W.Va.
If you add BBQ sauce to a can of tuna, it tastes like barbeque chicken! Who knew?

Black Bean and Corn Salad
Submitted by Judy Wu of Evanston, Ill.
This black bean salad was tasty, easy and vegan-friendly.

Curried Chicken and Artichoke Salad
Submitted by Mary Marlowe Leverette of Columbia, S. C.
Thanks to this recipe, the Get Ready team was convinced that we need to add canned artichokes and curry powder to our emergency stockpiles!       

Our four runners-up will take home a Get Ready apron to wear during their next emergency (or any day) cooking session.


Don’t these recipes sound delicious? Head over to our new recipe page to get the full details and get some great ideas to improve your emergency culinary skills.                    

Announcing the Get Ready Emergency Stockpile Recipe Contest

Imagine this: There’s been a natural disaster in your area. The utilities are out, and you’ve been informed that conditions outside are unsafe; you must shelter in place for 72 hours. When it’s time for your first meal, you break open your emergency stockpile of non-perishable foods, and you make… what?

In celebration of National Nutrition Month, we want to know how you would eat healthily, even in an emergency, so we’re holding our first Get Ready Emergency Stockpile Recipe Contest. Using non-perishable items that you have in your emergency stockpile or shelter-in-place kit, we want you to get creative in your kitchen and come up with a recipe that tastes good — and is good for you.

Sounds easy? Not so fast. Remember, the gas is off and the electricity is out, so you can’t use your oven, stove or microwave. In fact, no cooking or heating allowed at all – most grills and stoves are not safe for use indoors. You won’t be able to use any appliances that require electricity, so make sure you have that manual can opener handy. You’ll also want to conserve water, because you’re only limited to the bottled water you’ve already stockpiled (PDF). Finally, to keep it healthy, watch out for the high sodium content of many canned goods and prepackaged food, and keep in mind any dietary restrictions that you or your loved ones may have.

To learn more, read our fact sheets about sheltering in place and preparing for a power outage (PDFs). Then, find out all you need to know about preparing an emergency stockpile, including a basic shopping list and information about stockpiling on a budget. Once you understand the challenges you’re up against, it’s time to get creative. Read our official rules and find out how to submit a recipe on our Rules and Regulations page.

If you need more inspiration, take a look at some of the recipes we’ve already created (PDF) here at Get Ready headquarters.

We’ll accept recipes from now until March 28, and then the Get Ready team will recreate the recipes and pick our five favorites. We’ll judge the recipes on taste, creativity and ease of preparation. Winners will receive an emergency preparedness kit from the American Red Cross!

We’ll announce the winners and post the recipes here on the Get Ready Blog on April 2 — the first day of National Public Health Week.

Good luck!