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UNL Extension in Lancaster County

FOOD: Nutrition, Safety & Cooking

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Thanksgiving Food Preparation Tips- 2009: Helpful Links

Alice Henneman, MS, RD, UNL Extension in Lancaster County

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"Heap high the board with plenteous cheer and gather to the feast,
And toast the sturdy Pilgrim band whose courage never ceased."
     ~Alice W. Brotherton

Thanksgiving is a special time for giving thanks and focusing on family and friends. If you're hosting or thinking about hosting a Thanksgiving meal at your house, the following links may be helpful. If these links helped you this Thanksgiving, please let us know by clicking HERE:

NOTE: Turkey meat will be safely cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F; however, the meat may still be slightly pink. Some people prefer cooking turkey to a higher temperature (whole turkey to 180°F in the innermost part of the thigh; turkey breasts to 170 degrees F in the thickest part) for meat that is more well done. For additional reasons turkey meat can be pink, click HERE.

Quick links to different sections

Planning ahead for Thanksgiving Day

1. Countdown to the Thanksgiving Holiday (source: USDA)
Web page link | PDF | En Español PDF

Plan ahead to ease the countdown tension for your Thanksgiving meal.

Where to call for help on Thanksgiving

1. Toll-free USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline

The hotline will be staffed with food safety specialists on Thanksgiving Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern Time to answer your turkey questions.

For food safety questions year round, you may speak with a food safety specialist — in English or Spanish — from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays.

Call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at:
1-888-MPHotline
1-888-674-6854
Or send an Email to: mphotline.fsis@usda.gov
Web page link for Hotline

How to prepare a Turkey

1. Let's Talk Turkey–A Consumer Guide to Safely Roasting a Turkey (source: USDA)
Web page link | PDF | En Español

Every facet of getting a turkey from the store to the dinner table is included — buying fresh vs. frozen, safe thawing methods, stuffing, roasting, storing leftover turkey and reheating the leftovers.

2. Turkey Basics (Source: USDA)

3. Stuffing and Food Safety (Source: USDA)
Web page link | PDF

Read this before you stuff a turkey!!!

4. Oven Bags (Source: Reynolds)
Web page link

A turkey will cook faster in an oven bag with less cleanup afterwards. For more information about using oven bags, check this link. Directions for specific oven bags are included when you purchase an oven bag. NOTE: A thermometer can be inserted through a hole in the oven bag so you can tell when your turkey is safely done.

5. Poultry: Basting, Brining, and Marinating (Source: USDA)
Web page link | PDF | En Español | En Español PDF
Don't compromise food safety when looking for new and interesting ways to prepare old standards like chicken and turkey.

6. Turkey: Alternate Routes to the Table - roaster oven, grilling smoking, deep fat frying, pressure cooker, microwave (source: USDA)
Web page link

Turkey preparation methods other than the traditional method of roasting a turkey in the oven are described: electric roaster oven, grilling (covered charcoal grill and covered gas grill, smoking a turkey, deep fat frying a turkey, microwaving a turkey and cooking turkey in a pressure cooker.

7. How to Cook a Turkey the Day before Serving It
Web page link

Details and tips for preparing your turkey a day before serving it are given.

8. Turduckens Require Safe Food Handling
Web page link | PDF | En Español | En Español PDF (source: USDA)

"Turducken" — a layered poultry dish especially popular during the holidays — requires safe food handling and thorough cooking to prevent foodborne illness.

Food safety questions

1. Is Pink Turkey Meat Safe? (source: USDA)
Web page link | PDF

Well-done, safely cooked turkey meat may sometimes have a pink color. Learn why here. (source: USDA)

2. No-Show Guests Jeopardize Food (source: USDA)
Web page link

When guests encounter emergencies and the meal must be delayed or cancelled, food must be handled "just right" to remain safe.

3. "Panic Button" Food Safety Questions (source: USDA)
Web page link | PDF | En Español PDF

During the holidays, people are busy and can sometimes forget that unsafe handling and cooking can lead to foodborne illness. Here are some questions callers have asked regarding the safety of their holiday foods.

4. Types of Food Thermometers
Web page link

Learn the difference between different types of food thermometers and how to use them.

5. Brilliant Buffets (source: www.fightbac.org)
Web page link | Check the TWO links for downloading pages 1 and 2 of a related holiday brochure by clicking HERE

Learn tips for setting out food safely at holiday buffets.

6. Ask Karen (source: USDA)
Web page link

An automated response system that will answer basis questions 24/7/365.

Carving a turkey

1. Carving the Whole Turkey Brochure (source: NE Dept. of Agriculture Poultry & Egg Division)
PDF | En Español PDF

It may be easier and less intimidating to carve a turkey in the kitchen than at the dining table. This brochure includes step by step instructions for both methods. Several recipes using turkey meat are given.

2. Carving A Thanksgiving Turkey - NYTimes.com/video - Carving a turkey in the kitchen

This video shows how to carve a turkey in the kitchen and get the most meat from your turkey.

How to make turkey gravy

1. How to Make Turkey Gravy

This video gives some of the easiest instructions I've seen if you have never made gravy before. If you should end up with some lumps in your gravy, here are some methods to remove them:

  • Try breaking them up by whisking the gravy vigorously with a wire whisk.
  • Pour the gravy through a mesh strainer.
  • As a last resort, try pureeing the gravy in a blender or food processor or dip an immersion blender into the gravy to smooth it.
  • Another possibility is to use an instantized flour, such as Wondra, that has been formulated so it doesn't lump.
  • As a back-up, if you have never made gravy before, you may want to purchase some ready-made gravy in a can or or jar ... just in case.

Stuffing

1. Stuffing and Food Safety (Source: USDA)
Web page link | PDF

2. Almond Brown Rice Stuffing (source: USA Rice Federation)
PDF

This recipe tastes like the traditional stuffing only it is made with rice.

Pumpkin pie

1. Light Pumpkin Pie (source: Food and Health Communications)
Web page link

This pumpkin pie saves 100 calories per slice from the traditional version and tastes identical!

2. Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie
Web page link

This frozen pie can be made in advance and removed from the freezer on Thanksgiving Day.

Tips for traveling SAFELY with Thanksgiving foods

1. Thanksgiving on the Go - if you're traveling and taking food (source: Allrecipes.com)
Web page link

2. Thanksgiving Travel (Source: Pat Kendall, Food Science and Human Nutrition Specialist at Colorado State University)
Web page link

Some excellent tips for traveling safely with a turkey.

3. Traveling with Food to Gatherings of Family and Friends
Web page link

If people are bringing food to a Thanksgiving meal, consider assigning foods based on how far they have to travel.

Recipes for leftover turkey

1. Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes (source: National Turkey Federation)
Web page link

Enjoy turkey the day after and beyond with these delicious sandwich, entree, soup, salad and appetizer ideas.

2. Turkey Anytime: A Recipe for Turning Leftovers into Planned Over's (includes 10 quick recipes)
PDF link

Preparing meats other than turkey

1. Roasting Those "Other" Holiday Meats (source: USDA)
Web page link | PDF | En Español | En Español PDF

Rather than turkey, some families choose a rib roast; others, a ham; and some will have a butcher arrange a crown roast of lamb. For special holiday meals, the cook wants everything perfect — and perfectly safe.

KIDS' CORNER

1. Thanksgiving Coloring Game turkey(source: Kaboose.com)
Web page link

Kids can "color" Thanksgiving pictures online.

2. Thanksgiving Coloring Pages (source: Kaboose.com)
Web page link

Choose from several images to print and color.

3. Thanksgiving Mazes (source: Kaboose.com)
Web page link

Choose from several mazes to print and solve.

4. Thanksgiving Dinner Place mats (source: kids.nationalgeographic.com)
Web page link

Your hand print becomes the turkey's feathers.

5. Thanksgiving Quiz (source: kids.nationalgeographic.com)
Web page link

Do you know the answer to questions such as what the pilgrims ate the first Thanksgiving?

6. Thanksgiving Jokes and Riddles (source: Kaboose.com)
Web page link

Can you guess the answer to riddles such as why was the turkey the drummer in the band?


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