Food Safety Tips for Preparing Your Turkey Dinner

‘Tis the season to be jolly and Christmas is just around the corner. Have you started planning the all-important Turkey dinner?


Whether you've got the whole family coming round or you're just cooking for two, you’ll need to remember a couple of food safety tips to ensure that your cooking is safe and stress free.

Defrosting the Turkey

Put your turkey into a dish, one large enough to catch ALL of the juices as it thaws. Be sure to remove the giblets too, as soon as possible, as this will help speed up the thawing process.

Place your turkey in the refrigerator ensuring it doesn’t touch any other foods. If you don't have enough room in the fridge, you can place the turkey in any cold room, i.e. the garage.

As your turkey thaws, pour away the liquid regularly. This will stop it overflowing in the dish and dripping onto other surfaces. It's a good idea to keep your children and pets away as you do this.

Important Tips

· Ensure you’ve left enough time in your plan for defrosting.
· Make sure your bird is properly defrosted all the way through.
· Check the middle cavity of the bird for ice crystals.

How to Store the Turkey

You must remember to keep your raw turkey away from other foods; this will stop harmful food bacteria from spreading. Ideally, you should keep your raw turkey at the bottom of the fridge so it can't drip down onto any other foods.

How to Prepare the Turkey

· Always wash your hands after touching raw poultry.
· Remember to clean anything the turkey has touched thoroughly.
· Don’t use the same knifes or chopping boards for raw turkey and vegetables

Cook the Turkey

If your turkey isn't cooked properly it will be full of harmful bacteria that will make anybody that eats it ill with food poisoning.

A large turkey can take hours to cook through properly, so make sure you plan well in advance.

Is your turkey cooked?
· Is all the meat white (not pink)?
· Do the juices run clear after piercing with a fork?
· Is the turkey boiling hot all the way through?


Adapted from Highspeedtraining.co.uk.  Highspeedtraining.co.uk compiled this guide to help you cook a safer Christmas dinner. We also award real, accredited food hygiene certificates to people who take part in our online food hygiene and safely courses.