![\"stuffing_dressing_turkey_holiday_food_illness_safety\"](\"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcertification.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/stuffing_dressing_turkey_holiday_food_illness_safety_002_shutterstock_1579319151.jpg\")
Image Source: Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\nAbout Stuffing<\/h3>\n
This popular holiday side-dish is called by various names: stuffing, filling, or dressing.\u00a0 In the South, it\u2019s typically referred to as dressing. In the Northeast, it\u2019s almost always stuffing. In Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it\u2019s actually called filling and is mixed with mashed potatoes. In the rest of the country, it\u2019s mostly referred to as stuffing.<\/p>\n
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Almost anything can serve as a stuffing. However, the ingredients used in stuffing are often regional as well. Most differences in regional recipes are a result of what was available locally \u2015 oyster dressing is popular in coastal areas, cornbread stuffing is popular in the South, and sourdough stuffing is big in Northern California.
\nPopular poultry stuffing often consists of dried breadcrumbs, onion, celery, salt, pepper, and other spices and herbs, a common herb being sage.
\nWhile turkey is most commonly associated with stuffing, you can stuff many foods, like chicken, pork, mushrooms, and bell peppers, just to name a few.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t![\"stuffing_dressing_turkey_holiday_food_illness_safety\"](\"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/stuffing_dressing_turkey_holiday_food_illness_safety_003_shutterstock_334603214.jpg\")
Image Source: Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/div>\nFood Safety Issues with Stuffing<\/h3>\n
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that cooking animals with a body cavity filled with stuffing can present potential food safety issues. These can occur because when the meat reaches a safe temperature, the stuffing inside will not reach a safe temperature to kill bacteria. Furthermore, if the meat is cooked until the stuffing reaches a safe temperature, the meat can be overcooked.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t![\"turkey_safe_cooking_temperature_food_safety_illness\"](\"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcertification.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/turkey_safe_cooking_temperature_food_safety_illness_001-scaled.jpg\")
Image Source: Adapted from Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/div>\nCooking Turkey Stuffing Safety<\/h3>\n
The USDA recommends that the entire turkey is cooked to 165\u00b0F \u2013 including the stuffing – as measured with a food thermometer. If the stuffing doesn\u2019t reach safe minimum internal temperature of 165\u00b0F, bacteria can survive and can cause a foodborne illness.
\nHowever, cooking the stuffing inside a turkey to 165\u00b0F, often means overcooking the bird \u2013 so it\u2019s best to cook the stuffing separate.
\nFor optimal safety and uniform doneness, cook the stuffing outside the turkey in a casserole dish.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t![\"stuffing_dressing_turkey_holiday_food_illness_safety\"](\"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcertification.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/stuffing_dressing_turkey_holiday_food_illness_safety_004_shutterstock_343689506.jpg\")
Image Source: Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/div>\nLeftover Safety<\/h3>\n
Bacteria multiply rapidly between 40\u00b0F and 140\u00b0F. To keep food out of this temperature \u201cDanger Zone,\u201d keep cold food cold and hot food hot.
\nNever leave perishable foods, such as meat, poultry, eggs and stuffing in the \u201cDanger Zone\u201d over 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90\u00b0F.
\nLeftovers will last for 4 days in the refrigerator<\/em><\/strong>, so if you know you won\u2019t use them right away, pack them into freezer bags or airtight containers and freeze. For best quality, use your leftover frozen turkey within four months.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"two_hour_rule_food_safety\"](\"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcertification.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/two_hour_rule_food_safety.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAdditional Stuffing & Turkey Food Safety Resources<\/h3>\n
- \n
- 50 Stuffing Recipes – Food Network<\/a><\/li>\n
- Let\u2019s Talk Turkey Brochure<\/a> (PDF)<\/li>\n
- USDA \u2013 Thanksgiving Toolkit to Prevent Foodborne Illness<\/a><\/li>\n
- Poultry Preparation \u2013 <\/a>USDA<\/li>\n
- Let\u2019s Talk Turkey: A Consumer Guide to Safely Roasting a Turkey\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 USDA<\/li>\n
- Turkey Basics: Handling Cooked Dinners & Leftovers<\/a> \u2013 USDA<\/li>\n
- Turkey Basics: Safe Cooking\u00a0 <\/a>\u2013 USDA, (Spanish language Turkey Basics<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- CDC Foodborne Illness<\/a><\/li>\n
- CDC Food Safety<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/div>\n
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stuffing is an excellent medium for bacterial growth – like Salmonella. When cooked inside the turkey, the juices containing bacteria, are absorbed by the stuffing.
\nThe only reliable safe method to cook stuffing, is to cook it separate from the turkey – to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165\u00b0F as measured with a food thermometer – so as to kill any bacteria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[147],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19207"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcourses.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} - Let\u2019s Talk Turkey Brochure<\/a> (PDF)<\/li>\n
- 50 Stuffing Recipes – Food Network<\/a><\/li>\n