The results of a Safefood survey, completed in October this year, show that 57% of people find cooking Christmas dinner somewhat stressful, although they enjoy the end results.
Just over half of the survey respondents were cooking for between five and ten people, which might not be something that they are used to.
Agriland caught up with director of food safety with Safefood, Trish Twohig, to provide some steps to try and minimise the stress of cooking this Christmas day, and to ensure we all stay safe.
Step one: Get prepared to avoid waste when cooking
Twohig said this can be done by writing a shopping list and “not over buying”.
Step two: Defrost your turkey properly
Twohig advised that a turkey should be defrosted on the bottom shelf of the fridge. The turkey should be defrosted for 24 hours per 4-5 pounds, or 1.8-2.2kg.
The meat should be soft to touch when the turkey is fully defrosted, the legs should easily move and there should be no ice crystals in the cavity.
Step three: Minimise handling
By minimising handling, cross contamination can be avoided, according to Twohig.
She added that many people already know not to wash chicken, and that the same rule should be applied for turkey. She said the oven will do its job in killing off harmful bacteria.
Step four: To stuff or not to stuff?
The simple answer is no, according to Twohig. She said that the turkey will simply take longer to cook when stuffing is added, causing further food poisoning risks, and will result in “drying out the turkey”.
However, some people are traditionalists and do insist on stuffing the turkey.
In this case, Twohig said to pop the stuffing in the neck of the turkey, and ensure that the stuffing is no more than 10% of the weight of the turkey.
Step five: Cook your turkey correctly
Twohig warned that cross contamination from raw poultry is “one of the main causes of food poisoning”.
She said that Campylobacter, or Salmonella, are the main strands of food poisoning associated with turkey.
“For some people it might be a minor inconvenience for a few days, but for others particularly in vulnerable groups, it could be quite serious,” Twohig said.
To avoid sickness for yourself or loved ones this Christmas, Twohig said it is a “general rule of thumb” to cook your turkey at 180°C for 20 minutes/pound, followed by an additional 20 minutes at the end of cooking.
To ensure you are definitely following calculations correctly, Safefood has a “turkey calculator” on its website, where you add details on what time you want to be eating your dinner at, the type of oven you are using, the particular cut of your turkey, and its weight.
The calculator will tell you how long to cook your turkey for and what time you should start the process.
Step six: Test that your turkey is cooked correctly
Twohig said that the general rules provided for cooking turkey are only a “guideline”, and there was no way of actually telling how efficient someone’s oven was.
She said to always test that turkey is fully cooked by ensuring that the thickest part of the turkey is piping hot inside, that juices in the turkey are running clear, and that there is no pink meat remaining.
Twohig added that the use of a meat thermometer is advised, which can be bought in homeware shops, or even in some butchers.
Step seven: Store your leftovers
There always seems to be an endless amount of food at Christmas, and when it can’t all be eaten around the table on Christmas day, Twohig said it should be stored correctly and can be reused in numerous different ways.
The food should be cooled within two hours, covered and put in the fridge. The food can then be reheated up to three days after cooking.
On reheating, it should be brought to “piping hot again”, according to Twohig.
If the food is not eaten on the “second round of reheating”, then it should not be cooked again, due to food poisoning risks.
Twohig said food can also be frozen on the day of cooking. She said to do this, it must be sealed “very well”, to “avoid freezer burn”.
There are some recipes for cooking, using Christmas leftovers over on the Safefood website.
Step eight: Make sure to enjoy your meal
Twohig said the most important thing is to enjoy your Christmas dinner.
The director of food safety’s personal favourite is serving a turkey crown – she said it helps to avoid waste.
Twohig added that if the controversial brussel sprouts are not a fan favourite in your house, then maybe leave them behind this year to avoid waste.