Safety tips for cooking turkey

•     •     Thaw the turkey in the fridge or cold water, never at room temperature. Keep it cold (40 degrees) till you're ready to cook. Once thawed, raw turkey may be refrigerated up to four days.

•     •     It's safe to stuff turkeys with most oven methods, and stuffing tastes best cooked in the bird. However, stuffed turkeys need longer cooking.

•     •     Do not stuff if you're grilling, smoking or roasting at high temperature.

•     •     Do not add stuffing until just before cooking. Pre-cook any raw stuffing ingredients such as sausage or oysters. Microwaving the stuffing before adding it to the bird can help it reach safe temperatures faster.

•      Whatever cooking method you use, it's important to get the turkey from 40 degrees to 140 degrees in under four hours.

•     •     Use a thermometer to check doneness. Butterball experts advise that the bird should measure 180 degrees in the thigh, 170 degrees in the breast and 165 degrees in the stuffing. However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the turkey is safe to eat as soon as all parts reach at least 165 degrees.

•     •     Deep-frying a whole turkey is very risky. Product-safety testers Underwriters Laboratory say turkey fryers are too dangerous for them to certify any of them, and that's warning enough for us. See Ul.com/consumers/turkeys for their reasons.

•     •     Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking.

Leah A. Zeldes