Martha just gave everyone bad bad advice on Thanksgiving Turkey

I love good ol' Martha, but she basically gave millions of Americans some really bad advice on Turkey prep on the Today Show. (don't ask me why I was watching that crap, it was just on as I was getting ready this morning)

She says she always washes her turkey before cooking it. She did mention that some people say not to do it but she doesn't know why. (you would think she would find out before doing that segment) I think that is a very irresponsible and I hope nobody gets sick.

Great way to spread salmonella! Please don't wash your turkey, you are just spreading bacteria all around. You are not cleaning anything off of it. I hope NBC makes a statement about why you shouldn't wash it. I've had salmonella, and trust me, you don't want it!

www.foodsafety.gov...

a reply to: JAGStorm

Meh, I wash the inside of mine every year.
Then I submerge it in a 5 gallon bucket to brine overnight.


Not to mention when the damn thing hasn't thawed completely they recommend soaking it in cold water to speed the thaw.

a reply to: JAGStorm


Doesn't the microwave kill all the salmonella, when you cook the turkey?

originally posted by: Bluntone22
Meh, I wash the inside of mine every year.
Then I submerge it in a 5 gallon bucket to brine overnight.

Same.

I'm still alive, much to everyone's chagrin.

a reply to: Bluntone22

If you brine it, you should wash it,
but if you don't brine you really should not wash it.

The funny thing is they used to tell everyone to wash the turkey and if you didn't People were all upset. Commercials used to come on telling everyone to especially wash and dry the inside.

Now all the .gov stuff says don't wash. Again why listen to them use your own judgement it seems they change theirs regular as clockwork.

This reminds me of the back and forth people go on whether eggs/coffee are super foods or going to give you cancer.

Wash the turkey, don't wash the turkey, either way I'm sure everyone will be just fine.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I never thought eggs were bad regardless of what the news said.
I do think washing turkey is a bad thing. Most people are real splashy when they do it and those particles go everywhere. This year there seems to be a bad salmonella outbreak too, I personally, wouldn't chance it.

I always err on the safe side with poultry. I don't stuff my turkey either, i've always made dressing instead.

Sorry. I had to.

I won't cook poultry without washing it, I do not care what anyone says. I am not afraid of being in contact with these microbes, it keeps my immune system working. You do need to wash your sink and counter afterwards and use a good soap to wash your hands. A good dish soap kills these microbes you do not need triclosan.

If a person has a compromised immune system or has not yet built up a proper immune response to these microbes, then they should be someway sheltered from them. Young kids do not have a really well developed immune system yet, that makes it important to clean up the counters and sink when done. I go through lots of paper towels when cooking. Do not wipe your hands on a towel while working on the turkey, use paper towel.

Remember, cleaning that bird is no different than spicing that bird, you have to be flipping and rubbing the spices into the bird with your hands. I rub it into the cavity and stuff the bird with my hand. Just take precautions to clean up well before doing other things. Spreading fear on this boosts the economy because people will go to restaurants to eat...where with out the FUT2 genetics protecting you you will possibly get sick.

The way you want to prepare your bird is up to you, It is your decision. If you feel your immune system is compromised, then by all means take precautions. I always cook my turkey so that it is easily removed from the bones, I do not like the metallic like taste of turkey cooked less. I put onions into the pot and my stuffing contains both real celery and lots of onions and also real poultry seasoning high in sage and rosemary which kill bacteria well. I do not like it when the turkey or chicken has undercooked meat in the thighs, so ours is usually overcooked to an internal temperature of probably close to one ninety. Some of the Amino acids and chemistries are compromised but the gravy from that juice is very tasty. I prefer birds that are not pre-basted, I do not mind basting the turkey three or four times while cooking, we usually pick at the stuffing that is already browned that sticks out of the turkey after two hours.

I watch Martha, I do not agree with some of her recipes but do not see a problem with this issue.

It's a good thing.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I had salmonella too and it required hydration by IV the next day. And I still wash the turkey before I roast it. I then coat it with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and sometimes I sprinkle it with lots of rosemary. I like to cook without stuffing because it takes a lot less time and cooks better in my opinion.

Thank you for any likes on my post. I'm here until Wednesday at noon.

a reply to: JAGStorm
What's wrong with taking it outside and turning the fire hose to it? Hell, just soak it in a strong Purex solution for a few hours. Just joking here. If it's cooked thoroughly I don't see any problems.

Edit: www.ecowatch.com...
1. Chlorine Baths

If you want to know the most problematic ingredients in our food supply, just look at the items the European Union boycotts, starting with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), hormone beef and chicken dipped in chlorine baths. U.S. Big Food lobbyists are pushing hard to circumvent the European bans, says MintPress News, especially "bleached chicken." They claim the “many unwarranted non-tariff trade barriers … severely limit or prohibit the export of certain U.S. agricultural products to the EU.”

That's the idea. In fact, the EU has not accepted U.S. poultry since 1997.

Why do U.S. poultry processors use chlorine? It "kills bacteria, controls slime and algae, increases product shelf life [and] eliminates costly hand-cleaning labor and materials" in addition to disinfecting "wash down" and "chilling" water. "Pinners" in the slaughter facility who remove the birds' feathers by hand wash their hands with chlorinated water to "reduce odors and bacterial count" after which the birds are sprayed to "wash all foreign material from the carcass." Meat is similarly disinfected with chlorine, says one industrial paper, especially because conveyer belts are "ideal breeding grounds for bacteria."

In a 2014 directive, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) admits the many uses of chlorine in poultry and meat production, none of which are required to be on the label under the "accepted conditions of use" (which limit the parts per million of chlorine allowed). And it gets worse. The FSIS directive also reveals that chlorine gas is used on beef "primals," giblets and "salvage parts" and for "reprocessing contaminated poultry carcasses." Bon appétit.

originally posted by: skunkape23
Sorry. I had to.

Ummm...so Martha was showing us how to...stuff a turkey...?


I thought this thread was about hygiene...





YouSir

I just pat mine dry. I am more afraid of a grease fire as I dunk it in peanut oil. Aint nuthin living through 20 minutes of that.

a reply to: CharlesT

It's not just about the turkey itself. When you wash turkey or any poultry you are slashing that salmonella juice everywhere. You may not even realize you are doing it.
Not just in the sink, but counters, floors, on yourself. You may not realize it's on your shirt and then you rub the counter, or a fork, and boom salmonella poisoning.

a reply to: JAGStorm

This advice NOT to wash poultry is meant to prevent the spread of salmonella and in that you are correct since splashing from the washing has been proven to spread salmonella far and wide but traditionally poultry was always washed before being cooked.
So it is not bad advice as far as Cooking is concerned but it IS BAD ADVICE as far as cooking sanitation is concerned (the problem is most people leave a bird under a running tap and the water splashes off of it as it fall's onto the bird creating both an aerosol ejecta containing potential salmonella and also splashing onto the area around the sink were the bird is being rinsed).
It also applies to all other poultry such as my own personal favorite good old fashioned roast chicken.
Personally I prefer Chicken since it has more and in my opinion and also far nicer flavour especially with a butter, sage and onion stuffing basted with honey and mustard and cooked to a golden crisp on the outside (best done rotisserie style) served with steamed vegetables, golden roasted crispy potato's fluffy on the inside and a nice stock based gravy (oddly I like beef gravy with my chicken) - a few Yorkshire pudding do wonders for it too.
But then I am a brit and we can't cook Turkey's to save our lives.
(give us a Turkey and we will try to cook it like a Chicken usually leaving it dry and cardboard like in flavour).

This is public health advice in the UK concerning this very subject though this is referencing Chicken not Turkey the principle is identical.
www.nhs.uk...
As well as Salmonella the big problem over here is Campylobacter.
www.food.gov.uk...

I've some history with Martha...(I used to steal her hors d'oeuvres when she catered book parties at her husband's company).

At the time, my wife worked for her husband in NYC...and, when these book parties were happening at the office, I'd come up to pick up my wife from work and fill the pockets of my old army jacket with Martha's canapes.

After the parties, there was plenty of food left over, and employees could take the leftovers home.

Back then, we were on a tight budget and living in Manhattan...so we'd end up eating Martha's leftovers for a couple of days.
Her food looked pretty...but few people ate her stuff at the parties...and there was always plenty to take home.

TRUST me...her food looks better than it tastes and it was always all about presentation, rather than flavor...so hygiene was most-likely not a major consideration either.

a reply to: IAMTAT

Sorry I can not resist, the image with the chickens' and the knife did it.

a reply to: IAMTAT
Martha's own daughter said there was never anything to eat at home and she was always hungry!

Your story of Martha, reminded me of my story with Oprah. I really liked her at the time, this was the early 1990's, most people actually liked her at that time.

I finally got a ticket to one of her shows. They were free but there was always a wait to get one. I finally go there, and she was an absolute A$$. I could not believe how downright mean she was to her guests, including one child. I'd normally brush it off as someone just having a bad day, but you could just tell this was her normal behavior. After that I refused to watch her anymore. Oddly enough I get her magazines, O magazine. I didn't order them, but I assume they replaced another magazine with hers. As soon as it comes in the mail I used it to line the bottom of my trash bin!