I'm brining my Turkey for Thanksgiving (Canadian) dinner tomorrow. The turkey is in a non-reactive container and the container is in the fridge. I'm a little concerned however because my instant read is showing the temp of the fridge being 30*F, but the brine is reading about 45*F. I've never even heard of danger zones before this year, so now I'm all worried that I'm going to be feeding my guests some bad bird tomorrow.
Danger Zone Question
- Thread starter Allan
- Start date
C
Chris
Guest
Did you chill your brine down before you put the bird in?
How long has the bird and brine been in the fridge?
Try adding more cold water to the container if you have room, get the brine down to below 40° you could also try ziploc bags full of ice, when the brine is down to about 42° remove the bags of ice, and allow the temp to fall over the rest of the brining time on its own.
How long has the bird and brine been in the fridge?
Try adding more cold water to the container if you have room, get the brine down to below 40° you could also try ziploc bags full of ice, when the brine is down to about 42° remove the bags of ice, and allow the temp to fall over the rest of the brining time on its own.
Larry Wolfe
Closed Account
Do as Chris suggested and fill the container with bags of ice. Me personally I wouldn't worry about 45* unless it sat there for many many hours. Plus the salt in your brine is also in your favor as it helps prevent bad stuff!
You'll be fine, enjoy the turkey!
Happy Thanksgiving!
You'll be fine, enjoy the turkey!
Happy Thanksgiving!
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
The brine is an inhibitor as Larry notes. Still, it is wise to cool the brine further.
The bacteria most associated with fowl, Campylobacter and Salmonella, are easily controlled by heat, i.e., cooking. Cooking kills the bacteria. Unless the fowl was vac- or injection-brined by the manufacturer (or injected by the consumer) the bacteria in question will be primarily on the surfaces and thus killed quickly. However, even with injected fowl, cooking to a safe internal kills any bacteria that may have been pushed in during injection.
Salmonella and Campylobacter poisoning do not usually come from undercooked fowl (if anything, most people overcook fowl) but from cross-contamination, e.g., removing the bird from its packaging and, say, placing it on a cutting board while preparing the brine, turning on the faucet for water, grabbing apple juice out of the pantry, etc. The cutting board, faucet, pantry door handle, the apple juice lid and jar--anything touched by the bird or by the hands that removed the bird from its packaging is potentially contaminated. It is cross-contamination by direct contact of the bird, its packaging juices (washing fowl is not a good idea), or the hands that handle it and then touch other objects that usually cause the problem.
The bacteria most associated with fowl, Campylobacter and Salmonella, are easily controlled by heat, i.e., cooking. Cooking kills the bacteria. Unless the fowl was vac- or injection-brined by the manufacturer (or injected by the consumer) the bacteria in question will be primarily on the surfaces and thus killed quickly. However, even with injected fowl, cooking to a safe internal kills any bacteria that may have been pushed in during injection.
Salmonella and Campylobacter poisoning do not usually come from undercooked fowl (if anything, most people overcook fowl) but from cross-contamination, e.g., removing the bird from its packaging and, say, placing it on a cutting board while preparing the brine, turning on the faucet for water, grabbing apple juice out of the pantry, etc. The cutting board, faucet, pantry door handle, the apple juice lid and jar--anything touched by the bird or by the hands that removed the bird from its packaging is potentially contaminated. It is cross-contamination by direct contact of the bird, its packaging juices (washing fowl is not a good idea), or the hands that handle it and then touch other objects that usually cause the problem.
