Although there are a ton of misconceptions surrounding Thanksgiving, one myth shouldn’t be ignored.
I don’t really understand why people would wash their turkeys in the sink (Maybe cause they are used to washing their vegetables in the sink?) but raw poultry can contain dangerous microbes like Salmonella.
According to AOL, rinsing a raw turkey with water is more likely to make you and your dinner guests sick than not cleaning it at all.
When you wash a turkey in the sink, there isn’t any guarantee that you will be able to wash down anything you intended to clean off in the first place. The only thing you would be accomplishing is spreading those dangerous microbes all over our kitchen. In addition, the bacteria can get on your hands, faucet, cabinets, and countertops.
Here are three ways to lower your chances of contracting Salmonella when dealing with a raw turkey:
1. Make sure to thaw your turkey in the fridge and minimize any contact with it before you place it into the oven.
2. Remove the excess fat and skin from your turkey and season it without handling anything else. To reduce the risk of cross-contamination, make sure to wash your hands frequently and any other tools that touched the raw bird.
3. Make sure to cook your stuffing outside the turkey rather than shoving it inside the cavity and creating a Salmonella bomb.