I came across an article after I ate a hefty portion of turkey stuffing cooked inside a bird – just my luck.  My mom always cooked the stuffing inside the turkey; so, that’s all I know.  I think most of the women learned how to cook from their mothers (yes, there are exceptions to the rule), and stuffing the turkey with stuffing is part of cooking turkey for the holiday.

Let me tell you first hand, I am not a chef and most of the times I can barely boil a pot of water.  But … I am getting better – it can only get better, right? 

Back to my point, food poisoning is caused by bacteria and it can make people very sick; especially the elderly, young children, and people with immune problems. 

Sad to say this, but cooking stuffing inside the turkey is a big no-no.  If you know how to do it properly (handling food in safe manner) and wants to continue on the tradition of cooking the stuffing inside a bird than it’s all on you.  However, stuffing cooked in a turkey may not get hot enough so you may not be killing all bacteria. 

People generally take the temperature of the turkey, not the stuffing, to make sure the turkey and the stuffing is done.  If the stuffing is tightly compacted inside the turkey, you are creating greater risk of creating (not killing off) bacteria.  According to Florida-Agriculture website “…center is even more insulated during cooking from the bacteria-killing heat.” 

On the other hand, if you are cooking the turkey longer, to kill of “all” bacteria, you will have a drier turkey – which really isn’t all that tasty.  So what are you supposed to do? 

First and foremost — cook the stuffing separately from the bird!! 

Second — To have a more flavorful stuffing use chicken broth rather than using water, and use extra onion, celery, and apples to keep the stuffing more moist. 

So next year, if your goal is to make sure all of your guests are still standing after the dinner party, cook the stuffing separately from the turkey.

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