Cleaning and preparing a turkey before cooking is an essential step to ensure food safety. Properly cleaning out the cavity of the turkey removes bacteria, unwanted parts, and enhances the flavor when cooking. Here are some tips on how to properly clean out a turkey before roasting or frying it.
Remove the Giblets and Neck
When purchasing a whole turkey from the grocery store it will typically come packaged with the neck and giblets inside the main cavity. The giblets are usually wrapped up in a small paper bag and can include the liver, heart gizzard and other organs. Before cooking your turkey, be sure to remove the bag of giblets and the neck from the inner cavity. It’s safest to do this right before cooking so the turkey doesn’t sit empty for too long.
Reaching inside the cavity with your hand, feel around for the bag and the neck then gently pull them out. Make sure you have removed all pieces as any remaining pieces could rot while cooking. After removing, you can reserve the giblets and neck if you want to use them for making gravy or stock. Otherwise, discard the pieces.
Rinse Brined Turkeys
If you have brined your turkey before cooking it is recommended to give it a rinse before roasting or frying. The brining process infuses the turkey with flavored saltwater. Rinsing removes some of the excess salt from the bird.
To rinse a brined turkey:
- Clear your sink of any other items and line with paper towels to contain mess.
- Use a gentle stream of cool water to rinse the outside and inside cavity.
- Drain the cavity well by holding the bird upside down.
- Pat the skin dry with paper towels.
- Discard the wet paper towels and thoroughly sanitize your sink.
Rinsing in the sink helps control bacteria spread versus rinsing directly in the faucet. Make sure to wash any utensils and surfaces the raw turkey touched to prevent cross-contamination.
Skip Rinsing for Unbrined Birds
Turkeys that have not been brined should not be rinsed before cooking. Washing raw poultry under the faucet can actually help spread harmful bacteria like salmonella to surfaces around your kitchen. Cooking the turkey to the proper internal temperature is what kills bacteria, not rinsing.
The United States Department of Agriculture states that skipping rinsing also helps prevent cross-contamination from spreading bacteria onto hands, clothing, and nearby surfaces as can happen when washing. For food safety, it’s best to take the turkey straight from the package to the roasting pan without washing.
Dry the Skin
Having dry skin on your turkey is key for achieving crispy skin once roasted. Use clean paper towels to pat the skin dry after removing it from packaging or rinsing. Getting rid of excess moisture will allow the skin to crisp up nicely in the oven. Make sure to dry the inside cavity as well.
Remove Pinfeathers
Turkeys can sometimes have remaining small pinfeathers that were not fully plucked. While not totally necessary, removing pinfeathers improves the appearance of the cooked bird. To remove, simply grasp the little feathers with tweezers or a paper towel and gently pluck. Avoid tearing the skin while removing pinfeathers.
Dispose of Fat Deposits
Whole turkeys can sometimes have sizable fat deposits or skin flaps around the neck, tail and body cavity openings. Trimming off these fatty areas improves the turkey’s appearance for cooking and carving. Use clean kitchen shears or a sharp knife to carefully slice away any fat pockets or large flaps of skin.
Truss the Turkey
Trussing brings the turkey’s legs together and reinforces the bird into a uniform shape for more even cooking. To truss, drape the turkey neck flap over the cavity opening. Then, cross the ends of the drumsticks and loop butcher’s twine around them twice before tying securely. Loop the twine around each drumstick again and pull up on the string to bring the drumsticks together tightly.
Tie another piece of twine around the wings to hold them snug against the body, bringing the wings akimbo. Trussing allows for more even heat circulation so the thighs and breast meat cook at similar rates. It also makes for a compact shape that fits better into roasting pans and looks beautiful presented whole.
Season the Cavity
For extra flavor, coat the inside cavity with seasoning before roasting. Try rubbing the cavity with a mixture of minced garlic, chopped herbs, lemon wedges, pats of butter, olive oil and salt and pepper. As the turkey cooks, the seasonings infuse the meat with more taste.
If baking your turkey stuffed, make sure the stuffing is fully cooked by using a food thermometer to verify it reaches 165°F. Stuffing should never be prepared in advance or stuffed into the raw turkey cavity as it can promote bacteria growth.
Secure the Cavity
Whether baking your turkey stuffed or unstuffed, the cavity opening should be secured shut with metal skewers or kitchen string. This will hold any seasoning or stuffing inside during cooking.
For an unstuffed turkey, trussing will help close up the cavity neatly. You can also loosely tie a loop of string around the cavity opening then wrap the string around the lower legs to tie it closed. Inserting skewers across the cavity opening into the thighs will also hold the turkey shut.
For stuffed turkeys, run 2-3 skewers horizontally through the breast and thighs, fastening them across the cavity opening. Looping twine vertically around the breast area from cavity to back a few times will also contain the stuffing. Make sure the ties are snug but not too tight on stuff turkeys.
Properly cleaning and preparing your turkey before roasting or frying ensures tasty results. Allow at least 1 hour for cleaning before cooking your bird. Follow proper food safety guidelines, especially when rinsing brined birds. With these tips, your holiday turkeys will turn out juicy, flavorful and picture perfect.
Plucking and Cleaning a Wild Turkey
- 1 Pluck the feathers if you’re planning to deep-fry or roast your turkey. Plucking takes longer than skinning a wild turkey, but it’s the way to go if you’re planning to roast, smoke, or deep-fry. It tends to preserve the turkey’s moisture more effectively as well.
- Plucking is also the option to choose if you want to cook your turkey whole.
- Plucking is a messy process, so do it outside or in a garage, if possible.
- 2 Remove part of the turkey’s wings along with its head and neck. Use a sharp, strong knife to cut off the turkey’s head and neck, starting 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) above the neck’s connection to the body. You can also remove part of the wings, starting at the first joint to leave a drumstick-shaped section behind.[9]
- The wings are edible, but they’re difficult to pluck and typically don’t have enough meat near the ends to warrant the extra effort.
- 3 Heat a large pot of water to 140–150 °F (60–66 °C). Fill a large pot with enough hot water to completely submerge your turkey. Aim for the water to be 140–150 °F (60–66 °C), which is warm enough to loosen the feathers for plucking, but not hot enough to start cooking the skin.
- You can heat the water on a stove or on an outdoor burner.
- You’ll need to use a kitchen thermometer to check the water’s temperature.
- 4 Dip the turkey in for 30 seconds to make it easier to pluck. Hold the turkey by the feet and dip it into the water for about 30 seconds. Lift the turkey out and try to pull out a feather. If it comes out easily, it’s ready to pluck. If you have to tug hard, dip the turkey again for a few seconds.[10]
- Soaking the turkey for longer than 30 seconds might start to cook it, which you don’t want to do while the feathers are still attached.
- 5 Hang the turkey up at head-height. Pull the turkey out and use a strong rope to hang it up by the feet. You can tie it to a strong tree branch or a sturdy beam in your garage, making sure to keep it over the pot to drip dry.[11]
- 6 Pluck out the feathers a few at a time. Starting at the back, start pulling out just a few feathers at a time, grasping them by the roots and plucking with a gentle tug. Pull down against the grain of the feathers, going over the entire bird until it’s clean.[12] Tip: If you have any small, hair-like feathers left over after plucking, you can burn them away by carefully passing over them with a lighter.
- 7 Remove the turkey’s innards. Once your bird is plucked, carefully open up the body cavity with a knife and remove the entrails. Wear gloves to protect your hands and make sure to remove all of the lung material, which is connected to the backbone and can rot quickly.
- 8 Remove the legs and place the turkey in a baking dish if you want to cook it whole. If you prefer to cook or preserve your whole turkey, first cut off the legs at the knee or second joint using a sharp, strong knife. Keep the thighs and drumsticks attached but not the scrawnier part of the leg, which won’t have as much meat. Place it on a large baking dish if you’re ready to cook.
- If you want to freeze your turkey, put it in 2 plastic freezer bags and seal it as tightly as possible. You can keep it for up to 7 months before using it.
- Dispose of the parts of the leg that you’re not cooking.
- 9 Separate the breast fillets, thighs, and legs if you want to cook it in separate pieces. To cut the turkey into sections, lay it on its back and cut back the skin from the breast. Then, cut the turkey along each side of the breastbone and on the inside of either wing. Pull at the breast fillet and use the knife to loosen it and lift it away from the breast bone, working from the rear to the front.
- To remove the thigh and leg of the turkey, cut through the thigh muscle at the back, then pull it up with your hand until the joint pops. Continue cutting through the thigh until you can remove it.
- If you have a smaller freezer, cutting your turkey into smaller pieces will make it easier to preserve. Put each section in 2 sealed plastic freezer bags and keep the turkey for up to 7 months before using it.
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To clean a turkey, start by thawing it completely and then taking off the packaging. Then, put the turkey in the baking dish youll be cooking it in. Next, reach inside of the turkeys body cavity and pull out the neck and giblets inside so that the inside of the turkey is hollow. If youre cooking a turkey thats already been brined, rinse out the cavity with cold water. Otherwise, after you take the neck and giblets out, the turkey is ready to be cooked. To learn how to pluck and clean a wild turkey, scroll down!
How To Clean And Prep A Turkey The Right Way | No Dirty Turkeys
FAQ
How do you prep a turkey before cooking?
- Ensure your turkey is properly defrosted. …
- Consider brining your turkey before cooking it. …
- Add a little aromatics to your turkey. …
- Pat-dry with paper towels. …
- Set out for up to one hour.
Can bacteria on turkey be killed by cooking?
Cooking a turkey thoroughly will kill bacteria, but a temperature that is to low can allow harmful bacteria to multiply and not be destroyed. Staphylococcus is a common culprit because it is heat resistant and can multiply if the turkey isn’t heated to 170 degrees in four hours.
Why do you clean turkey with vinegar?
The acidity of lemon and vinegar helps disinfect and tenderize the meat, and it also provides a clean base for rubs and marinades.
How do you clean a raw turkey?
Be sure to wash your sink with soap, water and a sanitizing agent, rather than just rinsing it down with only water, after prepping your raw turkey. Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens can be found in turkey.
How do you sanitize a Turkey?
You can also sanitize with one tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water. The only way to get that turkey free of bacteria is to cook it to an internal temperature of at least 165 °F in the thickest part of the bird—a temperature that is high enough to kill foodborne illness-causing bacteria.
Should you rinse a Turkey before cooking?
Although it may be tempting to rinse off the turkey once it is unwrapped, running the bird under water is actually unsafe. It can spread bacteria to other foods and contaminate cooking equipment. The only time to rinse a whole turkey is after it has been brined. Brining a turkey makes for a juicy and flavorful bird.