[Sca-cooks] Turkeys was Thanksgiving feasts

[johnna holloway]

Check the sell by dates on those frozen turkeys. I
think you'd be shocked to discover that the
turkeys you see in stores now may be sold to you
for Easter, depending on the turnover in the store.
If you do a search using the terms USDA turkeys frozen
guidelines, you can turn up information like the following:

What Does "Fresh" or "Frozen" Mean on a Turkey Label?

The term "fresh" may ONLY be placed on raw poultry
 that has never been below 26 °F. Poultry held at 0 °F or below must
be labeled "frozen" or "previously frozen." No specific
 labeling is required on poultry between 0 and 26 °F.

This poultry label rule addresses a truth-in-labeling issue,
 not food safety, because most pathogenic bacteria do not multiply or
multiply very slowly at normal refrigerator temperatures.
 The Agency concluded that the term "fresh" should not be used on
the labeling of raw poultry products that have been chilled
 to the point they are hard to the touch.

Storage and Safe Handling

Because product dates are not a guide for safe use
 of a product, follow these tips for use at top quality:
 purchase the product before the date expires; follow
 handling recommendations on product. Turkey is kept cold
 during distribution to retail stores to
prevent or slow the growth of bacteria and to increase
 its shelf life. The grocery should be the last stop before
 going home. At home, immediately put turkey products in a
 refrigerator that maintains 40 °F, or freeze at 0 °F. Freezer
 storage times are for best quality. If frozen continuously,
 turkey products will be safe indefinitely.
  This came from:  http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/focustky.htm

A whole frozen turkey prestuffed or unstuffed can be stored in your home
freezer at 0oF. or below for up to one year without appreciable loss of
quality.
Keep a prestuffed turkey in the freezer until you are ready to cook it.
It should
 not be thawed, because bacteria can develop in the stuffing while the
turkey
 thaws. Frozen, whole turkeys do not need to be rewrapped for freezer
storage,
 unless the packaging has been opened or is punctured or torn.
This came from:
http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/saluda/common/sepnov01.htm

Hope this helps.

Johnnae llyn Lewis  Johnna Holloway

Stefan li Rous wrote:
> Yes, this is one of the reasons I was considering buying a turkey
> now that Thanksgiving is past. We hadn't gotten to the grocery all
> week, until tonight. I figured that after Thanksgiving they would
> have a bunch of leftover turkeys, cheap. I was afraid that waiting
> this long they wouldn't have any more. Wrong. They still had freezer
> cases full of them. But they weren't on sale, either. Huh? What
> gives? Are they keeping them to sell for Yule? I didn't think they
> would be good that long, but maybe frozen ones would be.
>
> I've got to clear out some space in the refrigerator though before
> I buy a turkey, though. And it looks like I don't have to rush. :-(