- Your goal when cooking turkey is to make sure it reaches a high enough cooking temperature to kill harmful bacteria. The slower and less you cook the turkey, the more opportunity for harmful bacteria to grow.
- Never cook a turkey at less than 325ºF (160ºC).
- Instead of checking for the juices to run clear to let you know the turkey is done –use a food or meat thermometer. This is the most accurate and safest way to check that it is thoroughly cooked.
- The best place to check the temperature is the inner thigh just above the bone (avoid actually touching the bone).
Cooked Turkey should reach these temperatures.
- Unstuffed turkey = 85ºC (185ºF)
- Stuffed turkey = 85ºC (185ºF)
- Stuffing =74ºC (165ºF)
- Ground turkey = 74ºC (165ºF)
Source: www.turkeyfarmersofcanada.ca