ConsrvYank1 wrote:Pixie wrote:
If you choose not to cook your stuffing inside the bird, your turkey will take less time to roast(thigh should register at least 170 degrees F).
Actually, it doesn't make any difference whether one 'Stuffs' or 'Doesn't Stuff', as long as the rules are followed i.e. one takes all the precautions. I stuffed my birds for years because my parents did. Then I grew up (sort of) and asked myself...why am I doing this?
But what are the basic rules?
** 1st and foremost, 'do not' slow roast the bird below 325 F Deg. Don't make a cavity for bacteria.
** Always cool the stuffing down before placing it in the bird so the bacteria won't build when placed in the bird.
** Always stuff the bird right before placing it in the oven so bacteria won't build.
And it can build very quickly.
** Be sure the 'Center of the Stuffing' reaches 155 F Deg before you take out the bird. It'll rise to 160 F+ Deg once out.
** Always remove the stuffing from the bird right after it's settled, after completion. This is rarely perfect.
For me it was the safety considerations, and it was the option to 'Bake the Stuffing Separately', a personal decision.
Through the years I've baked many un-stuffed birds, and I knew it was cooking from the inside as well as the outside. I'd have to watch and measure it frequently, and poke holes in it with the gauge to ensure the temperature was balanced. Sometimes this worked well, sometimes not. And juices ran from the holes in the bird.
SO.. I decided several years ago to 'Stuff the Bird with Anything' I wanted then throw it out after it was cooked. I chopped up all the onion, carrot, celery, citrus skins, parsley ends, and so on which I would have thrown out as swill. I seasoned them as a stuffing, and stuffed the bird with them. When the bird was done, I threw all that out.
So, I made my stuffing on the side. AND, it allowed me to make the stuffing while the Turkey was cooking in the oven or before.
What I found was that once that 'throw away stuffing' was 150 to 155 F Deg the bird was just right, and the process was simple, and I didn't poke any holes in the breast or thigh to let the juices run out.
So, hey, to each his own as long as one thinks of the rules.