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In The Kitchen

How to Tell When Your Turkey Is Done

Make sure you cook your bird to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit

Unidentified person removing a pan of roasted turkey with stuffing fresh from the kitchen oven. Play Video

You’re ready to cook your prize poultry, but how long should you cook this thing? How do you know when the turkey is done? Should you trust the plastic pop-up thingy on the bird? (Hint: No!)

Always cook your bird to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a digital food thermometer to check the temp in two or three different spots, including the thickest part of the turkey, and adjust your cooking temperature as needed.

Watch as our resident food-safety expert and NC State Extension specialist, Ben Chapman, Ph.D., shares research-based tips to help you prepare a safe and healthy holiday meal!

This segment of Homegrown was filmed in the Dinah E. Gore Teaching and Research Kitchens at NC State University. The state-of-the-art kitchen complex was designed to enhance and extend our work in teaching, research and Extension.

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