JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Home chefs want to make sure that Thanksgiving dinner is not only delicious but one that doesn't get your guest sick. There are some cooking and storing rules all chefs don't want to break. These are mistakes that every chef could easily make that could result in food poisoning.
We went to the turkey experts at Copelands to get some answers. These chefs fry 800 turkeys during the week of Thanksgiving and prepare the full dinner for hundreds of people. The last thing they want to do is get customers sick.
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I asked Andrew Gabet from Copelands about the top mistakes that could get people sick. He said it boils down to time and temperature. They are both details you can't ignore.
"I would say it's the temperature for sure you want to make sure that you use thermometer in the deepest part of the breast of the bird and that temperature needs to be over 160 or else you're taking a risk," says Gabet.
Time is the other major factor. Gabet says make sure your food doesn't sit out longer than four hours after you serve dinner. Any food left out beyond that time could be a breeding ground for bacteria.