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Most meats do have small traces of Salmonella and other bacteria or microbes present, which is normal. To kill these, it is not so much a matter of how long to cook the turkey, but how hot the meat must get. The food-safe internal temperature of any size whole turkey, is 1700F / 770C (without stuffing), and 1800F / 820C (with stuffing). Some health authorities also now recommend cooking the stuffing separately, for safety reasons, to a temperature of 1650F / 740C.

If you are concerned that the bacteria load of your meat is so high that cooking it will not kill the bacteria, do not use it. When in doubt, throw it out.

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15y ago

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