Kitchen

[Mindy D]

Hi. I am a careful cook. This year I was cooking a 17.6 lb. Frozen Butterball which was completely defrosted. I usually use my best roasting pan and rack, but I was just too tired to deal with it, so I bought a disposable aluminum pan. I actually called the Butterball Turkey Talk to check if turkey needs to be rinsed because the CDC or the NIH no longer recommends that chicken should be rinsed. I thought that the guidelines for turkey prep might have changed to align with this. I found out that, indeed, you do not need to rinse turkey before cooking. While on the line , I verified the correct temperature for doneness and where to place my Polder digital thermometer. I preheated my oven and followed all directions exactly, removing the bird at the correct inner thigh temp. Then, to be extra certain, I checked the breast temp. As well. My husband and I ate a slice of turkey from one side of the breast. Later on, I decided to take the remaining meat off the carcass and put it into plastic bags to refrigerate. I started with the side of the turkey we ate, pulling off meat and bagging it. I moved on to the other half of the bird and as I pulled off more and more meat I noticed a light pink color-- when I pulled up the leg and deep into the thigh, the meat was pinker. I plan to cook this in a frying pan. I just read that the sides of the aluminum pan could cause uneven cooking, but I never heard if a bird cooking on one side and not the other. I could understand if the bottom didn't cook as well as the top- but this is freaky. Anyone else with a freaky cooking tale? I just hope my husband and I don't get sick. I am so careful about these things.