Is it OK to cook stuffing inside the cavity of turkey or chicken?

Question

When I was growing up, stuffing was precisely that, something that was stuffed INSIDE the bird. Now I have heard you are not supposed to cook the stuffing inside the bird, because it doesn't cook hot enough, and you will end up with raw poultry juices in the stuffing and be at risk for salmonella poisoning. Anyone else hear of this ? I want to roast a chicken and I want to stuff it, but I don't want to risk salmonella poisoning. Is this a real concern, or is this a bunch of hype ?

Answer 1

Hello??!! Where have you folks been for the past two decades??? Yes, we've been stuffing poultry for centuries. We stuffed chickens, or whatever, that we raised at home and killed/dressed at home. Or we got it from relatively small farms to be cleaned by ourselves or our local meat market. That's just not how things are done NOW. Poultry is raised in huge houses and then made ready for market in huge plants that aren't that clean. And then how long between that plant and the market and then to you? Not hours. Not days. But maybe weeks. Plenty of time for lots of bad stuff to incubate in that bird. All poultry has to be fully cooked. Everything the bird touches has to be fully cooked or fully sanitized.

Yes, you can cook the stuffed bird long enough to kill everything. But in that process you will overcook the bird. Who here hasn't suffered through an overcooked turkey?

Dressing, cooked separately, made with good chicken broth will taste every bit as good as stuffing.

Now, what is the purpose of stuffing a bird?...to keep it moist and flavorful. Do that safely by filling the cavity with salt, pepper, other herbs like rosemary or basil, aromatics like onion and carrot, and moist fruit like lemon and/or apple.

Answer 2

"wigandw" is on the right track. "nickipettis is correct in that there is a safe way to do it. "FLMomma" misread the USDA/FSIS document.

You can stuff your turkey and have it safe to eat so long as the center of the stuffing reaches 165 degrees F and the inside of the thigh and the thick part of the wing/breast have also reached 165 degrees F. At this point the shallow part of the breast and leg will be overcooked and somewhat dry. A key point about the stuffing; it MUST be moist. If the stuffing is dry the turkey will be horribly overdone by the time the center of the stuffing reaches 165 degree F. Another salient point for having the stuffing moist is that moist heat is more efficient at destroying bacteria than dry heat.

So, for the juciest and the safest turkey and stuffing: Bake your stuffing in a casserole dish (Now called dressing) in a 325 degree F oven to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F; Bake your turkey in a preheated 325 degree F oven to 165 degree F on the inside of the thigh and the deep, thick part of the wing/breast joint.

Some important points brought up by other answers: Immediately remove the stuffing from the bird; remove all meat from the carcass before refrigerating the meat; if you wish to make turkey stock from the carcass, wrap it tightly in foil and freeze until you're ready to make the stock, even if you are going to make the stock the next day; let the turkey stand about 20 minutes after it is removed from the oven before carving - this lets the temperature stabilize and the turkey will be easier to carve.

Answer 3

I agree with you, stuffing was always inside the bird while growing up. Now you're not supposed to do that. UNLESS you have a meat thermometer and can make sure the stuffing itself is up to the temp that kills the bacteria of the turkey/chicken. Then it's OK. But the "safe" way is to just cook the stuffing separately now. Whatever.

Answer 4

I've never heard this. I just had stuffed chicken about a month or so ago and nothing happened. Just cook it longer if you're worried about raw juices. I think it's just hype. People have been eating stuffing cooked in the bird for centuries with no problems. I forget what the temperature is for chicken to be fully cooked - find that out, and cook to the correct temp, and you're fine. Also, if you're using boxed stuffing like Stovetop, you cook it before and then stuff the bird, so there's no undercooking.

Answer 5

When I first moved out at 19, I was totally clueless about making Thanksgiving dinner or cooking! Guess what happened like two weeks later? Yup, Thanksgiving! My best advice: Turkey bag! It's a low-cost box of plastic bags that are perfectly suited for a turkey. It keeps your bird so moist and you never have to deal with all that basting crap! Reynolds makes a good bag.. or you could go with store brand - probably doesn't matter. Also.. if you put a cup or so of water in the bag, it mixes with your turkey to provide a great broth to make gravy for your mashed potatoes! So basically here's the best way to make a turkey (and the easiest!) in my opinion: Defrost your turkey. Wash him inside and out, removing the giblets. Put some vegetable oil on his skin or some PAM or something like that... then rub him down lightly all over with salt, pepper, papricka, sage... thyme.. whatever herbs you like. Place your bird inside the bag. Put veggies in the bag if you want. Put some water in the bag. Bam! All done. Just follow the instructions on the bird for cooking times. Good luck! This is the simplest way I've ever made a turkey that made me say - YUM! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Answer 6

It is ok to cook stuffing inside the bird but I would recommend that you take the stuffing out of the bird completely before refrigerating the leftovers. I have done it this way for awhile now and never had any problems.

Answer 7

You are right. What you heard can happen. Stuffing inside the bird has many disadvantages.
I make stuffing in a separate pan and baste with turkey drippings. The stuffing tastes wonderful and no one knows the difference.

Answer 8

You have to make sure it is stuffed loosely and cook the turkey immediately after you stuff it. The internal temp of the turkey has to be 180 degrees when tested at the inner most part of the thigh and center of the stuffing.

I have never gotten sick from it and we stuff our turkey every time we make one.

Answer 9

We buy pastured organic heritage turkeys ordered through Whole Foods, not the factory processed overweight birds usually seen in grocery stores. Our assumption is that these birds are cleaner, both through their lives and the butchering process. Stuffing is prepared stovetop prior to putting it into the bird and it all goes in the oven immediately. No sickness so far!

Answer 10

it is safer to cook the stuffing seperately. but there must be some way ( like measuring tthe inside temperature of the bird AND the stuffing) so you could be sure it was safe.