How to Cook Stuffing for the Turkey

This article considers how to cook stuffing for the turkey so as to reduce the dangers of food poisoning. In general you can assume that an unstuffed turkey of 12lb will take around three to three and a half hours. A stuffed bird weighing 12lb (ie including the stuffing) will take between three and a half and four hours. However, it is not just a simple matter of extending the cooking time, as, without care, there is a danger that the stuffing itself will not reach a safe temperature.

The traditional approach to cooking stuffing has been, fairly obviously, to place it within the Turkey. The advantage is that the cooking juices from the turkey make the stuffing moist and the flavors from the stuffing are picked up by the meat. The disadvantage is that it significantly increases the difficulties in judging cooking times and thus of not killing bacteria before eating the turkey.

If you do chose the traditional approach the US Department of Agriculture recommends only placing the stuffing in the cavity just before you start to cook. However, it is vital that the stuffing itself reaches a minimum temperature of 165F and for this reason you really need to use a food thermometer. Otherwise the stuffing may harbor bacteria.

If the stuffing is made up of raw meat, poultry etc it should be pre cooked before being inserted into the turkey.

The USDA strongly advises against buying fresh pre-stuffed turkeys due to the dangers of contamination. If you buy a certified frozen pre-stuffed turkey it should be from a certified plant and should be cooked from frozen.

If all this seems too complex, the easiest option is to cook the stuffing separately to the turkey. Almost all the traditional stuffing mixes (sage and onion, apple and cranberry, sausage, apricot) can be cooked this way (usually they need to be roasted for between 20 and 40 minutes) and served with the turkey.

In summary, if you do opt to cook the turkey in the traditional way and place the stuffing in the bird it is vital that you ensure the stuffing reaches the minimum temperature of 165F. It is also important to avoid placing raw meat inside the turkey and, in general, to only stuff the turkey just before you start to roast. Finally, the USDA strongly advises against buying pre-stuffed fresh turkeys and recommends care in buying pre-stuffed frozen birds (and to ensure these are cooked without being allowed to defrost first).