The Lawhead Team would like to share some Thanksgiving safety tips to make sure all kitchen activities and turkey dinner consumption is done safely!

Thanksgiving Kitchen Safety Tips:

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove-top so you can keep an eye on the food and stay in your home when cooking your turkey, checking on it frequently.
• Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay 3 feet away.
• Keep the floor clear when preparing Thanksgiving dinner so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

Thawing The Turkey – Thawing Thanksgiving turkeys must be kept at a safe temperature. The “danger zone” is between 40 and 140°F — the temperature range where food-borne bacteria multiply rapidly. While frozen, a turkey is safe indefinitely, but as soon as it begins to thaw, bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to grow again, if it is in the “danger zone.”

Preparing The Turkey – Bacteria present on raw poultry can contaminate your hands, utensils, and work surfaces as you prepare the turkey. If these areas are not cleaned thoroughly before working with other foods, bacteria from the raw poultry can then be transferred to other foods. After working with raw poultry, always wash your hands, utensils, and work surfaces before they touch other foods.

Stuffing The Turkey – For optimal safety and uniform done-ness, cook your Thanksgiving stuffing outside the turkey in a casserole dish. However, if you place stuffing inside the turkey, do so just before cooking, and use a food thermometer. Make sure the center of the stuffing reaches a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F. Bacteria can survive in stuffing that has not reached 165°F, possibly resulting in food-borne illness.

Cooking The Turkey – Set the oven temperature no lower than 325°F and be sure the turkey is completely thawed. Place turkey breast-side up on a flat wire rack in a shallow roasting pan 2 to 2-1/2 inches deep. Check the internal temperature at the center of the stuffing and meaty portion of the breast, thigh, and wing joint using a food thermometer. Cooking times will vary. The food thermometer must reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F. Let your Thanksgiving turkey stand 20 minutes before removing all stuffing from the cavity and carving the meat.

Happy Thanksgiving!  The Lawhead Team is so thankful for all our wonderful clients we have had the pleasure to do business with over the years.  We wish everyone an enjoyable and joyous Thanksgiving this year.  We all have so much to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving is a holiday surrounded by myths and legends. Many societies have a day set aside to give thanksgiving for the many blessings they enjoy. In the United States, Thanksgiving has become a time for families and friends to get together, eat probably too much, and give thanks. In recognition of Thanksgiving, we’d like to share some Thanksgiving facts:

• Approximately 50 Native Americans attended the first Thanksgiving including Massasoit and Squanto – the Pilgrim’s translator.
• The First Thanksgiving was actually a secular event that was not repeated. A Calvinist Thanksgiving actually did occur in 1623 and did not involve sharing food with the Native Americans.
• The first national celebration of Thanksgiving was declared in 1775 by the Continental Congress. This was to celebrate the win at Saratoga during the American Revolution. However, this was not an annual event.
• In 1863, two national days of Thanksgiving were declared: One celebrated the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. The other began the Thanksgiving holiday we still celebrate today.
• While most Americans think of the Pilgrims as celebrating the first Thanksgiving in America, there are some claims that others in the New World should be recognized as first. For example, in Texas there is a marker that says, “Feast of the First Thanksgiving – 1541.”
• The date of what is typically recognized as the first Thanksgiving is not precisely known though it occurred between September 21 and November 9, 1621. The Plymouth Pilgrims dined with the Wampanoag Indians for the first Thanksgiving.
• The First Thanksgiving lasted for three days.
• According to Edward Winslow, a participant in the first Thanksgiving, the feast consisted of corn, barley, fowl including wild turkeys and waterfowl, and venison.
• 52 Pilgrims attended the first Thanksgiving in 1621 including John Alden, William Bradford, Priscilla Mullins, and Miles Standish.
• The author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Sarah Josepha Hale, was key in getting Thanksgiving officially recognized as a national holiday.
• Each year the President officially declares a day of National Thanksgiving.
• Since Harry Truman, every president has pardoned a turkey for Thanksgiving.