Thanksgiving is upon us, and as always, there are a few healthy reminders out there. Douglas Toole of the Vermilion County Health Department says first of all, do not defrost a turkey by just having it sit out on the counter. Do it gradually in the refrigerator to bring up the temperature evenly and slowly. And if you have picked up your turkey at the last minute, and need a quicker defrost method, there are a couple of safe alternatives.
AUDIO: The cold water method where you leave it in the sink under cold water, running and draining at the same time; or the microwave. Those are the other best ways to thaw the bird. You want to use a meat thermometer. You want to be sure that you’re getting 165 degrees at least in parts of the wing, parts of the breast, throughout the whole bird.
Then, there’s the annual reminder that if you have decided to deep fry your turkey for the first time, or are still rather new at the routine. Use extreme caution, and common sense. Get away from the house, don’t do it in the garage, and have an escape route for spillage.
AUDIO: You want to be careful of safety so that heaven forbid if something does go sideways with it; maybe have an outdoor area where the grease is able to run off somewhere in a safe place. “Prepare for things to go wrong” is always a good recommendation.
And since we are still battling COVID, Toole says if you’re having a large family Thanksgiving and everyone’s vaccinated and symptom free, all is certainly well.
But if you have a situation where one or more are not vaccinated, you have one or more showing symptoms, then on top of that some who are too young to be vaccinated, then it’s time to practice social distancing, especially being indoors.
AUDIO: It is crummy to have to go through another holiday like this. But we are definitely seeing that COVID is still very much a thing. And I don’t think anyone wants to come away from Thanksgiving not feeling well.
As of this writing, the latest report from the Health Department showed over 300 new COVID cases in Vermilion County.
