As you prepare to cook your turkey for Thanksgiving, the USDA says you can skip the bath for the bird. Meredith Carothers with the USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline says it is not needed and can cause other problems and create more work for the cook. She says putting the bird in the sink and possibly splashing and spraying of the water can spread the bacteria you are trying to rinse off.
You would need to clean any surfaces that may have come in contact with the spray or splash from the bird’s bath.
Once your bird is on the pan and prepared for the oven, remember to wash and sanitize the areas that may have been contaminated from the raw poultry. Keep a spray bottle with a bleach and water solution to spray down surfaces, including the water faucet handles you touched with the dirty hands to turn them on.
