Experts say if you intend to cook that stuffing in the turkey, you need to be very careful about how you do it.

Participants: Gary Crawford and Meredith Carothers, with the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline.

The USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline number is 888-MPHOTLINE (888-674-6854). You can also go online to Ask.usda.gov The hotline will be staffed Thanksgiving day from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST

Transcript

Do you stuff your turkey and cook the stuffing at the same time that you cook the bird?

Well, food safety experts say reluctantly that's okay, but...

There's just definitely things you have to keep in mind if you do choose to stuff your turkey and it can be done safely.

But Meredith Carruthers with the Ag Department's Meat and Poultry Hotline says you have to do it right.

First, don't stuff the turkey until right before it goes in the oven.

She says if you put that warm stuffing in the bird the night before...

It can actually create somewhat of a breeding ground for bacteria and that's definitely not something we want.

But the biggest problem comes later if we don't check the stuffing with a food thermometer to see if it reached the bacteria-killing temperature of 165 degrees, just like the rest of the bird.

Checking that is important because...

As you're putting stuffing in the bird, you're technically touching raw poultry and getting those bacteria onto the stuffing components as well.

And if the stuffing doesn't reach that safe temperature, then you're potentially eating bacteria that could make you sick.

So, stuff that turkey safely so you can stuff yourself later.

Gary Crawford for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.