Tips for turkey prep

Some helpful advice on preparing a turkey:

Size: Figure 1 pound per person (this includes the carcass; you're not eating all that). Smaller birds cook more evenly. If you have a crowd, consider two smaller birds rather than one that's supersized. If you like, plan for leftovers when calculating size.

Thaw: Allow 24 hours per 4 pounds of bird when thawing in the refrigerator. And yes, that means a 16-pound turkey will take four days to thaw. (Keep something under the turkey to catch any drippings.) If you haven't planned ahead — or your bird still has frozen crystals in the center — you can use the cold-water thawing method. Put the turkey in a leakproof plastic bag and submerge it in cold tap water, which should be changed every 30 minutes until the turkey is thawed. A 16-pound bird will take about eight hours to thaw this way. (It's far easier to plan ahead!)

Stuffing: If you are stuffing the bird, do so immediately before you roast it; do not stuff it the night before for food-safety reasons.

Temperature: Remove the turkey from the oven when it reaches 170 degrees in the thigh; let it "rest" for another 20 minutes or so, while the temperature continues to rise to 180 degrees, which is the safe number you're looking for. Any stuffing in the bird should reach 165 degrees.

Leftovers: Once the turkey is out of the oven, you have two hours until the bird should be refrigerated (this is standard food safety protocol). Refrigerated leftovers will be safe for three days.

LEE SVITAK DEAN