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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be panicking over whether my turkey will be safe to eat

23 replies

greenlobster · 24/12/2019 21:25

My turkey is in the oven right now (won't have time to cook it tomorrow), and I'm panicking about whether it was fresh enough.

I bought a fresh (supposedly) turkey from lidl this year instead of tesco. When I opened it, it smelled really strong. Not foul as such but much stronger than I'd normally expect. Could just be me though as I tend to be quite sensitive to smells.
It felt sticky when handled, and one of the wings was kinda purplish like a bruise. By this point I couldn't even begin to remember what a bloody turkey usually feels like, smells like, or well anything really as I've got a continual loop of 'oh fuck what am I going to do if there's no turkey to serve tomorrow' playing in my head.

The raw neck etc still smelt the same when I tossed it in the bin after 30 minutes. The turkey has now been in the oven for an hour and a half and there's no bad smell when I open the oven door, though it may or may not smell a bit weird. I honestly can't tell because now everything smells fucking weird, probably because I'm obsessing about smells and turkey and possibly poisoning 8 - 10 people!

So should I serve the bastarding bird or bin it? Or brave a turkey sandwich tonight and risk poisoning myself to save the rest of the relatives? How long does bad turkey poisoning take to show up anyway?!

I can't bloody win with turkeys. Two years ago I offended elderly relatives by daring to use herbs. Last year I refused to cook it due to still being offended by herb hating relatives refusing to eat it the year before so my DM cooked one and forgot to take the plastic bag of fucking giblets out. Not a good surprise when it was carved into. And now this ffs.

So I guess I'm asking AIBU to worry about serving this turkey tomorrow, or should I bin the fucker, drink half a bottle of sherry to get over it and serve up a lentil fucking loaf?

OP posts:
justdoityourself · 24/12/2019 21:28

It's hard to say without actually smelling it, but it's common for vacuum packed poultry to have a strong odour when first opened. Assume it is within date so should be ok!

PomBearWithAnOFRS · 24/12/2019 21:29

Was it wrapped in plastic? Cos that could account for the "sticky" feeling.
If it smells ok now it's cooking, just make sure it's cooked right through, cool it as quickly as possible once it's done, and get it in the fridge until you need to serve. You could carve it tonight, and taste some, then put the carved meat in the fridge to set your mind at rest.

Lulualla · 24/12/2019 21:30

Sometimes poultry just smells strong. If it was off, you would know it; the foul smell is really clear.

As long as you cook it thoroughly and juices are running clear then you should be fine. And reheat it properly.
Taste it when it's done. If it tastes fine then you're probably in the clear.

BarbedBloom · 24/12/2019 21:32

I just saw a news article on FB about people's Aldi turkeys being off even though they were in date. Don't know if that helps at all.

BarbedBloom · 24/12/2019 21:32

I am an idiot, you said Lidl

gaggiagirl · 24/12/2019 21:33

I think feeling sticky is fine. Slimy isn't good though was it slimy. I think once you think something smells weird, the smell stays in your head and you can't get the smell away.

Andysbestadventure · 24/12/2019 21:34

Tesco wash theirs. Lidl don't.

Oysterbabe · 24/12/2019 21:36

Turkey does stink. I'm sure it's fine.

nicky2512 · 24/12/2019 21:36

You would know! My gammon hadn’t been vacuum sealed properly. When I opened it up earlier the smell was awful and the underside was slimy and dark. Thankfully I was cooking early and had time to send dh for replacement. Dd was almost in tears at thought of no gammon!

Original poster
greenlobster · 24/12/2019 21:38

It was wrapped in plastic. Not vacuum sealed but in a shrink wraoped bag thing tight enough that I had to cut it to get it out.

I will be carving it tonight. We do Christmas lunch at my mums as my house is tiny, so we share the cooking between us and it's too hard to transport a massive turkey whole. I think I'm going for really really well done this year!

OP posts:
ASilhouetteAndNothingMore · 24/12/2019 21:39

I had an off turkey crown from tesco one year. I opened it boxing day morning and it stank. I took it straight back to the store and had a stand off with a manager who refused to take it back as they weren't doing refunds until the next day.
I stated loudly that she had ruined Christmas and I wasnt prepared to take the rotten bird back home with me.
She refunded.
I think you'd know if it was off.

Original poster
greenlobster · 24/12/2019 21:44

Thanks all for the replies/advice.
Am drinking sherry now and trying to chill the fuck out. Xmas Grin

OP posts:
EstuaryBird · 24/12/2019 21:48

After a bad turkey experience at SILs one year both myself and SIL can tell you that once your bad turkey starts to heat up in the oven you will have absolutely no doubt that the birds a bad ‘un.

Just thinking about it makes my stomach turn......and it was 12 years ago.

actiongirl1978 · 24/12/2019 21:56

If it was off, you would smell it whilst cooking too. I'm sure it's fine.

Tetran · 24/12/2019 22:00

I think because turkey looks a bit like chicken, I always get nervous when it smells and feels a bit different to chicken because that's what I'm used to; but usually with gone off poultry the smell is very potent. I would let it cook, give it a sniff and try a tiny bit if it smells okay. I'm sure it's fine :)

LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow · 24/12/2019 22:06

as @actiongirl1978 girl said, you;d know if it was dodgy as it'd absolutely reek in the oven

I was given a well hung pheasant once and it whiffed a bit before it went in the oven, but I put it down to my inexperience, but when I opened the oven about half way in the smell was awful....

I couldn't eat it after that but dh did and really enjoyed it, and had no ill effects ...and he has a fairly sensitive stomach

so to sum up, you really would know if it was off, so do not worry anymore.

delilahbucket · 24/12/2019 22:07

Raw turkey does smell really strong. The first time I cooked one I was really dubious but I'm used to it now. Ours comes from a butchers with no use by date.

bridgetreilly · 24/12/2019 22:34

It sounds fine, OP. Keep going and make sure it's really well cooked, but I don't think there's any reason to suppose it's gone off.

Lougle · 24/12/2019 22:51

Off poultry smells a peculiar sweet smell that you know isn't good. If you just think it smelled a bit strong, it was probably fine. If it doesn't smell in the oven, it's even more likely it's fine.

Babynamechangerr · 24/12/2019 23:23

I'm hoping someone will come along with some good 'smelling foul' puns soon.

Veterinari · 24/12/2019 23:49

It’ll be fine - cooking kills everything anyway so stop stressing

Original poster
greenlobster · 24/12/2019 23:55

I'm hoping someone will come along with some good 'smelling foul' puns soon

. The smell of my bird is srs bsns and I cannot believe you would befoul a thread like this with such paltry matters. Shock

I have, thanks to all you helpful (and far calmer and more unflappable than me) mn-ers persisted with the bird in question which has now been conflagrating for 4 hours and I think I shall take it out of the oven soon. It currently smells like something that may be good or may be odd. I would have a better idea no doubt if I had drunk less sherry, but that is not the case.

Supper is a turkey sandwich if annoying dd ever decides to bugger off to bed and let me wrap up the iphone that I an not really in a condition to set up reliably any more.

Merry Christmas!

OP posts:
DullPortraits · 27/12/2019 22:28

Well...??? Did everyone survive??? Wink

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