Can we eat the turkey

[Stuffing97]

Dp did food shop Sunday and got turkey out and it says 24th December use by date 😫 looks ok but ?!

It will be fine, it won't magically go off in a few hours.

I wouldn't so I'd cook today

Well I’d give it a good sniff first.

Why? What is going to happen to it in 12 hours?

It's a use by on meat as opposed to best before. I just wouldn't risk it as it's no doubt been sitting around prior to being sold.

I'd cook it today and re-heat it for tomorrow, personally - simply because it's Christmas and it's not like you can pop out and buy a replacement in the morning if it's off.

if you are worried cook it today and reheat. I'd still cook tomorrow but if you are worried, cooking today just saves you the anxiety around it all

Put your ear to it, can you hear anything?

If you hear something like the clock on Countdown, then it is nearing the cutoff point at which you can no longer eat it....

I’d cook and carve today. Tomorrow I’d lay slices in a roasting tin with a little thin gravy, cover with foil and heat slowly to keep it moist.

Cook it today and reheat it tomorrow. That’s what I do every year, I don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen!!

I'd get it out the bag, (keeps better like that anyway) and check it. If it looks good and doesn't smell sharp or like it's on the edge then it will still be fine tomorrow.

Set it up in the roasting tray so the air csn get at the skin and you will be all ready to shove it in the oven tomorrow morning.
Obviously depends where you got it, but how long it keeps will be effected by how cold it has been kept since you got it, how long out the fridge in transport etc.
As someone who sells meat- there is always a margin for error as outside factors change things. Stored in our commercial fridge at under 2c and meat will keep weeks longer than shoved at the back of a domestic fridge that is set to a temperature not to crisp the lettuce.

I delight in doing the Maths with the kids at school. In 12h, one single salmonella bacterium will have turned into 34,359,738,368. That's at room temperature, it may be fewer in the fridge and yes, I know that use by dates are a conservative estimate. I still wouldn't eat it, unless everyone who eats can deal with food poisoning.

Of course I would. There is always leeway in these. Whether it was killed in the morning or evening, how long was it in your car before getting home, is your fridge 3 degrees or 4. All these will have a bearing on the decay rate of the meat, but the factor has to put one day on the label. So it will err several days on the side of caution.

But that's maths, not the real world. In the real world millions of those bacteria will be dead because they will have been crowded out by those others, they will no longer have access to thrfood source, the growth will have reached the plastic wrap and can't continue, etc, etc. And not accounting for the fact that the turkey has been in the fridge, specifically designed to slow that growth rate by huge amounts.

Exactly. I am just about to probe mine 🤣

At this time of year, most people's fridges are full to bursting, and being opened regularly as everyone is home. The fridge will likely be struggling to keep everything cold enough. I personally would cook today, if it's still OK.

Also, people tend to pick up their turkey at the start of a very long shop, so it will have been out of cold storage for an hour or three before being returned to a struggling over-filled domestic fridge at home.

I know there are other factors involved, but the point was that "just one more day doesn't make much of a difference" is not exactly great thinking. Because it can make a huge difference to how safe food is to eat.

I wouldn't eat it. I don't eat anything past its date though. Cooking it today seems like the most sensible option.

I wouldn't risk it. It might be ok but also it might not be. Food poisoning is not fun, especially for a lot of people! Or you discover it smells bad on Christmas day and then you have no main course!

I'd cook it today, then reheat gently in gravy tomorrow to be on the safe side.

As others have said, cook it today. My DM always used to cook the turkey on Christmas eve. Don't think she even bothered reheating the meat on Christmas day, just put it on the plates cold and poured hot gravy over it.

Do you think things suddenly go on at the stroke of midnight?

It'll be fine for Christmas Day.

I work for a company in food production. Our kitchen staff are paid to take meat home and check it daily after the "use by" date.
Let me assure you, you'll be fine cooking it tomorrow

That's at 37 degrees, and assumes no lag phase.

I wouldn't risk it with Turkey I'm afraid. Food poisoning is just awful. How cheeky of the retailer to sell a turkey which expires before Xmas day. There's still loads in supermarkets this year fyi

Also, turkeys are hung for a couple of weeks at least before they are prepared and packaged for supermarkets.