STUFF IT! Y ou may have heard from various reputable sources that stuffing a bird before roasting it is a bad idea There’s no problem with stuffing the neck cavity—it’s in the interior of the bird that safety issues arise Even though it might be safe to consume your stuffing itself at a lower cooking temperature than the turkey or chicken as the bird roasts, its raw juices can drip down into the stuffing, contaminating it So, in order to be completely safe, your stuffing must come up to at least the same 145° to 150°F you’re gonna cook your bird to Unfortunately, because the stuffing is in the very center of the bird, by the time it is cooked through, your bird is overcooked There is, however, a solution, though it’s a slightly tricky one: cook the bird from the outside and the inside What you’ve got to do is stuff the bird with hot stuffing just before roasting That’s right: bring your stuffing all the way up to at least 180°F (to compensate for the heat it will lose while you’re working with it) and, while it’s still hot, jam it into the bird’s cavity The easiest way to this is to form a cheesecloth pouch inside the turkey, stuff that pouch, tie it off, remove it, and microwave it on a plate, then put it back in the turkey before roasting Not only does the method give you stuffing that’s perfectly safe to eat (so long as it never dips below 145°F while it is roasting, and it shouldn’t), but it’ll also help your turkey cook more evenly, insulating its breasts from the inside so that they cook a little more slowly and end up coming to temperature at the same time that the legs Of course, in my family, we still need an entire tray of stuffing on the side, because there can never be enough ... because the stuffing is in the very center of the bird, by the time it is cooked through, your bird is overcooked There is, however, a solution, though it’s a slightly tricky one: cook the bird... bird from the outside and the inside What you’ve got to do is stuff the bird with hot stuffing just before roasting That’s right: bring your stuffing all the way up to at least 180°F (to compensate... from the inside so that they cook a little more slowly and end up coming to temperature at the same time that the legs Of course, in my family, we still need an entire tray of stuffing on the