How long your leg of ham will last and other crucial food safety questions, answered

I don’t usually roast whole chickens. They look a bit yucky inside. Should I rinse them? M. Flett

No! Chickens are repositories for salmonella, and washing them will spread the bugs around your prep surfaces like a miniature version of 28 Days. Pat chooks dry with paper towel, fill the cavity with stuffing (optional), oil the skin, salt, then roast. After preparing raw chicken, wash chopping boards, knives, benches, hands, etc. The heat used to properly cook a roast chook will kill the bugs.

How do I defrost prawns? S. Wojcik

In the fridge, not on the bench. Spread the frozen prawns out in a container or large tray and thaw them in the refrigerator for 24 hours. There’s a lot of debate about the merits of frozen versus fresh prawns. Almost all prawns sold in supermarkets and fishmongers are frozen straight after harvest or after being cooked. If a prawn caught off the coast of Queensland wasn’t frozen, it would be at least three days old by the time it hit the shelves and would have begun to blacken. Look for plump prawns that appear tight in the shell. Cook thawed raw prawns on the grill or in salted boiling water until they change colour. Refresh in salted iced water. Serve thawed cooked prawns as they are.

How do I know my turkey stuffing is done? P. Lavigne

This is the season to treat yourself to a meat thermometer. The heat from your oven must get through a lot of meat and bone before it cooks the stuffing. If it’s made with sausage or raw egg, it really needs to hit that crucial 65C mark to make sure it’s safe to gobble up.

How long can I keep food out before it becomes a food poisoning risk? P. Clay

If you want to avoid giving your long-staying uncle food poisoning, put leftovers in the fridge once you’re done with them. Food kept at room temperature for up to two hours is safe to pack, refrigerate and serve later. Food kept at room temperature for between two to four hours should be eaten and not stored for later use. Food that has been on the table for longer than four hours should be discarded. Leftover cooked food should be reheated to at least 75C. Keep an eye on rare meat, particularly poultry, and undercooked eggs in warmer weather. The Food Safety Information Council suggests you steer clear of using raw eggs in anything, as they are a good vector for salmonella. They suggest clearing out the fridge before Christmas Day. I always have an Esky on standby, packed with ice, ready to handle the excess food. Remember, the bugs that cause food poisoning don’t create an odour.

How long will a leg of ham last after it has been cut open? P. Harper

In the Paul Kelly song I Can’t Believe We Were Married he writes: “We danced in the kitchen on Boxing Day/I held you swaying in my arms to Marvin Gaye/our Christmas ham turned green by News Year’s Eve/we weren’t hungry anyway.” Large, smoked and salted, Christmas hams are expected to last for weeks after the big day. They would have in the days before refrigeration. Back then the preservation of ham involved a lot more salt, much heavier smoke and the use of saltpetre. To many of us those hams would be unpalatable – imagine a salty, smoky, sloppy prosciutto. The NSW health authorities suggest a ham will keep for several weeks in the fridge. Tony Rapone from Bertocchi Smallgoods says, “If the ham is wrapped in a tea towel moistened with water, a tablespoon of vinegar and lemon juice, then placed into a clean old pillowcase, and stored in the coolest part of the fridge, it will keep for over a week.”