Food Q&A: turkey, deviled eggs and mushy swordfish

Questions I've gotten lately, with my best attempt at an answer:

Q: How long can you leave cooked turkey on the bone? Modesto, Ca.

A: No more than a day or two. But it keeps better and it's a lot easier to handle if you strip the turkey shortly after the big meal. Break it down into white meat and dark meat, then bag it or wrap it up. That way, you can have the carcass ready to go into the stock pot and the meat doesn't get all dried out from going in and out of the refrigerator.

Remember that the two-hour rule for cooked foods is cumulative. Meaning, every time the cooked turkey is at room temperature, the clock is running. So, you roast it, you let it sit for 30 minutes before you carve it, you have it sitting on the table for an hour, and then you really only have 30 minutes left of that two hours. So it's safer and more efficient to carve all the meat off after dinner so it's ready to go.

I make four bags, two white and two dark. One of each goes in the refrigerator to use within four days of cooking the turkey. The others go in my freezer, for use later. This year, I got even more efficient and broke down the bags destined for the freezer into several bags, each with about 2 cups of chopped turkey. All I have to do is pull out a bag and I'm halfway to dinner to turkey hash, tettrazini or turkey and wild rice soup.


Q: How long can deviled eggs be left sitting out and not be risky to eat? Missouri.

A: Two hours, Missouri. One hour in summer or in hot conditions like out on a picnic table.

Q: I was at a restaurant and had mushy swordfish. What would cause this? Bath, PA.

A: It could have been frozen swordfish that wasn't frozen properly. Many things that are frozen have a softer texture after thawing, but flash-freezing right on the boat usually minimizes that problem with fish. But if the fish is mishandled -- say, it's frozen, thawed and then refrozen -- it could get mushy.

Another possibility is that it might not have been swordfish. There have been a lot of studies on the problem of fish that isn't what the label or menu says it is.

Food Q&A: We get a lot of questions

Here's a roundup of questions I've gotten recently.

Q. What is the best way to freeze pomegranates?
A. It's better to seed them, then freeze the seeds. To get the seeds out without getting splattering your kitchen with enough pomegranate juice to look like "Saw XII," fill a large bowl with water. Cut into one side of the pomegranate with a sharp paring knife. Hold the pomegranate under water and pull it apart. Run your fingers around and through the sections to separate the seeds, which will sink, from the pith, which will float. Scoop off as much of the pith as you can and discard it, then pour the bowl through a sieve to catch the seeds. You can freeze the seeds as-is, or puree them in a blender and strain again to make pomegranate juice.

Q. How do you prevent food from getting soggy in a chafing dish?
A. The simplest solution here is to choose another recipe. Some foods are suitable for holding in a warmed container, while others aren't. Something that is crispy or has a crust is inevitably going to get a little soft. Something that is soft to begin with, such as chicken in a sauce, can be kept warm for serving without a noticable change.

Q. Can you freeze potato or cheese soups with a cream base?
A. Freezing can work, although milk- or cream-based soups can separate when frozen, and potatoes are always tricky. They can darken or take on an off-flavor. If the potato is pureed, not chunky, it should be OK. To get around the separating problem, you could reheat the soup in a double boiler over water and whisk it well to bring it back together.

Q. When making a souffle, is it best to use cold eggs or room-temperature eggs?
A. Room-temperature eggs always beat higher and hold air better than cold eggs. If you don't have time to let them sit at room temperature for a half hour or so, you can place them in a bowl of tepid water to take the chill off.