Roasting a turkey is no different from roasting a chicken, except that turkeys are bigger. Yet in the last few weeks we’ve been bombarded with warnings from magazine spreads, newspaper articles, TV specials and even the internet about the pitfalls of turkey cookery, as though it were some foreign species newly arrived on the planet.

The biggest concern is the risk of food poisoning from improper handling.

I don’t know. I’ve been preparing turkey for Thanksgiving and other occasions for years and I ‘m still here — unscathed -- to talk about it.

The latest wisdom is not to stuff the turkey because the cavity is the source of contamination risk. Thanksgiving turkey without the stuffing inside? Why, it’s heresy!

Stuffing inside the bird is essential for imparting flavor. Some of the greatest recipes from French cookery call for a forcemeat (stuffing) to be inserted in the cavity of poultry. Usually it’s a mixture of herbs, celery, onions, lemon, or such meat bases as liver or ground veal. The flavors from the stuffing perfume the bird beautifully and contribute moistness. Find me anyone, no less a steely governmental dietician, who doesn’t like turkey stuffing.

The latest bit of advice that I read was not to wash the turkey. This guidance points to the risk of all those deadly bacteria splashing about the kitchen as you wash the bird. Oh, I suppose one should be careful, if not meticulous in preparing anything well.

I will definitely rinse my turkey of any leftover trimmings much the same way I’d wash freshly dug lettuce or spinach for traces of sand. The only advice I have is rinse it off in cold tap water. Warm water activates any festering bacteria. Simply rinse the bird inside and out, scraping out any of the leftover innards. Use paper towels to dry the bird and hands after washing.. This should be enough to qualify as safe handling. And if you do make a big splashy mess, then clean up every surface with kitchen cleaner.

Another useful precaution (and this applies to just about anything you’re cooking in the home kitchen) is to consider the type of work surfaces you have. If the counters are wood or stone, they’re extremely porous and will soak up everything. Use either the roasting pan as your surface or a large cutting board made of nonporous material that is easily washable. The best surface counter is stainless steel, which cleans up instantly with any stainless steel cleaner.

I guess one could beg the question and not serve turkey at all for Thanksgiving. You could roast a brace of wild bird like ortolans or woodcock. Or shoot a goose or bag a guinea hen. If you want to be true contrarians, then serve sushi. Just don’t bore one and all with neurotic musings.

Later this morning I’m going to go to my spare refrigerator in my basement and retrieve the offending bird. I’m getting a bit nervous, but I think we’ll all survive as long as common sense prevails. I have a big turkey, so it will be unwieldy to handle. Maybe I’ll call for assistance: One to turn on the tap water and another to dry the bird. Or I’ll just muddle through and hope for the best to enjoy my holiday meal peacefully.

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