A golden brown turkey may be the centerpiece of your table on holiday gatherings or whenever you feel like serving a special dinner. Whether it is your first bird or your 50th, here's a helpful checklist:

Clean hands and kitchens

For starters, remember to wash and disinfect counter tops, tables and cooking surfaces before and after cooking. Whenever you handle meat, it's a good idea to wear plastic gloves to prevent the spread of bacteria and other organisms. Change the gloves after handling different kinds of meats. Raw and cooked meats should never be placed in the same containers.

To avoid salmonella poisoning or contamination, never allow raw poultry to touch other meats or foods.

Thawing it

One of the first decisions you have to make is fresh or frozen. If you choose frozen, then you must factor in thawing time. Frozen foods should not be left on a countertop or empty sink to thaw. It leads to uneven thawing, where the inner part of the meat is frozen but the outside is room temperature. Bacteria can grow to dangerously high levels when foods are allowed to remain between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (4 to 60 degrees Celsius) for longer than two hours.

To safely thaw your frozen turkey or other meats, put them in the refrigerator, making sure that raw meats or their drippings do not contact other foods. A general rule: Allow 24 hours of refrigerator thawing time for every 4 to 5 pounds of turkey.