Of all the Christmas Day cooking disasters, one documented online this year has to be among the most catastrophic.
Posting on the discussion website Reddit, a user who goes by the name ChefBigD210 shared an image of his pre-cooked turkey resting in a metal tray, which seemed to have turned a shiny, grey color.
He explained that the bird had developed an odd hue after he’d left it in a metal pan to bine for 24 hours.
Brining means covering meat in a salt mixture, which adds moisture and flavor.
However, this didn’t work out too well for ChefBigD210.
A Reddit user caused a stir online when he posted a picture of a greying turkey, which he said was the result of brining the bird in a metal tray
Salt interacts with the particles in metal, causing metallic ions to transfer through the brine and coat the turkey.
Food safety experts have long warned against using bronze, brass, iron, copper or aluminum pots for brining – and instead recommend using plastic.
In rare, worse-case scenarios, eating ‘metallic’ meat can cause metal poisoning, which can damage the kidneys, lungs and even the brain.
However, stainless steel is a safe option as it is what’s known as corrosion-resistant, which means it will not react with salt.
Reddit users responded with advice – telling the man to get rid of the bird right away
A few hours after the original post, the Reddit user posted an update, revealing that not only did he eat the turkey, it appeared that he served it to his guests.
‘This is for home use not restaurant use,’ he wrote. ‘I cut off a piece of the turkey that was grey and cooked it to 165 and it didn’t taste metallic or off putting at all.’
He continued: ‘Also it was just the skin that was grey, the meat underneath it looked fine. I think imma risk it for dinner at home. I’ll update if I die or not.’
Commenters accused him of ‘deceiving others’ by failing to tell his guests that the turkey was ‘galvanized’.
Meanwhile, doctors took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to warn others not to follow in the man’s footsteps.
Josh Trebach MD, a New York-based emergency doctor, tweeted with the simple advice: ‘please don’t eat this turkey’.
