brining a turkey. wanted to let it air dry over night in the fridge, a tip from cook's illustrated. but we're worried about a raw uncovered t

Good to know! Thanks so much again for the advice - hubby is less concerned now, and i'm very excited to be brining my first turkey! love this site :)

If it makes you feel better about it, put the turkey on a low shelf -- any contamination is likely to come from juices dripping rather than air circulating.

You're welcome! I'm no health inspector, but there's very little air circulation in a fridge, so I don't think any potential bacteria is likely to be flying around in there. Also, since the turkey will have been heavily salted due to the brine, that should help too -- salt is a natural preservative, as most bacteria cannot grow in an environment that is high in sodium.

thanks for replying! unfortunately, my whole question didn't show up, but that was it! we're worried about contaminating the other food. glad to hear it's not an issue - do you have any more details to back this up (my husband remains a bit unconvinced, haha).

If you're careful not to let anything else in the fridge touch the turkey, you'll be just fine. Air-drying it overnight will give it a wonderfully crisp skin!