Jenelle Evans is no stranger to controversy, but the latest debate surrounding the Teen Mom 2 alum is a bit out of the ordinary. Evans once again found herself at the center of backlash last week as she gathered with family to celebrate Thanksgiving, but her effort to prepare a feast raised some eyebrows from fans due to the “disgusting” and “unsanitary” way in which she and husband David Eason prepared their turkey, with others coming to the couple’s defense.
Evans documented her Thanksgiving Day feast preparations on Instagram, where she shared several posts to her Instagram Story, including one image of herself and Eason dealing with the all-too-relatable struggle of cooking a turkey. In the image, which Evans captioned, “doing our thang,” Evans could be seen enjoying a drink as Eason cut up some vegetables. While things seemed totally normal, a second glance lead to some heated responses, as sitting in the sink was an unwrapped, raw turkey.
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The post spurred plenty of comments on one Reddit thread, with one person writing, “Lovely… Turkey in the sink and beard hair on the Turkey,” and somebody else commenting, “Salmonella anyone?” However, most fans seemed to descend into in-fandom argument over a longstanding debate: should you or shouldn’t you wash a turkey before preparing and cooking it.
While some were very steadfast in their belief that a turkey does not need to be rinsed, others came to Evans and Eason’s defense, one person asking, “so what if the turkey is in the sink? You have to wash it first. Especially if you brined it like I did.” Somebody else commented, “Uhhh…that’s how you prep a turkey before you cook it. I’d rather have it in the sink than on my kitchen counter.” Amid the debate, one person noted that much of the issue comes down to the fact that “some people do not clean their sinks effectively enough to reduce cross-contamination,” explaining that “this is controversial for some people because: USDA guidelines say ‘washing raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb or veal before cooking is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination.’” Meanwhile, another person noted, “nothing wrong with that but why did they leave the dish rack and stuff in the other side?”
Neither Evans nor Eason responded to the discussions. The former MTV star was introduced to fans on 16 & Pregnant before going on to star in Teen Mom for a decade. While the mom of three has taken a step away from Teen Mom, she has continued to document her life on social media, recently opening up about her health struggles after suffering esophageal spasms.
