Well, I have never cooked a turkey, but I got one from work this year, so here are some tips I found online... I think the advice at the end with using a turkey bag is the route I am going to go. If you have any turkey tips please do share!
It takes a full 24 hours to defrost every five pounds of frozen turkey in the refrigerator (the only safe method). A 20-pound turkey needs to defrost for a full four days. Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity as soon as they can be removed (which will be before the turkey is fully defrosted).
Use a shallow roasting pan. If you use a deep roasting pan, you wind up steaming the meat.
Do not stuff your turkey ahead of time as harmful bacteria growth could spoil the uncooked turkey. Just before roasting, stuff the body and the neck of the turkey. Do not pack in as the stuffing will expand during cooking. If packed in too tightly, it will be very dense instead of light. Sew the abdomen closed and sew the legs together close to the body so that the stuffing cooks evenly.
Roast your turkey breast-side down on a v-shaped rack until the last hour or so in the oven, then turn it to brown the breast. The result is a moister white meat.
To prevent the breast meat from drying out, loosely cover just the breast with a triple thick sheet of aluminum foil, butter on on the inside to prevent sticking. Remove after the first hour of roasting so the breast has time to brown.
Never rely on the little plastic thermometer in some turkeys to pop out. If you wait for it, the turkey will overcook. Instead stick an instant read thermometer several inches down through the skin between the thigh and the breast so the tip ends up about an inch above the joint. They turkey is ready when the thermometer reads 165 degrees.
Let the cooked turkey "rest" after it have been removed from the oven. While the turkey cooks, the juices are forced away from the heat to the middle of the turkey. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes after it is removed from the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the turkey. A moist turkey is easier to carve.
Baste, baste, baste.
If you need your oven to reheat or cook side dishes, it's better to serve the turkey at room temperature with hot gravy than to reheat it. Reheating dries out the meat. The interior of a large turkey will stay quite hot for at least an hour.
Using A Cooking Bag: This is an easy way to cook your turkey. It keeps all the juices and flavors in the bag and the turkey is automatically basted while it cooks. You end up with more juices than cooking the conventional way because they do not evaporate during roasting. The juices also do not burn and stick to the pan.
For more info try this site.
5 comments:
very interesting. i have never cooked a turkey, but i still find it all interesting, just in case i ever do.
I have used Jan Mickelsen's (WHO Radio) method for years, and it has always been foolproof! Note that it is designed for an unstuffed turkey.
1. Thaw, rinse, and pat dry your turkey.
2. Grease the breast side generously with butter or margarine.
3. Set it on a wire rack that will fit in your roasting pan.
4. Slip the turkey (including the rack) into a sturdy brown paper grocery bag. (If your turkey is extra large, you may need to find a super-sized bag. I usually only cook 10-12 pound birds since we never have much company).
5. Fold the end of the bag over a couple of times and staple it securely shut all the way across.
6. Set the bag in your roasting pan and cook at 325 for 20 minutes per pound. Resist the urge to open the bag and peek during cooking!
7. Let the bird rest for a few minutes before carving. Meanwhile, you will have an abundance of meat juices for gravy!
One additional note: It is best to use a bag that has no print on it. Some inks contain toxins, especially red and yellow. You might try the paper bags that fit a trash compactor or paper bags designed to hold yard waste.
I like the Martha Stewart way - no bag, just cover it in cheese cloth and a pound of butter, and baste the butter over the top every 1/2 hr... it's well worth the work - yummy!
i'm not making turkey for thanksgiving cause i'm by myself, but i'm going to try it for christmas! =) i've never done one either.. so i think i'm going to use that cooking bag too! my mom said thats what she does, and it sounds like the easiest way to go! let me know how yours turns out! i'm sure it will be yummy =)
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