Gene's Turkey Tips for the Holidays

Turkey Tips for the Holidays

Preparing Thanksgiving Dinner is sadly one of the most stress inducing experiences in the kitchen. Even seasoned cooks become frazzled preparing this meal. It doesn’t have to be that way. We have provided here in easy-to- read-and-understand form some tips that will take the stress out of setting out the feast for this uniquely American Holiday.

• In order to have generous leftovers plan on about a pound and a half of turkey for each guest.
• If there are just two or three of you, and everybody likes white meat you can simply roast a large turkey breast in the same manner as you would a whole turkey. You can bake stuffing at the same time in a separate casserole dish.
• Some people prefer fresh turkeys. They are good, but frankly the frozen birds are just as good and are usually far less expensive.
• A turkey can be thawed by placing it in the refrigerator for five or six days depending on its size. Don’t panic if you have less than five or six days, just put the turkey in your sink or bathtub, cover it with cold water, change the water three or four times and the turkey will thaw in eight to ten hours. After thawing store the turkey in the refrigerator until you prepare it for roasting. While thawing leave the turkey in its wrapper.
• When you are ready to roast the turkey, take it out of he refrigerator and working in the sink remove the wrapper. Open the neck and body cavities and remove the packets of giblets and the neck. Save these. Rinse the turkey’s cavities with cold water and pat the turkey dry with paper towels inside and out. Rub the inside cavities with salt and some dried sage.
• The skin of the turkey is thick and impenetrable by any rubs you might put on the outside of the bird, so a simple coating of vegetable or olive oil is all you need to insure a nicely browned bird.
• In order to expose the breast for even browning you should bend the wings of he turkey under the bird. Pull the first joint of the wing away from the body of the bird and bend it back under the turkey. Do this on each side and you will have formed a natural rack on which he turkey will rest while roasting.
• If you are stuffing the turkey, insert the stuffing into the two cavities of the bird. Many turkeys come with a flap of skin, which you can use to hold the legs together at their end. If not simply tie the ends of the turkey’s legs together with a piece of string. If you don’t do either the world will not end and the taste of your turkey will no be affected.
• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and adjust its racks to accommodate the large bird.
• Place the stuffed turkey in a roasting pan large enough to hold it. If you don’t have one simply buy one of the aluminum roasting pans at the supermarket.
• Note that an unstuffed turkey roasts a little faster than a stuffed bird; about twenty or thirty minutes less time.

For roasting times follow this chart:

• 4 to 8 pounds 1 ¾ to 2 ¾ hours
• 8 to 12 pounds 3 ½ to 4 hours
• 12 to 16 pounds 4 to 4 ½ hours
• 16 to 20 pounds 4 ½ to 5 hours
• 20 t 24 pounds 5 to 6 hours

Brining

Many people believe that soaking the turkey in brine greatly improves its flavor. It is clearly not a necessary step, but if you want to try it follow these simple instructions. You need enough liquid to cover the turkey in a pot large enough to hold it. The proportions for the brining liquid are one gallon of water to two cups of salt and one half cup of sugar. Mix these until the salt and sugar dissolve. Submerge the thawed turkey in the brining liquid and let it soak for twelve hours. The soaking turkey must be kept cold. If the pot containing the brining turkey will not fit in your refrigerator put the pot in a picnic cooler and pack ice around it. After the twelve-hour period, remove the turkey from the liquid, rinse it under cold water and proceed to roast the bird.

Outdoor Cooking

You may choose to cook your turkey on a covered outdoor grill. You should use the indirect heat method in which the burning coals are on one side of the grill pan and the turkey is on the rack off to the side of the coals. It is a good idea to put a drip pan under the turkey next to the coals in the grill pan. Roast the turkey over medium coals (325 degrees if you are using a gas grill) for 15 to 20 minutes per pound.

However you roast the turkey, it is done when he juices of the thigh run clear (not pink) when the thigh is pierced by a fork or small knife.