Turkey Turkey, Who can cook a turkey?

[NecessaryCatharsis]

My son won a turkey at school for running around the soccer field the most times in his grade because .... well I'm not really following that part. But anyhow, I have a frozen turkey defrosting in the fridge. I have never bought a turkey, I don't think I've ever eaten a farmed turkey before, not being a huge fan of the wild type, but I'm also not one to turn down free food. So Sunday, I'm going to try to cook my first turkey.

14lbs, I can google, so this is what I've come up with : At 175 degrees, on a grill rack in a roasting pan, stuffed, covered in foil for 3 1/2 hours before uncovering for 1/2 - 3/4 hour.

Any tips, tricks or favourite recipes anyone wants to share? I'm welcoming suggestions from all.

[EricKei]

175 sounds a little low o_O Maybe they mean cook at that for the 3.5hrs and higher to finish?? Also, covered is optional, but it will probably affect cooking times. MAKE SURE it's 100% defrosted before cooking. If you have access to a meat thermometer, keep it handy while cooking; insert it into a breast, without touching bone, to gauge the temperature. Undercooking means half-raw breast meat; overcooking means tough, dry breast meat.

I'm sure quite a few folks here can give you better, more detailed stuff, so I'll go with a couple of minor tricks that always worked for dear ol' Dad:

a - Cut small slits in the turkey and stuff bits of butter in there before cooking; can also butter up the turkey skin itself (Hey, they're supposed to be yummy )

b - Start the cooking (not wrapped) with the turkey upside down and broil for 20 minutes or so (high temp) to get the bottom side crispy; this should keep it from getting soggy and shtuff during the normal cooking cycle.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

Clarify - 175 Celsius. I think Fahrenheit is about double?

[EricKei]

Pretty close. 347F ^_^

As with many meats, turkey is an item that benefits from "Low and Slow" (low temp/slow cook (long duration))

That does sound about right -- Tho you may wish to *consider* raising it to 200-210C (around 390-400F) just for that final "blast" part. Again, use a meat thermometer (a wise investment anyway!) first, if you can.

[MoonCat]

Do they sell roasting bags where you are? I think Reynolds makes them. These work great. In goes a tbsp or two of flour, in goes the turkey; poke a few holes in the bag so it can't explode and tie the bag loosely with the little tie included in the package. Roast in the bag; contrary to popular belief, it does NOT dry the bird out; it keeps most of the steam in so the bird is moist and juicy. We've used these many times with turkeys and chickens and they always come out delicious.

Or, trying checking out butterball.com They have turkey roasting tips.

[Yfandes]

I like to cook my stuffing in a seperate pan. I think the texture is better and it's safer too, plus the turkey cooks faster.

The butterball site is a good idea, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the turkey, that way you don't over or under cook it. I like to just baste it with the pan drippings, put a bit of foil over the top if it looks like it's getting too brown. Then make gravy with the pan drippings while it's resting

[Kittish]

I always cook my turkey breast side down for the entire cooking time, then flip it over for the last half hour to hour to get some browning (roasting bags help a LOT with this method). If you don't care about the skin being all pretty and brown you can skip flipping for the last little bit. Every single one comes out juicy, tender, and very nearly falling off the bones. The cooking time/temp sound reasonable.

The liquid in the bottom of the pan is terrific base for gravy, if there's any significant fat skim that off then just mix in a bit of cornstarch (about 1 teaspoon of corn starch per cup of liquid you're turning into gravy, mixed with just enough cold water to dissolve it) and heat that, stirring frequently, til the gravy thickens up. It should be right near, but not quite at the point of coming to a boil.

[Kal]

Can I make a small recommendation? Put bacon on it.
It's something that's always done with chicken or turkey in my family. Keeps the meat moist because the bacon drips into the turkey and stops the skin burning. Also you end up with nice crispy bacon at the end.

[Luna Baby]

I learned by starting with just a breast but now cook at least 2 whole birds each year, one at Thanksgiving and another at Christmas. Grandma taught me to rub the bird with butter (the real stuff, not margarine) and then to cover lightly. I bake it usually about 1/2-3/4 hr per pound at around 200 degrees (F) for the time it takes to cook. I do use a baster and bring the juices up and drizzle over the bird throughout the cooking process. You can leave the foil off the whole bird and only cover the wings and legs if you choose. Those parts tend to overcook very easily. It does need time to 'rest' once you have completed the baking process, usually 1/2 or so prior to serving.

I have seen others use the cooking bags with great success. I've just never tried them since I use Grandma's method.

I do not recommend cooking the turkey with stuffing inside for your first time. Too much risk if you don't quite get it cook well enough.

Good luck to you; I'm sure you'll do fine.

One other thing to remember--don't forget to check inside the neck area and the body cavity for the actual neck and "giblets". Those can be cooked along side the bird, but not before you remove them from the packaging. I use the giblets in my gravy but no one in my house eats the neck so that gets discarded.

[Kittish]

I use the giblets in my gravy but no one in my house eats the neck so that gets discarded.

I sometimes make stock with the bones and scraps when I roast a turkey and the neck gets tossed into the soup pot with the other bits.

Oh, yes, and I'd also recommend not cooking your stuffing inside the turkey. It's entirely too easy to not have the middle get properly cooked through. That, and cooking the stuffing in its own pan gives it a lovely golden crust that's just a tiny bit crunchy.

[XCashier]

Do they sell roasting bags where you are? I think Reynolds makes them. These work great.

Yes, they do; I've used them. Keeps the turkey moist, lessens cleanup.

Since there are only four of us in my family, I usually cook the turkey breast in the crockpot for Thanksgiving, and we still have lots of meat left over. But as you've got a whole turkey, that obviously won't work.

There are many recipe sites online; I'm sure you can find creative uses for leftovers on one of them. You can portion leftovers in freezer ziplock bags and freeze them until you want to use them.

[strawbabies]

I always follow Alton Brown's recipe and brine the turkey.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ey-recipe.html

[sms001]

I've done at least one turkey a year for the past 37 years and can heartily re-recommend several of these tips. Defrost completely. Remove neck and giblets. Cook the stuffing separately. Start high, breast up, flip and turn down heat. (Keep an eye on the breast - if it looks soggy or not as crisp as you'd like, bring it back up for the last fifteen or so.) Before the 'drippings' really get going, I usually pour some water into the bottom of the pan to prevent smoking. Rest well (Again, breast down.) after cooking.

Additional tips and tricks:
Probably the most important thing safety wise is a meat thermometer. If your bird has one of those little plastic pop-up things, don't trust it. While I've never seen one come up early, I've seen plenty come up late, or not at all.

I usually use a garlic and pepper rub under the skin. You could add some salt to that, but I usually brine my birds, so I don't bother.

Rinse your bird well, and then dry it well with paper towels inside and out. Drier skin crisps better.

I've tried aromatics and onions in the body cavity several times and don't think it adds nearly as much as a rub under the skin; ymmv.

Use clean oven mitts or heavy kitchen towel to maneuver your bird. Dropping it from burned fingers is a bummer () and they wash out just fine.

Woot! Free turkey!

[CoffeeMonkey]

Mostly what others have said:

1) Don't stuff it. You might as well set a place at the table for Salmonella, or risk drying out the bird. DO put stuff in it, though. Quarter an onion and grab a handful of herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (sing a song!) You can add a quartered lemon or apple if that's your thing. Those will flavor your bird from within without cramming the cavity full of bread paste that has to reach 165.

2) Butter the heck out of it. Soften butter and mix it with copious amounts of salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and whatever else you like. Shmear it over the skin, and UNDER the skin. You don't have to cut the skin, just find the spot by the cavity where it's loose and work your hand under it to separate it a bit. That way the flavorings and butter get to the meat as well as the skin. don't be shy with the seasoning. It has to flavor a big honking meat carcass.

3) I DO like the roasting bags for moisture and lots of tasty drippings. You tend to get soggier skin, though. Kind of your call. OR if you have a tabletop roaster, they are great for moist birds, and tend to cook them pretty fast. And it frees up your oven for all the other goodies. My mom has one that really only comes out for whole turkeys at the holidays, but it's great.

4) Let it rest at least a half hour after it comes to temp before carving, or all your juices will be on the cutting board.

5) If you don't use the giblets for gravy or for someone's snack, your four footed friends will enjoy them greatly. Save the neck for stock.

6) Speaking of which, you save the carcass! Great soup, and you don't have to worry about picking the bones clean cuz they'll flavor the broth and you can pick them off for eating with the soup.

7) Send me some. I love home roasted turkey.

[lordlundar]

I always follow Alton Brown's recipe and brine the turkey.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ey-recipe.html

Yup, Brine the bird. It makes the meat nicely seasoned without the need for basting which really doesn't add much in the flavour and makes the skin harder to crisp up.

Personally, I prefer to butcher the bird after the brine so I can separately cook the pieces on a rack over a pan to catch the drippings. This way when a piece is done (the white meat finishes before the dark meat) it can be pulled, allow to rest and sliced up without affecting the rest of the pieces. The only guaranteed way to ensure that all the meat is done to perfection.

To add, a reliable thermometer is a must. The pop up thing that usually comes with it is garbage because it's calibrated for the dark meat (which finishes 10 degrees F higher than the white meat.) so when it goes off, the white meat is already past overcooked.