Turkey Turkey, Who can cook a turkey?

[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]

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.