How To? Roasting Thanksgiving Turkey

[mcs328]

I guess I volunteered my wife to cook a roast turkey for our family. So having never done this before, what do we need to do? Fresh or frozen turkey? Buy the day before or several days before? Recipes? Cookware?

[DarkFury]

Oh my...

Where's Obby when you need her?

[cheapie]

angel's not gonna be happy with you putting her name in!

[attgig]

heh. deep frying is the way to go. that's how i did it last year, and gonna do it this year again.

but if you're gonna roast... some stuff that I picked up from food network (mostly alton brown):
Brining helps a ton. keeps it moist. put it into a salt/sugar brine overnight.

don't stuff it with breading and whatnot. it slows down cooking, and although it sucks up a lot of turkey juice... you don't know how well cooked it is (saminela anyone?). Instead stuff it with aromatics that will flavor the turkey instead.

You can also use an oven bag to help keep moisture in.

Also, breast will cook faster than deep in the thigh, so after about an hour, cover just the breast with aluminum foil to slow down breast cooking, while leaving the rest of the bird uncovered.

[Prngr44]

I haven't tried this one yet, but it sounded decent:

ROAST TURKEY


10-26 lb. turkey, thaw if frozen
2 c. tomato juice
1 c. sherry
1 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
2 carrots, cut lengthwise
4 stalks celery
3 c. water

Place turkey in roasting pan. Tie wings with butcher cord to make bird easier to turn. Place carrots and celery inside bird. Mix tomato juice, sherry, paprika, salt and pepper together and put over bird. Add 6 cups water. Bake in 375 degrees oven 3 hours, turning bird every 30 minutes. Be sure to cook giblets in liquid with turkey, including neck if removed from bird. Remove turkey from oven and take out carrots and celery. Stuff bird with your favorite stuffing 10 minutes before bird is done. Pour off all juices from roasting pan and return bird to oven and dry roast to complete browning. Carve turkey and serve. You will have to duck when carving so juice does not hit you in the eye!

[baggio248]

I get my turkey and thaw it the day before. I brine it for 24 hours then bake it. Towards the end of the time I run butter on the skin to help brown it. It keeps the meat moist and tasty.

[Jeffbx]

Fresh turkey, not frozen (IMHO)

Deep fried is delicious if you have the setup for it

Those Glad cooking bags work great, too, if you're roasting.

Go to http://www.foodtv.com & you'll have so many options it'll make your head spin.

[DarkFury]

I've even had "grilled turkey" from a BBQ grill... It was DELICIOUS!!!

http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-car...led-turkey.asp

[guiseppewv]

Grilled, fried, smoked, or roasted I have had them all and, if done properly, they are all delicious!

If you are going to roast take att's advice and brine first. I was never into doing this before but a close friend of mine is a chef and after he did this with many different types of meat now I swear by it. It makes the turkey, chicken, rabbit, etc... more moist before you cook it. If it has more moisture before you cook it, chances are it is going to have more afterwards too! BTW - nobody likes a dry turkey!

Personally, I have no preference between the 4 ways I mentioned above. I think it all depends on the chef. If they know what they are doing or at least have a good plan and follow it then things will turn out just delicious! If you are going to grill, smoke, or fry it please make sure you have plenty of propane, charcoal, or whatever combustible you are using. Nobody likes an undercooked bird either!

BTW - we are having fried turkey tonight! I guess my friend wants to do a "test run" before the big event. Yum!

[MrGreg]

Deep fried turkey is still the best I've ever had. But the basic roasting method from Cook's Illustrated is also quite good. You actually start roasting is breast down for the first 45 min/ 1 hour to get the dark meat cooking quicker, then flip it over to finish it off.

And they suggest either brining yourself, or to save some work, buy a kosher turkey. It's already been brined.

[guiseppewv]

My friend's fried turkey ended up a little overcooked. It was very good but not as moist as usual.

[avlena]

I brine mine the night before, and also use a cooking bag. When you stick it in the bag, coat it with butter & paprika to help give it a nice color. It's done when the little temperature thingy in the leg pops up. Pretty easy, just make sure to give yourself plenty of cooking time.

[uncledaddy]

All the suggestions are great and remember the rule-of-thumb, if you are roasting in the oven and don't have one of those pop-up indicators on the turkey, you should cook about 15 min. per pound. I never rely on those indicators alone.

[zippyjuan]

As for buying the turkey- if you get a frozen one, be sure to put it in the refrigerator for three or four days to defrost before you cook it (one day is not enough! It will still be frozen in the middle and not cook properly). If you want to get a fresh one- call ahead and reserve one. They will sell out.

[zenbooty]

All the suggestions are great and remember the rule-of-thumb, if you are roasting in the oven and don't have one of those pop-up indicators on the turkey, you should cook about 15 min. per pound. I never rely on those indicators alone.

Use a thermometer if you can, or I often go by the old leg pull test. If you pull the leg and its loose in the socket, the turkey's done. If it still holds stiff, it needs to cook longer.

[uncledaddy]

Use a thermometer if you can, or I often go by the old leg pull test. If you pull the leg and its loose in the socket, the turkey's done. If it still holds stiff, it needs to cook longer.

That works too. I find the 15 min. rule the best way to get a fully cooked bird and maintain juiciness. After cooking let stand about 15 min. then when you slice into the breast, the juice just runs.

Also it maintains moistness after storing, won't be all dry.

[mcs328]

Seems like brining is the way to go. I'm contemplating buying a small turkey from Costco for a test run and then get a bigger one for the real deal. I have large family of close 30-40.

Should I get a real roasting pan or the aluminum foil pan?

[zippyjuan]

Weight could be an issue with an aluminum roaster. Try picking up 15- 20 pounds in it. True you will not need a big roaster much more than once a year. If you have a large enough pan with some depth you can use that and use aluminum to cover it to keep the moisture in.

When I us a roaster I usually take some carrots, celary and potatoes and chop them into chunks and toss them into the pan along with some herbs and add a bit of OJ for liquid. Then save the juices from it for making the gravy.

[mcs328]

Well we went to the outlet and got an All Clad roasting pan that was 30% off. Went to Target and got one of those disposable aluminum foil roasting pans and a turkey sized over roasting pan. Williams Sonoma has a free guide to cooking everything for a Thanksgiving dinner which is very helpful. They sell brine and bags for 30 bucks but really...14 for a bottle or dry brine that made up of salt and other herbs??

This is what I've spent or plan to spend:
Roasting Pan (Fits large 20lb turkeys) - 140
Aluminum Foil Roasting Pan - 2.50
Oven Cooking Bags - 2.50
Bottle of Brine - 18 (Don't have)
Brining Bags - 16 (Don't have)
Turkey - 10 to 20 at Costco (Don't have)

We can always go store cooked and bought for $50-70 but if we can get this right-ish the first time then it won't be as bad later down the road.

Thanks for all the tips...we haven't quite freaked out yet.

[guiseppewv]

I would make the brine yourself. It should be way cheaper than 18. I am surprised that the brine bags and the roasting pan are that expensive.

[mcs328]

I'm thinking to make the brine myself too. Sub the $16 Brining bag for the Target Oven Cooking bag or use a garbage bag. The roasting pan was from the outlet with an original price of $200 but it comes with a flat rack and turkey lifters.

[DarkFury]

Hell... for a $200 roasting pan, I'd have to be roasting turkeys like every week or two to justify that cost.

Sounds like the BBQ turkey is a cheap deal... since the grill is paid for.

[attgig]

Brine it yourself. Use a cooler and put your brine in there with the turkey.
here's one from AB:
* 1 cup kosher salt
* 1/2 cup light brown sugar
* 1 gallon vegetable stock
* 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
* 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
* 1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
* 1 gallon iced water


you can probably 1.5X that (this brine is for a 14-15 lb turkey).

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

then, stick it all in a big cooler, and leave it in there overnight (iced water will keep it from going bad, especially in a cooler) and flip the bird 1/2 way.


also, I hear those little pop up thermometer's aren't always trustworthy. I'd suggest using a real themometer into the thigh joint.

[Napoleon54]

Never heard of this, just a random thought, but I think bacon should be involved in some way. Stuff it under the skin, layer it on top, etc. Mmm, bacon turkey.

Edit: Use donuts for stuffing. And THEN deep fry the whole thing.

[Jeffbx]

Hmm... I like where you're going with this.

[renovation]

remember to clean the inside of the bird. they stuff the neck and heart and stuff in side the flap were the neck would be and back end of the bird. you hear storys all the time of people forgeting to clean them right before cooking a lot. also butterball turkeys use to have a cooking hot line. not sure if they still do this do.it was a free 1800 number.nere a link to there web page -- http://www.butterball.com/ or Ready to talk turkey?
Don't miss your chance to talk virtually with the Talk-Line Experts! Join the Butterball Web chat November 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT.
Call 1-800-Butterball

[mcs328]

Well the wife bought brine from the grocery store for like 8 bucks so we used that. She added onions, cinnamon and 1 gallon of buttermilk. Definitely not the recipe I saw on Food Network so we got this Grocery Store/Food Network/William Sonoma combination brine that I portioned out I hope correctly. It's a 12 pound bird that fits these oven baking bags perfectly. Too bad I f*cking spilled the brine trying to tie up the first bag on the counter, floor and the wife. She was not happy. Still enough brine to submerge the turkey though. Cleaned up and put it in the fridge but knocked over the glass honey jar on the floor which of course broke. So I had to clean the glass and honey off the floor I just cleaned. Sigh...tomorrow I get turn the turkey over, throw away the brine and start cooking for the in-laws. They're our guinea pigs. =)

[mcs328]

Bird in the oven. 3 hours to go.

[Napoleon54]

oh my, the suspense! Keep us updated! :turkey:

[mcs328]

Brought it over to my in laws last night and they really liked it. My father in law liked the white meat a lot and he's a dark meat person. The white meat was very moist but the dark meat looked slightly undercooked but I couldn't tell. The only thing I didn't like was the overwhelming butter smell from the turkey because of the buttermilk from the brine and the unsalted butter slathered over the skin when we stuck it in the oven. Oh and I can't carve a turkey so we go some good slices, some mashed up pieces and twisted up drumsticks and wings. I think I'll use some kind of rub and the bacon under the turkey skin sounds like a good idea.