Poll: Let's talk turkey....

[lindrusso]

It may be late to use any tips for this year's bird, but I was wondering what you all swear by when trying to roast the perfect turkey? There are a zillion ways to cook a great turkey, and I thought it would be interesting to hear some of them.

My husband is the turkey roaster in our family. He inherited this job when I was a vegetarian and could not stand to touch meat - much less remove innards or stick my hand..well you get the idea.

Anyway, what works for us is using Martha's cheesecloth soaked in butter and wine method. This year we discovered two other things that we think really made a difference. First, we used one of those digital thermometers that you stick in the bird - the kind that is attached to a digital read-out via a long cord. Sorry, I'm description-impaired today, hope you know what I'm talking about! You can monitor the bird's temperature without opening the oven and you know EXACTLY how everything is progressing. Once it reaches the correct temperature, an alarm sounds.

The last indispensable tip we found is to let the turkey rest for 1/2 hour before carving. We'd heard this before, but ignored it because no one ever told us WHY! If you carve right away, all the juices run out. If you let it rest, the juices are reabsorbed into the bird, creating a juicier turkey.

Looking forward to hearing more ideas! Unless you all are already too sick of turkey to even talk about it! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Not me, I'm salivating at the thought of all those yummy leftovers!!

[Shirley Panek]

I always start with a fresh turkey. I like the flavor, and they always seem to be moist.

I rub mine all over with a quartered lemon (including the inside cavity), then pop those inside the cavity along with 2 celery stalks (cut in 2-3" pieces), a quartered onion, 2-3 parsley sprigs, and 1 Tbsp. Herbes de Provence. Then I rub it all over with some olive oil and more Herbes de Provence.

I cook it breast-side down for 1/2 hour (basting after 15 minutes) at 425 degrees. Then I turn the oven to 350 and turn it breast side up (about 10-15 min/pound). I used to roast it (uncovered) basting every 15-20 minutes, but this year I covered it with foil, and uncovered it the last 1/2 hour to brown it all over. It worked just fine and was much less hassle.

The only problem I always have is turning the darn turkey over after the first 1/2 hour. I just don't have the right utensils, I guess. Does anybody use those huge turkey forks (sometimes used for lifting the turkey out? Or any suggestions for turning it over without getting messy?

Hope everyone had a great day!

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
Shirley

[Ed]

Hi Shirley,

I enjoyed reading your post and the hints you have in it for cooking a Turkey.

You asked if anyone used those Turkey Lifters, Yup I do.

Turning over a hot Turkey is a delicate operation that's for sure, and those Turkey Lifters are good tools to have avilable when you want to turn over any piece of hot meat that's as big as a Turkey.

So from personal experience I can recommend them for the job.

Ed

[Beth]

However I season the turkey and whether we roast on the grill or in the oven, we always sear the turkey by heating to about 400-425 degrees then turning down to roasting temp (about 325) when we put the turkey in. The higher heat sears the skin and hold in juice, so much so that I have had to use stock from my stockpot (for dressing and gravy) to baste. The first time I did this in the oven, I got nervous because the pan was so dry. I figured I either had successfully seared and held in the juice or my turkey was bone-dry to begin with. It was so moist and juicy, and we had just enough drippings in the pan to make a very tasty gravy (I had used Penzey's Bicentennial Rub, and it seasoned the gravy as well as the meat).

[Liz K]

My mom swears by this method for cooking a turkey. It sounds weird, but it really does work.

After seasoning (I believe she just uses melted butter and poultry seasoning), cook the turkey for an hour at 500 degrees. Then turn the oven off and leave the turkey for 8 hours. Do not open the door. What results is a perfectly browned, juicy, yummy turkey.

[emily]

i also tried martha's method with the cheesecloth soaked in butter and wine. the cheesecloth immediately browned and started smoking with the oven turned up to 450, so after changing the cheesecloth after the first 10 min, i gave in and turned the heat down to 350 after only 15 min. however, my turkey still came out perfectly golden and juicy a few hours later.

[sneezles]

I have always covered the bird with foil when it goes into the oven after it's been rubbed with butter or margarine(depends on what's at hand). I also use the digital thermometer but check on it while basting with the chicken broth in the pan. I remove the foil tent during the last hour so it browns nicely. I always found the bird was too hot to handle so that's why we let it sit for 1/2 hour!

[SusanL]

Thank you everyone for the tips! I will download this thread and put it in my Thanksgiving file for next year. We have also done the Martha S. cheesecloth and it worked out, sorry Emily, maybe we didn't have the temperature so high. This year was so busy that we just baked it without basting and the one that didn't burn was delicious-see savory cheesecake thread.Will have to try all of these throughout the year, we really love turkey, so that we will make it even better than this year's. Maybe it was so good because it was free range, very moist and flavorful. But we only buy them for Thanksgiving. Hope that you all had a very happy holiday. Our thoughts and prayers were with those of you who have recently lost famil members! Take care.

[lindrusso]

emily,

Did you put the rack on the lowest (or next to lowest) position in the oven? Just wondered if that might account for some of the smoking. Ours browned quite a bit, but didn't smoke.

I like the idea of onions in the roasting pan to flavor the gravy. Now I'm thinking garlic cloves too! Can't wait to try it!

Time to make turkey stock today....