Ok, Im cooking Thanksgiving this year. Im a good cook so Im not totally clueless. I roast chickens all the time and they are perfect but I've never roasted a turkey. My chicken method is seasoning the night before and roasting at a high temp for crispy skin and turning once to brown both sides evenly. There seem to be so many variations and opinions with the damn turkey! Im semi grossed out by stuffing a bird so I might just bake it on the side.

To baste or not?
Stuff or not?
High temp to start?
Cover with foil or not?
Turn or not?
Roast on a rack or in the pan?
Add water to the pan?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Where is Billy when you need him?

I am sure he will show up and give you some good advice....

I am not a turkey fan myself, though frying them is not that bad.

http://www.turkeyfed.org/consumer/thanks.html

http://www.thanksgivingrecipe.com/default.asp

And not not forget teh dancing Veggies.

:cdance: :cdance: :cdance: :cdance:

Baste.
Don't stuff (this one thing can cause major arguments with turkey cookers, but I'm giving you my opinion :awinky: )
Not sure.
Not unless it's browning faster than it should be.
No turning.
On a rack, in the pan
No.

Most importantly, bookmark this site: http://www.butterball.com/

:cdance:

Last time I cooked T-day dinner I didn't stuff, cooked didn't add much (if any) water and followed the directions from the turkey co. to a T, unfortunately the damn thing came out dry, overcooked it and I had it in for the minimum they suggested. Should have taken it out half an hour early, and mine wasn't even fully thawed (noone told me takes a day to thaw, woopsie.)

I'd take peoples' advice over Butterball, those companies don't know jack. So many environmental factors like elevation and type of oven.

Go to Outback. :yowsa:

C.

Damn Esa, throw it out, get one from Boston Market or Honeybaked and stick it in a pan in the oven to warm it up about 15 minutes before everyone gets there ;)

Step aside folks, let a professional through...

First, make sure you have a quality turkey like Tom's or Butterball...
Then, do a regular defrost with the turkey, I prefer a refrigerator defrost, if it's not defrosting NOW, just wait and do the water defrost. Refrigerator defrosting is the best method forflavor because by using the water in the sink method, there could be small holes in the bag and that water (over the course of a couple hour defrost) can rinse the natural flavor off your turkey.
Don't forget to remove the gizzards... ;)
Prepare a nice rub for the turkey. Mix butter and your favorite seasonings in a bowl, and dig your hands in the goo and rub it all over the turkey. Then set the turkey in a roasting pan on top of a couple overturned ramekans or glass bowls. If you don't know how to use the timer on the turkey, use the popcron method...fuck stuffing the bird, fill the bird with one cup of uncooked popcorn (when the popcron starts popping full pop, the turkey is done). I always baste, but not until about 15 minutes before completion, remove the alumnium foil at this time and baste every couple minutes.I plunge the baste into the turkey to baste inside and out.

I'm a bit tired due to a wild weekend, so probably left some ideas out, but remember to defrost in the fridge, baste only the last few minutes and if you can't use the timer, uswe the popcron method....I haven't had a dry or bad turkey yet (other than the one eyar my wife saved a whopping 89 fucking cents ona no name brand......)

You know I have my own opinions about turkeys : )

8 ounces unsalted butter
2 1/2 ounces red pepper sauce
1/2 cup water
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
12 to 13 pound turkey
Approximately 6 gallons peanut oil
Combine butter, red pepper sauce, water, garlic, and bay leaves in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil the sauce for 10 minutes to reduce. As it cooks, the color will deepen. Allow the sauce to cool before injecting it into the turkey. It is best to inject the turkey with the sauce at least 12 hours before frying.

Set up a 40-quart deep fryer with burner base and propane tank according to manufacturer's directions. As a safety precaution, measure the amount of oil needed to fry by filling the pot first with water and covering the turkey by 1-inch. You may want to put the turkey in a plastic bag for ease. Remove the turkey and mark the water level on the side of the pot ? this insures no spill over when working with hot oil. Pour out the water, dry the pot and turkey thoroughly.

Fill the pot with oil and heat to 350 degrees F. Have a deep fry thermometer attached to the pot. Put the turkey on the fry stand and attach to the metal hanger that comes with the fry kit. Slowly ease the turkey into the hot oil, long oven mitts and an apron are essential.

Keep a close eye as the oil bubbles up. Turkey cooks 4 minutes per pound so check it at 45 minutes. The internal temperature of the bird should read on a thermometer between 170 and 180 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the oil as carefully as it went in.

Set the turkey stand on a roasting pan to drain the excess oil. Let the turkey rest for 15 minutes so the juices settle before removing and carving.


Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 12 hours
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Medium



Once you boil a turkey you never want one from a stove !!

Cool idea! :rokk:

Cool idea! :rokk:[/b][/quote]
My grandma still uses that method to this day.....she jut yanks the timer out of the turkey........

So basically everyone has a goddamn different idea :P

Im definitely going to roast it in the oven. I bought a fresh Diestel turkey today which has never been frozen.

What about rubbing the butter and herb/seasoning mixture under the skin?

I've also heard good things about brining. Im so confused!

KK ...... Boston Market sucks!! I love cooking so I actually WANT to do this! :)

Do not attempt Billy's cooking method unless you have 2 EMTs or a burn treatment kit nearby.

When I got to the third paragraph of his recipe I think my eyes visibily went googly. :zoinks:

C.

Ok, Eve, if you are bound and determined, here's my take -- I've probably cooked about a dozen Thanksgiving dinners at my house...

The night before I am cooking, I mix up the stuffing with everything but what you will moisten it with -- I use chicken broth, and I've experimented with everything from cranberry and walnut stuffing to oysters to orange and pecan once... The main ingredients are the bread cubes (or stuffing in a bag), celery, onion, whatever you choose to season with, and then your liquid. If you are stuffing the turkey it will take longer to cook, so keep that in mind --

I also carefully split the skin from the breast on the top of the turkey and take bay leaves, rosemary, or whatever other fresh herbs I have around that seem poultry oriented and make designs between the skin and the flesh. I've used orange rinds in it as well, peeled in a circle off the orange, to make neat patterns and designs. After I put the designs in, I take a melted stick of unsalted cream butter and pour it between the skin and the flesh.

In the morning I mix up the liquid with the stuffing, pop it in the bird and then use the little turkey tying things -- they look like needles with an eye on the end, and string threaded thru them and the name escapes me -- to seal up the butt end of the bird. Then I fold the legs up, the wings over and secure this to the flesh -- you don't want the pieces flapping around loose in the oven or they will burn before the turkey is done. I also use the string hook things to seal up the top of the bird too.

Since the butter is already in there I dont baste initially, I pop the bird in on a fairly high temp -- 425 or so -- uncovered in a big roasting pan (I like aluminum disposables, you can toss the mess out) -- and as soon as the flesh starts to crisp, I tent it with aluminum foil, turn the oven down to 350 and leave it in there until it's within about 5-10 degrees of being done with a meat thermometer --

I do baste with the pan drippings throughout the cooking, and then when it is nearly done, I pull the foil tent off, turn the oven back up and let it brown and crisp outside for the last bit while it's getting to temperature.

I also make gravy with the drippings after the turkeys out of the oven and cooling down enough to carve, but this is long enough and you didn't ask about that lol... good luck with it -- it's not hard to do, if you have enough oven space to cook other things with it, and you put some thought into the order that you can prep stuff so you don't end up with too much to do at the last minute :)

Oh, and I do stick the bird back in the fridge after putting the melted butter into it -- that way the butter solidifies and is self basting -- and you don't get food poisoning from letting a turkey sit out all night full of melted butter ;)

I solved the turkey question once and for all...
I go to Shannon and Doug for turkey,
thus making it a yearly tradition.

This year we are taking MikeW along,
and if this tradition continues,
Doug, Shannon,
you'd need a bigger house 3-4 years down the road,
there is plenty of webmasters down here
;-)))

I've left several messages with Doug. What's up with him?


Anyhow, fried turkey is the best. I agree with Mike, that I'm not a huge turkey fan. I like to inject it with wines and spices, let it sit a bit then fry it. I learned about while turkey hunting in the Ozarks with friends. Wild turkey taste the best this way.

Well I guess the only way to prove that a fried turkey is better is to add it to the list of things I have to cook at the next Oprano BBQ !!

Humm lets see next year we will have crawfish, shirmp, steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, sasuage and ribs and now turkey : )

I am just glad it will not be for a while : )

http://www.oprano.com/reporter/04062002/index.html

Or Billy, we could get a whole pig and have a Luau!

My moms quit doing turkey for thanksgiving about 10 years ago - instead we do her homemade lasagna every year! :rolleyes: Althought THIS year my brother and I are cooking instead - some killer seafood manicotti - YUM! :P

or you have the option of serving a few fifths of Wild Turkey before the meal .......

Plan is to get the guests intoxicated so they don't know what is being served
Even spam in the shape of a turkey might work :P

On the TV news here in Balto are waring about deep frying turkeys - showed a few interesting ways to set your home or yard on fire

:ph34r: When the revolution comes, dancing vegtables will be stewed.