How Do You Cook Your Thanksgiving Turkey?

You need to "Brine" your turkey. Also try to purchase a fresh turkey not one that has ever been frozen. A frozen will work fine, but fresh is always the ultimate..

Purchase a Box of "Morton Kosher salt".. and it will have the instructions on the box..
If you do not have room in your fridge, you can use a cooler to do it.. This process takes as few days..

Once the Turkey has been Brined. rinse it then . Fill the cavity with celery, onion, fresh parsley, salt and pepper rub the outside with olive oil and butter. Salt and pepper the outside, then place it in your cooking bag. and roast it the way the cooking bag suggests. . The only drawback is that you cannot stuff a Brined turkey or make gravy with the drippings (too salty)..

I like to collect all of the organs from all of the chickens I have been cooking for months and the turkey in the freezer.. Then make my stock from those parts to make the gravy.. Or you can actually purchase Turkey Broth (Swansons)during the holidays

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I personally cook mine on my BBQ grill and smoke it. I use mesquite or hickory for the smoke.

BUT, if you are not wanting to smoke a turkey, the second best way is to cook it in the oven. If you have any one coming with high blood pressure, DON'T USE SALT.

To get the best looking turkey, rub extra virgin olive oil all over the turkey and then rub your spices on it. I always use salt free spices. I use garlic granules, ground sage, parsley flakes, onion powder, a little paprika, and a little chili powder. The chili powder and the paprika are there for the color, not the flavor. Sage is in almost all poultry seasoning, so if you use poultry seasoning, don't add sage.

When you cook the turkey, turn the oven to 250 degrees. Put the turkey in a large pan on top of a trivet. Pour water in the pan up to the top of the trivet. Place a meat therometer in one of the breasts and place it so you can see it from the oven door. When the meat thermometer is between 170 and 175 take the turkey out and serve it. Don't use the pop up thermometer. All the things that may be in the turkey that you don't want in you die at 167 degrees. The pop up timers pop around 185 degrees to 190 degrees. The higher the turkey meat temperature the drier the bird will be. At 185+ you get turkey jerky.

The water in the pan is designed to keep the area around the turkey very humid. Osmosis occurs when moisture goes from a moist area (turkey) to a drier area (the air in the oven or in my case, the BBQ grill). The higher you get the internal temperature the more you encourage the moisture to move to a drier area. I add water to my turkey pan about once every 60 to 90 minutes. The moisture in the pan becomes my base for smoked turkey gravy. If you are cooking it in the oven it won't be smokey, but it still makes a wonderful base for the giblet gravy.

BTW, the info I have given you in this post comes from my experience. I have won 3 cooking contests and placed 3rd in a 4th contest. The extra virgin olive oil adds a subtle flavor you can't get from other oils.

Good luck to you and yours.

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It might be a bit cold where you are for this, but we have always barbequed our turkey! Although we do have a gas grill, for turkey purposes we use the old fashioned charcoal method with our old Weber grill (check the Weber website for instructions). It's very easy, and it frees up your oven for all your other dishes! Our turkey always comes out moist, with gorgeous color. Most importantly, because it involves cooking with fire (and therefore danger), I can talk my husband into being in charge of it! LOL

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We always fry one and smoke one, but if you want REALLY moist turkey from the oven, brine it in a salt bath overnight before cooking. Google this and it will take you through it step by step. SUPER moist!

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Honestly, I give it to my father-in-law to cook! I don't have a big enough pan to cook it in (and nowhere to store the pan, either!). He either smokes it in the smoker, or puts it in the deep fryer. My mom makes a traditional turkey using a recipe from Martha Stewart. It's pretty good! I know she does 25min. per pound, instead of the 30 per pound, and it is always fully cooked and really moist!

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I trust Alton Brown (food network)! I really wanted to do this turkey last year, but I was at my mom's, and she was nervous about all the brining ingredients, so we ended up just brining in a solution of water with salt/sugar (should taste like sweet ocean water). My mom was just SURE that we should cover it and add liquid, so we did because I don't argue with my momma at her house. But, when you brine your bird, it produces SO MUCH liquid, you truly don't need to add any. Check out the link below...it has a 5 star rating out of over 2,500 reviews. This year, Thanksgiving is at MY house, so we're having ourselves the Good Eats Roast Turkey! Even with my mom messing with the instructions, it was still the moistest turkey we'd ever had!

A little tip for brining - if you do it in an ice chest, put ice in baggies and change them out as they melt to keep the water cold. If you just put ice in it, your brine solution will get watery and that is undesirable.

If you get Food Network, watch for Thanksgiving specials once November hits. I've learned a lot from those! ;) Good luck!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-...

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Most importantly- use a meat thermometer and go by the INSIDE TEMPERATURE of the turkey to test when it is done and NOT how many minutes/hours it is in!! Different ovens heat differently and one side of the oven can even be hotter than the other. Also- this is super important-

Your turkey will keep on cooking inside even after you take it out of the oven! You don't want it to be overdone. Cook it to the correct internal temperature, and let it 'rest' or just sit, covered in foil, for about 15 minutes before you carve it.

As for the cooking- I cook mine in a big roasting pan, stuffed and sitting on a rack. I slice up some onions and pour a can of chicken broth into the bottom of the pan to keep things moist and use later to make pan-gravy.

A trick my mom taught me to get a lovely, crisp skin is to slather it with Helman's mayonnaise! I know it sounds crazy- but I smear mayo over the turkey and salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme it. I baste it from the pan every half house and keep it covered with foil for the first few hours. After that, I strategically remove the foil to encourage browning, but cover back up anything that looks too crispy like the wings.

You just have to check it and baste it a lot- I'm sure it will be great! :)

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I used this recipe the last 2 times I cooked a turkey and it tasted absolutely fabulous: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Perfect-Turkey/Detail.aspx. Read some of the reviews to see if it's something that would fit your family's tastes. The only thing I changed in the recipe was I added a couple more sprigs of thyme around the turkey with the vegetables. I have made many turkeys, many different ways, and have never had much luck with them being tender and juicy because I'm always so concerned about undercooking it. Using this recipe, the turkey was cooked perfectly and still as juicy as could be. One tip I would share is to use those silicone oven mitts when you turn over the turkey. I did it quickly and it didn't burn me or anything. It was much easier doing it that way then trying to use the big forks and/or spatulas to lift and flip it. I mean, 18 pounds is a big turkey. :-) I think some reviewers said they just covered the turkey the first 2/3 of cooking time rather than flipping it, but the flipping is supposed to help cook the dark and white meat more evenly so the white meat isn't dried out while the dark is undercooked.

I used this recipe with the turkey drippings/stock for the gravy: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Turkey-Gravy/Detail.aspx. My sister-in-law had used it a previous family Festivus celebration and it was so great, I had to give it a try myself. It too was fantastic. My husband threatened to drink the gravy it was so good.

The only complaint I had with the turkey recipe was that my turkey had indentations where it had been sitting on the rack when I turned it over so it wasn't as "pretty" as it usually would have been. We carved the turkey before putting it on the table though so it really didn't matter to us and the taste was loved by all. I'll be using this recipe again this year myself. I can already taste it and can't wait 'til turkey day!!

Bon Appetit!

Blessings,
N.

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Check out alton browns method. We (by we, I mean my husband) did this last year and it was yummy! We just did the brine, not the fancy part. We also started purchasing our turkey from local farmers and it has made a big difference in taste, too. Good luck!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-...

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The biggest trick is a thermometer & RESTING.

Poultry has to be at 180 to be done. Resting keeps all the juices inside instead of exploding/draining outward w heat / steam. As the meat cools, the heat stops trying to escape, and the juices stay within the muscle cells and fascicles. (Rest for at least 10 minutes, but up to 20 is also fine).

For temping, you have 2 choices: temp at 170-175 and pull it out and let it rest (the internal temp will continue to climb while it's resting, typically for about 10 degrees until it starts cooling)... or wait until it's at 180... and let it rest. A meat thermometer costs about $2, and I couldn't cook without one. When you temp... make sure to keep a peppercorn, or piece of garlic, or whatever to "plug" the hole when you're done temping it, or juices will escape out of the easy exit point.

Brining is another trick because of a scientific principle known as diffusion. Meaning that "everything" wants to be about equal. If you spray perfume in the air, it doesn't stay just where you spray it, but instead the molecules space out, trying to become "even". Things that are more concentrated attract and hold more water, because the molecules in the water and substance are trying to become "even". By adding salts and sugars the turkey becomes more "dense" and so absorbs and holds onto more fluids. One can buy brining mixes, or look up recipes and make your own. The 2 biggest tricks with brining are to a) do it the day before so it brines overnight & b) to THOROUGHLY rinse the turkey before cooking it. OTW it's too salty.

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You didn't mention the temp you're using. You're always better of cooking it a little longer at a lower temp in order to keep it from drying out. In addition, keep it covered w/ foil until the last 20-30 minutes. That helps keep the moisture in, as well.

There is also a poultry rub ( I believe it's McCormicks') that has lemon peel, thyme, and a couple of other things in it. It is A HHHHHHHHHHUGE hit. PHENOMINAL flavor. I rub both the outside and inside and do the rest the same. It's a great combo of flavors and nothing over powers anything else. Some of the BEST turkeys I've ever made.

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Forget the 30 min per lbs rule. The trick to cooking any meat is to go 'low and slow'. That means cooking longer at a lower temp. I always cook a big 25-28 lbs turkey and never stuff it. The bird goes into the oven around 5am - first 350 and then after a couple hours I'll lower the temp to 325. About an hour before we eat I check the temp of the bird and crank up the heat to like 400 for 30 minutes so it gets the delicious golden brown skin on it. After taking it out, I ignore it for at least 25 minutes. If you don't let it rest, all the juices will escape as steam when it's cut and you won't have a moist bird.

To prepare it, I cut slits in the skin and slip in slices of lemons and oranges. I then liberally rub on some olive oil and then sprinkle on salt and pepper. I baste every hour or so, but I've also found it's not really needed.

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To prep our turkey before placing in reynolds bag; we inject it with butter and cajun flavors, also sprinkle lots of liquid smoke and worstechire sauce all over it, as well as the usual spices (onion, garlic, pepper, salt, paprika) and more cajun spice. Then insert in reynolds turkey bag and bake. Every year we have a moist golden brown turkey. Delicious! As far as cooking time, I usually go by the butterball website.

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We cook ours upside down, makes for very tasty breast meat. It's not very attractive lol, so we always cut it up before serving it at the table. Then I use the drippings and the innards they give you (neck, kidney, etc...) to make the gravy. I get rave reviews every time.

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My method varies to the others in the fact that I do not cook my turkey in the oven or on the grill or fry it. I have a table top roaster that was a gift and it is the perfect size for roasting a turkey. I set it to 350 and judge the time by 20 minutes per pound. I stuff the cavity of the bird with garlic cloves, sprigs of rosemary, thyme and sage, and cut up lemons and stuff them in as well. However, before I put them in the cavity, I stuff slivers of butter under the skin salt and pepper the outside and then take the cut lemons and squeeze the juice over the bird. And don't forget to stuff the neck opening as well. I have brined, fried, smoked, and done a turducken - but my fool proof method is using my roaster. It also frees up the oven for gobs of stuffing, pies, etc.

Good Luck!!!

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Defrost bird on the Monday or Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving in the refridgerator.

Season bird to your taste, late on the Tuesday or early on the Wednesday the week of Thanksgiving. (Season to your tastes, I usually put slits in the bird for fresh garlic to be stuffed into, along with rubbing butter or olive oil on the birds skin. Inside of bird can be stuffed with stuffing but most times we prefer stuffing the bird with whole onions about 2-3) Season in deep roasting pan cover tightly with aluminum foil and place back into the refridgerator.

Cook time is always around 11 pm, Thanksgiving eve. Put entire sealed tight turkey into the oven at 200 degrees and go to sleep. I know this may sound crazy but your bird cooks slowly and comes out tender brown and juicy. Doesn't really matter the size of the bird, they all pretty much cook the same and have too much juice to burn or over cook provided your oven regulates properly.

We usually wake up to the smell of cooked turkey at about 7 am. You have enough juice for gravy and seasoning your veggies too and your turkey is super juicy. We usually cook a 18+ pound bird but this method works well with all sized of bird and truly the smell wakes you long before the bird could ever burn as long a your oven is working right.

I now volunteer to cook the turkey for every holiday dinner we are having turkey. It is so easy and no one is ever disappointed. Success to you.

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We fry our turkey, my husband's family had done this for 25 years, and there is nothing better. But you have to know what you are doing, so I don't reccomend it if you don't.

If you are putting your turkey in a bag, you are steaming it, which will keep it moist, but has a different texture than a roasted turkey, so that may be what you are not liking. If you baste your turkey hourly, and roast it with a cheese cloth covering (until the last half hour or so) so that the skin browns, you will end up with that roasted texture you are looking for, and the cheese cloth should keep the turkey moist at the same time. Good luck with your big celebration!

M.

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If you can, brine the turkey overnight. My husband does that and it so yummy.

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I think what we tend to forget is that once the turkey is pulled out of the oven it continues to cook. I always pull mine out about 30 minutes early and let it 'rest' as they call it so it doesnt begin to dry out. Juicing prior to cooking it helps plump the meat and the cooking just draws that moisture out, I use a bag also. I rub it down with butter for a nice golden brown skin.

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I salt and pepper on the INSIDE as well as the outside. Then I put a cooking bag in the cavity that I've poked a few very tiny holes in and fill it w/ my stuffing (MUCH easier to remove the stuffing). I only ever get fresh, young Butterball turkeys. I cook mine in the cooking bag, breast side DOWN, and do NOT poke a 'vent' in the bag, do NOT baste, just let it cook the whole time, unopened. Everytime you open the oven & take the lid off the roaster, your juices escape.. HTH

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Let me first say that I always cook a huge turkey. usually about 25 to 28 lbs. I first pull out the inside stuff (missed the stuff in the back one year lol)

I stuff both cavities with cornbread stuffing. Then I rub it down with olive oil. then wrap it with cheese clothe. it is always wonderful. cook it on 350 for as long as it takes to get it to the right temp. The olive oil gives the skin a crisp layer that keeps the juice inside. I don't buy a fancy turkey whatever the store brand is. the juices make the best turkey gravy. good luck.

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My recipe is super easy---my mom does it! LOL
I've never cooked one.

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I wish I knew how to cook a turkey... sigh...

Maybe I'll learn by the time I have a nice big house to invite my family to?

I don't know how to cook. :(

Do you residual cook? You cook the turkey like normal and then take it out when its about 5-7 degrees below the magic cooking number. THen let it sit in the pan..>DONT TOUCH IT. the bird will cook itself the rest of the way and the juices will seal in the turkey. We let our sit for 20 mins and then we carve.