<p>I’ll be using whatever fresh turkey the market is selling. Lemon and onion in the cavity, butter and fresh herbs under the skin, oil and more herbs on the skin. Then I’ll drop it in my new “Big Easy” infrared cooker.</p>
<p>I’ve used it twice already with 7 lb chickens and they came out great with no fuss, no basting. It is supposed to replicate fried turkey, but I’ve never had fried turkey so I can’t compare. All I know is that they came out moist with amazingly tasty skin.</p>
<p>I’m ready to graduate to a 16 lb turkey and free up my oven for sides.</p>
<p>I’ve ordered a nonfrozen (caled fresh at the supermarket but that is probably overstating the case ) Butterball to pick up next Wednesday; after years of more interesting sounding and more expensive organic turkeys I went back to Butterball last year and it was very good. Admittedly we are one of those families who prefer the various side dishes, so the turkey itself isn’t really the star attraction but the Butterball really was good last year—not dry, not processed tasting, fairly reasonably priced. Pretty much foolproof. I used packaged chicken broth to baste it, and also use broth to moisten the stuffing rather than the melted butter called for in many recipes.</p>
<p>I put the stuffing in the bird because it’s delicious that way. But I am very conscientious about putting the bird in the oven as soon as it is stuffed and taking all the stuffing out as soon as it’s cooked.</p>
<p>18 people this year and we NEED leftovers, so I’ve ordered 2 12-14 fresh turkeys from a local store. I do have 2 ovens, so that won’t be a problem. I’m picking them up late Tuesday, will brine Wednesday and they’ll be ready for Thursday. I do find the brine helps keep the white meat moist, and I use a cider brine, so it gives it a little extra oomph as well. These birds will be smaller than I usually make so the large disposable pans will do the trick, supported, as suggested by others, by a cookie sheet. I cook ours as my mom always does - after brining and patting it dry, massage a butter, garlic and paprika mixture into the bird, then soak a large sheet of cheesecloth in sherry and wrap the turkey in it for the first 3/4 of the cooking time. The remove for the final 1/4 and you have a moist, golden brown bird! Now if I could carve it without mangling it, all would be well!!</p>
<p>After looking over the other Thanksgiving thread it has lead me to another question. My oven has several different cooking options, convection, bake or convection bake. Someone on the other thread said using convection the turkey came out dry.
I have made turkey breast on many occasions. I prefer the flavor of a whole turkey. I find with the breast alone it is hit or miss as far as taste.
I have been catching bits of the Food Network at night this week. Lots of different stuffing ideas. Do most of you use fresh bread or cornbread? My Mom and my MIL both used the bread cubes from the box. Is there a big difference. I prefer the stuffing in the bird but my spouse (a former vegetarian) prefers it cooked outside the bird.</p>
<p>Been through lots of turkeys over the years. </p>
<p>Kosher - got it from TJs. Spent THREE hours plucking feathers…never again. </p>
<p>Butterball…my families old favorite. But really, it’s like Kraft “cheese.” Can’t buy them after reading some books this year. </p>
<p>This year, we’re doing like lolo and getting an organic turkey from a local farm. Delivered! These guys roam around and are happy until the end. We’ll see if happy turkeys taste good. I’m willing to splurge for a once a year treat…</p>
<p>I cook my stuffing outside of the bird. I will NOT use a convection oven…have found it to be drying. And I don’t want the hassle of brining…so we’ll see how this comes out.
Thought about grilling it but I “turkeyed” out.</p>
<p>Best turkey I ever had was at a friends house one thanksgiving. Her husband hunts and it was a turkey he shot. When i first saw it, it was the worst looking turkey i ever saw. I think they may have grilled it and it looked as if it had received a major electric shock - think cartoon variety, as in black and charred with it’s legs sticking out. But I must admit it was the best tasting, most flavorful turkey I have ever had.</p>
<p>I am wary of butterball after a very salty butterball chicken i once cooked - really really salty, as in inedible. I wondered if someone had doubled up on whatever they inject into those things. Before that I used to buy butterball but I have not since.</p>
<p>I have been debating a free range advertised by a local health store. But I may have left it too late. Is it really thanksgiving a week from tomorrow?? I guess i need to make a decision pretty darn soon about what to buy.</p>
<p>I’ve had wild turkey – it is excellent. But one Thanksgiving we were driving down a dirt road to a friend’s house for dinner. It was late afternoon and kind of misty as we came up over a hill and drove right into a flock of wild turkeys. There had to have 30 of them, gobblers and hens, even a few immatures. They were beautiful and it really made a memorable Thanksgiving. Ever since then I can’t eat wild turkey on Thanksgiving, it just feels sacrilgious. But a farm raised organic bird they kill in front of me. No problem.</p>
<p>I have used and like the TJ’s Turkeys. I always roast my Turkeys upside down since I long ago gave up the idea of the “presentation” turkey. Upside down, you dont have to baste since all the juice, fat, and flavor is in the dark meat (the bottom) and it migrates to the breast that way. Let the bird rest for at least 45 minutes before serving. Remove the entire breast and slice off the bird. Place these slices on a serving platter that has been warming in the oven and drizzle with a bit of hot gravy. That way you dont have to worry about the turkey cooling or drying out. ENJOY</p>
<p>A big roasting pan is easier to make gravy in than a disposable pan.
To clean your roasting pan, let it soak overnight or as long as possible with a dryer sheet in it! Using a dryer sheet on very dirty roasting pans has been the best kitchen tip I’ve ever been given. Every thing wipes away after soaking in the sheet and some water.</p>
<p>I read a tip today that said to take the turkey out when the breast reaches 165. If the legs aren’t done, hack them off and put them back in the oven while the breast sits for carving. No worries about presentation. The breast and legs just weren’t made to be cooked together…</p>
<p>Many years ago, when it was just my husband and me, I would have the meat department cut a turkey down the center for me. I would cook one half for Thanksgiving and a half at Christmas. We were employed but times were hard twenty five years ago for a lot of us. We weren’t laid off but the thriftiness I practiced then has paid off.<br>
My father-in-law was appalled when we told him about our one winged holiday bird.</p>
<p>Use a fresh, free range turkey, brine it, and cook it upside down in a rack for the first 1 1/2-2 hours, depending on size. Put a piece of buttered parchment paper between the breast and the rack while upside down so that the skin doesn’t stick and break. If you take the turkey out and flip it over after the upside-down period, the appearance will be fine.</p>
<p>I think turkeys are generally at their best in terms of meat-to-bone ratio and ability to cook through without drying out the extremities in the 12-14 lb range. For a really large group of people, I’d get 2 12-lb turkeys rather than one 24 pounder.</p>
<p>I like stuffing in the bird, but it’s not crucial.</p>
<p>I have been cooking the turkey on the grill for at least the past 5 years. The coals go to the sides of the grill and a pan catches the drippings for gravy. A few hickory chips really adds a lot of flavor. There is nothing like a Weber with real charcoal. The only work is adding a few pieces of charcoal every hour or so. No stink or mess in the house and the oven is available for rolls, dressing, sweet potatoes, etc. I also learned to carve the entire turkey immediately and drop the remains in a soup pot. When dinner is over there is minimal mess to clean up–just load the dishwasher and pack the leftovers.</p>
<p>Normally, I order and get my turkey fresh from the farmers market. I have also bought fresh turkeys at the grocery store - never Butterball! they are injected with oil.
I always wanted to brine a turkey but can’t now due to the added salt.</p>
<p>Roasting a turkey is really easy and should not cause undue distress. I buy a disposable pan with support in the bottom. I also still stuff my turkey - my kids haven’t caught on to the danger yet ;). I make the stuffing the night before and keep it in the fridge until early morning when i stuff it. I oil the skin and sprinkle with rosemary.
I cook my turkey covered with a foil tent in a very hot oven say - 425 for an hour then uncover and cook it at 350 until done.
easy peasy.
PS - don’t rely on the popup timer, sometimes they don’t pop. when it’s close to done check with a meat thermometer.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to cook the giblets. They make good gravy or you can feed to the dog or cat!</p>
<p>KansasGirl - now that I can get by with a smaller bird (not all my kids show up) I am thinking of getting a electric roaster.</p>
<p>My mother used to always cook a large turkey but then also bought a smoked turkey at a place called Greenberg’s Smoked Turkeys (it was on Oprah’s Favorite Things episode a couple of years ago). It is without a doubt, the best smoked turkey I have ever eaten. And they have the best website address ever - [google it to find it]. To this day, I order myself one every year (they deliver via FedEx or UPS).</p>
<p>Tearing the bread for stuffing while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade is a tradition at my house. I make fruit cup and coffee cake the night before for breakfast. I serve eggnog also. It’s not a healthy menu, but it’s a family tradition that goes back many years.</p>
<p>“They make good gravy or you can feed to the dog or cat!”</p>
<p>WHENEVER I pull a turkey out of the fridge, my dogs make a bee line to the kitchen and patiently await their giblet-treats.(staring intensely for at least an hour) I make a half dozen turkeys a year, but they REMEMBER…</p>