Baking a Turkey...need help please!!

[bamamom]

I'm baking the turkey this year I have never baked one so I need all the tips to make it the best turkey ever....gotta take it to the inlaws Thanks!!!!!

 

[Kae]

Alton Brown's Good eats turkey. the best

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

Kae

 

[esk]

If it is frozen, put it in the fridge tomorrow (Monday) because nothing is worse than a half-thawed turkey on the day!

Make a tent with foil to keep it from browning overmuch and drying out

Call the Butterball Hotline (I have done it myself, not ashamed to admit) if you get stuck. They are very helpful, or at least they were, the last time I called, which was like 8 years ago.....

Let it stand 30 minutes after you take it out, before cutting, so plan that into your cooking/eating time.

 

[mhsjax]

Go to the store, get the reynolds bags. Follow directions. Can't fail and the turkey is wonderful. My mom made them this way as long as I can remember, and I use them. Never had a bad or dry turkey.

 

[Fyrefly]

Does it have to be a pretty turkey to impress the in-laws?

We have no room at cousin's table, where we always have Thanksgiving dinner, for a full pretty turkey with all the sides and whatnot crowding things, so we always carve it in the kitchen and bring out a platter of meat that gets refilled as needed. Point being, none of us are used to seeing the turkey.

Stumbling out of bed one day at 4am to put the turkey in, as usual, my cousin put it in upside down by mistake because she was so tired.

Ugliest turkey coming out of the oven you've seen in your life, but it was delicious! When all of us who hadn't been in the kitchen at the time complimented her and said it was her best turkey ever, she got all embarrassed and confessed her nefarious deed. Upside down the fat and juices run down to the breast instead of all useless at the bottom of the pan, so it practically bastes itself. Cover it with foil for the first half.

It won't get you the Norman Rockwell "Freedom from Hunger" picture turkey, but we've been doing upside down turkeys ever since...

 

[Aliceacc]

Turkey is EASY-- and this from a non-cook.

Make sure it's defrosted; that means it's out of the freezer by tomorrow night. (Right now isn't too early.)

Take out the giblets. They're in a wax-paper packet inside the turkey. You'll have to check both the neck and the... tush.

Rub salt inside both cavities.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Put the turkey into a roasting pan. Cook (unstuffed) for 20 minutes per pound. So a 12 pound turkey is 4 hours, 15 pound turkey is 5 hours, 18 is 6 hours.

For stuffing, buy a bag of stuffing croutons-- the cubed bread, not Stovetop. Follow the directions on the bag. Throw in:
- some onions and celery, diced and sauteed until real soft
- some sausage meat. Buy some sausage-- either links or a pound. Squeeze the sausage out of the casing, and cook like chopped meat unti tlhere's no pink left.
- some sage

 

[carebee21]

Go to the store, get the reynolds bags. Follow directions. Can't fail and the turkey is wonderful. My mom made them this way as long as I can remember, and I use them. Never had a bad or dry turkey.

I highly second this method. I'm a terrible cook and my turkeys always turn out perfectly using these bags. Super easy!

 

[december]

I use the Reynold's bags, too. I cook wild turkeys, so the meat has very little fat. I wrap it in bacon, and cover it with butter. Not so healthy, but tastes really good! I also brine it (soak in a salt and sugar mix, with some other seasonings thrown in). That breaks up some of the muscle and makes the bird a lot juicier.

 

[Aliceacc]

Oh, and get the lingo down.

You're not "baking" the turkey, you're "roasting" it.

 

[sylvenmaid]

I agree cooking turkey is super easy. I always cook it breast down so the juices and fat run down making it very tender and juicy. I also inject it with a cajun butter and spices that I buy at the store. Then I rub the outside skin down with a little olive oil. I also use a foil tent on top and remove it the last 30 minutes of cooking to brown the skin. I'm attempting a 22 pound turkey so this is a huge one for me. I usually cook a 12-14 lb but we are having everyone at my house this year. I am planning on cooking the sides the night before and will just heat them up that evening. I will also make my pie the night before. This way I don't have anything else to cook but my bird on Turkey Day.

 

[williamson_ja]

1, Make sure your turkey is completely thawed the day before you need it. Brine your turkey the night before by soaking it in water with about 2 cups of salt mixed into it. Put the turkey in the brine for at least 12 hours. I just do it over night and pull it out when I am ready to cook it.

2. Dry turkey off with paper towel. Make a butter/seasoning rub by mixing 1 stick softened butter with salt, garlic, basil, and oregano. Rub this mixture all over the outside of the turkey. Then, lift the skin and put as much down under the skin as possible. You can also fill the caveties (which you have emptied) with onions, a couple cloves of garlic, and a couple slices of lemon.

3. Make sure your oven is preheated to 350 place turkey (in it's roasting pan) UNCOVERED into the oven. Put a meat thermometer into the thick part of the breast near the thigh. I like a meat thermometer that is digital with a long cord so that the probe goes into the turkey, you close the door and the digital readout is on the counter.

4. Baste turkey about every 1/2 hour with the juices in the bottom of the pan.


5. This is the most important part! Either set your digital thermometer to 165 degrees, or just check your regular themometer. Pull the turkey out as soon as it reaches 165. Waiting for a pop-up will pretty much kill your turkey. Taking it out at 165 ensures that your turkey WILL be moist and delicious without being undercooked.

6. Let rest at least 1/2 hour before carving. I like to tent the turkey with tinfoil to keep the turkey hot while waiting for carving time.

If you follow this carefully, you will have a prize winning turkey. You will impress everyone at Thanksgiving! I can't promise you that it is the easiest way to cook at turkey, but I can guarantee that you will never have a better tureky in your life. It's that good. Good luck!

 

[okeydokey]

Alton Brown's Good eats turkey. the best

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

Kae

This is what I do. Excellent and moist!

 

[dumbocutie]

I put butter under the skin layer and more on top. You can work your hand under the skin. Then I use season all salt inside and all over the outside. Works like a charm. Very moist.

Also tent the bird until last half hour so it does not over brown.

Mmmmmmm! can not wait.

 

[pixiewings71]

I use the Reynolds bags too.....perfect turkey every single time. I use them for chickens too and they are so good! I highly recommend Reynold's oven cooking bags!

 

[mantaz]

I found this recipe last year when I decided to cook my first Turkey, I cooked one way before hand to try the recipe and see how it turned out....4 turkeys later and this is the best recipe ever!! I cook it about 1 every 3-4 months. YUM!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Perfect-Turkey/Detail.aspx

 

[blackforest]

I used the Reynolds bags again this year. Great as always. We had our 2 family Thanksgivings this Saturday and Sunday. 54 people and (3) 20+ lb. turkeys. We have a huge roaster. If you can borrow one, it frees up the oven for all those sides and heating the rolls. Super moist and not much left! You'll do great. Everyone has to start somewhere! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[TiggerTails57]

I use Reynolds bags

 

[DisneyShannon]

Do what I do and order the bird from a grocery store already cooked. all you have to do is warm it up. when I would cook a turkey I would call the turkey help line from butterball.

 

[horseshowmom]

Go to the store, get the reynolds bags. Follow directions. Can't fail and the turkey is wonderful. My mom made them this way as long as I can remember, and I use them. Never had a bad or dry turkey.

I highly second this method. I'm a terrible cook and my turkeys always turn out perfectly using these bags. Super easy!

I come from a family of great cooks. I did NOT inherit that gene.

BUT, each year for many years for our family Thanksgiving (large extended family), I always volunteered to do the turkey. Every single year, everybody raved over the turkey and how good it was (truthfully, they couldn't hide their astonishment the first year based on my cooking reputation! LOL). It became a tradition that I was the one to cook the turkey because of how moist and wonderful it tasted.

Yes, I used the Reynolds bag and followed their very simple directions, and nobody was ever the wiser.

Now, most of the extended family is gone, and my immediate family chooses to eat out for Thanksgiving (remember my lack of cooking genes - I think they want more than just the turkey ).

 

[paysensmom]

THIS.... I ALWAYS cook my turkey upside down in the cooking bag. Always moist, never baste it and it is wonderful. I do put butter under the skin all along the breast and I also shake on some poultry seasoning.

Does it have to be a pretty turkey to impress the in-laws?

We have no room at cousin's table, where we always have Thanksgiving dinner, for a full pretty turkey with all the sides and whatnot crowding things, so we always carve it in the kitchen and bring out a platter of meat that gets refilled as needed. Point being, none of us are used to seeing the turkey.

Stumbling out of bed one day at 4am to put the turkey in, as usual, my cousin put it in upside down by mistake because she was so tired.

Ugliest turkey coming out of the oven you've seen in your life, but it was delicious! When all of us who hadn't been in the kitchen at the time complimented her and said it was her best turkey ever, she got all embarrassed and confessed her nefarious deed. Upside down the fat and juices run down to the breast instead of all useless at the bottom of the pan, so it practically bastes itself. Cover it with foil for the first half.

It won't get you the Norman Rockwell "Freedom from Hunger" picture turkey, but we've been doing upside down turkeys ever since...