Thinking about cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner

[KAMKIM]

The smallest one you can find, 12lbs is plenty. I prefer Butterball (more dark meat) to Honeysuckle white (breed for extra white meat).

I will try the Honeysuckle thanks!

 

[KAMKIM]

um, its the gizzard and liver, pretty yucky and down right cold if that bird isn't thawed all the way through. lol

WHAT?!?!?! Um, I think I'm making pizza instead...

 

[Nancyg56]

I'm not sure what you mean by this? Something comes inside the turkey when you buy it?? WHY??

Good thing you stopped in here first

Inside the neck cavity there will be a bag of "innards". Inside the cavity there will also be a neck. I get rid of everything but the neck which I roast with the turkey. It makes good drippings for the gravy.

Inside the bird there are also these blood clot things. Under cold running water clean all this out. I also remove excess fat from the skin over the neck cavity and around the big cavity.

ETA My sister cooked Thanksgiving dinner one time and my cousin was carving the bird. She tried to sneak the bag of goodies that my sister left inside out before I saw it. Needless to say my sister has never lived this down and I wash her turkey if her DH is not around to do it for her. She is no longer on turkey cleaning duty LOL

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Negative.

Well, go get yourself a roasting chicken and roast it for dinner as practice. It is easy.

 

[mhsjax]

Good thing you stopped in here first

Inside the neck cavity there will be a bag of "innards". Inside the cavity there will also be a neck. I get rid of everything but the neck which I roast with the turkey. It makes good drippings for the gravy.

Inside the bird there are also these blood clot things. Under cold running water clean all this out. I also remove excess fat from the skin over the neck cavity and around the big cavity.

Thanks, forgot to tell the OP about the extra skin. And yes you can boil those also and use that broth for the gravy, I also put some of that in my dressing. I actually don't stuff my turkey. Op, if this makes you ill, just buy some rubber gloves and use those to pull the stuff out.

 

[KAMKIM]

Well, go get yourself a roasting chicken and roast it for dinner as practice. It is easy.

Do they come with stuff inside of them too?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I'm not sure what you mean by this? Something comes inside the turkey when you buy it?? WHY??

It is what you use to make homemade broth, I just roast the liver. Although us seasoned cooks will buy an chicken parts and turkey necks as well.

You use the broth for liquid to make your stuffing and gravy. Broth, pies, and appetizers are made the day before Thanksgiving.

If you are not going to make broth I still suggest you take out your bird and get the bags out of the cavities. It will stay frozen with them in there. You may have to run cold water on the bird to get the bags out.

That way when you wake up you can eat appetizers and pie while watching the parades on TV.

 

[KAMKIM]

Alright folks, you are dealing with a blonde here that mostly cooks things like spaghetti and pizza


SO...I will get a frozen honeysuckle 12lb turkey, thaw it out (how long?) open it's little turkey legs, stick my hand inside, pull out every gooey piece I find, then take it over to the sink, pour water into the turkey, dump the water out, put it in a pan, cover, and then cook? What is the liquid you baste it with? Do you just add water?

Maybe I'll just go to my moms.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Do they come with stuff inside of them too?

They used to, now it is hit or miss. However you still need to check and you are supposed to rinse it out and pat dry.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm not sure what you mean by this? Something comes inside the turkey when you buy it?? WHY??

um, its the gizzard and liver, pretty yucky and down right cold if that bird isn't thawed all the way through. lol

The first year we were married, DH mentioned at work that I was making Thanksgiving dinner. Not knowing that I'd been roasting turkey since I was in grade school, a self-important secretary told him to "make sure that she takes that bag of guts out and throws it away." Humph -- I don't THINK so; doing that would be wasteful and deprive me of some of my favorite flavors.

I boil all of them the night before. The only piece I don't consume is the heart, but that makes a very nice treat for a pet who is being tortured by all those yummy roasting aromas. The liver and the stock that it is all boiled in goes into the dressing, and the gizzard and the meat from the neck are chopped fine and added to the gravy.

For the OP, when purchasing frozen turkey, time your purchase against the recommended thawing time for the weight of the bird, so that you can just put it in the fridge when you get home and leave it there until it is time to start cooking. You don't want to have it taking up room in your freezer if you don't have to.

 

[KAMKIM]

The first year we were married, DH mentioned at work that I was making Thanksgiving dinner. Not knowing that I'd been roasting turkey since I was in grade school, a self-important secretary told him to "make sure that she takes that bag of guts out and throws it away." Humph -- I don't THINK so; doing that would be wasteful and deprive me of some of my favorite flavors.

I boil all of them the night before. The only piece I don't consume is the heart, but that makes a very nice treat for a pet who is being tortured by all those yummy roasting aromas. The liver and the stock that it is all boiled in goes into the dressing, and the gizzard and the meat from the neck are chopped fine and added to the gravy.

the guts come in a bag?? So someone else grabs all the guts and puts them in a bag and then puts it back in the turkey? So all I gotta do is grab the bag.

 

[Thumper_Man]

DW loves watching the Food Network. She found a great recipe by Sandra Lee.

Here's the link to that recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/roasted-butter-herb-turkey-recipe/index.html

She don't do it exactly like the recipe. She modified it a little. She actually makes the butter mix the night before, then freezes it over night. When she's ready to cook the turkey; she'll place the frozen butter chips under the turkey skin and then cooks the turkey in one of the Reynolds oven bag. The butter mix slowly thaws and soaks into the meat of the turkey during the cooking process. Turkey comes out juicy every time.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Alright folks, you are dealing with a blonde here that mostly cooks things like spaghetti and pizza


SO...I will get a frozen honeysuckle 12lb turkey, thaw it out (how long?) open it's little turkey legs, stick my hand inside, pull out every gooey piece I find, then take it over to the sink, pour water into the turkey, dump the water out, put it in a pan, cover, and then cook? What is the liquid you baste it with? Do you just add water?

Maybe I'll just go to my moms.

No...you need to pull out the bags the day before. And you do this IN THE SINK.

T-Dinner requires 2 days of cooking and/or prep.

Then you rinse it, pat dry, put it back in the fridge.

 

[EthansMom]

Well, go get yourself a roasting chicken and roast it for dinner as practice. It is easy.

I agree with this! A Purdue oven roaster will cost you about $6-7 and is an easy way to "practice" for Thanksgiving. Not to mention a roast chicken will feed a family for days!

 

[jen0610]

Here is a link to what I did last year.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/roasted-butter-herb-turkey-recipe/index.html

I cook an almost 25 lb bird, so I made a triple batch of the butter mixture. I left the onion, carrots, and celery as it called for it. I had a 2nd 32 oz can of broth and I used maybe half of it.

Also, for the garlic herb sauce mix, I couldn't find any sauce mixes that was strictly garlic herb, but I did find one that was garlic and peppercorn. I used that and it turned out fine.

Now, I don't cook mine in the oven, I have a roster that I use. It does cook faster then my oven, but I did go by the temperatures shown in the recipe and just adjusted the times for my roster. Every body loved the flavor and it was the juiciest bird I've had.

 

[KAMKIM]

Here is a link to what I did last year.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/roasted-butter-herb-turkey-recipe/index.html

I cook an almost 25 lb bird, so I made a triple batch of the butter mixture. I left the onion, carrots, and celery as it called for it. I had a 2nd 32 oz can of broth and I used maybe half of it.

Also, for the garlic herb sauce mix, I couldn't find any sauce mixes that was strictly garlic herb, but I did find one that was garlic and peppercorn. I used that and it turned out fine.

Now, I don't cook mine in the oven, I have a roster that I use. It does cook faster then my oven, but I did go by the temperatures shown in the recipe and just adjusted the times for my roster. Every body loved the flavor and it was the juiciest bird I've had.

Sounds good. THank you!

 

[Thumper_Man]

Here is a link to what I did last year.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/roasted-butter-herb-turkey-recipe/index.html

I cook an almost 25 lb bird, so I made a triple batch of the butter mixture. I left the onion, carrots, and celery as it called for it. I had a 2nd 32 oz can of broth and I used maybe half of it.

Also, for the garlic herb sauce mix, I couldn't find any sauce mixes that was strictly garlic herb, but I did find one that was garlic and peppercorn. I used that and it turned out fine.

Now, I don't cook mine in the oven, I have a roster that I use. It does cook faster then my oven, but I did go by the temperatures shown in the recipe and just adjusted the times for my roster. Every body loved the flavor and it was the juiciest bird I've had.

Glad to see we're on the same page of this one. Just posted the same recipe right before you did.

 

[jen0610]

DW loves watching the Food Network. She found a great recipe by Sandra Lee.

Here's the link to that recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/roasted-butter-herb-turkey-recipe/index.html

She don't do it exactly like the recipe. She modified it a little. She actually makes the butter mix the night before, then freezes it over night. When she's ready to cook the turkey; she'll place the frozen butter chips under the turkey skin and then cooks the turkey in one of the Reynolds oven bag. The butter mix slowly thaws and soaks into the meat of the turkey during the cooking process. Turkey comes out juicy every time.

I was typing when you posted yours. Your wife and I use the same one!! DD and I saw Sandra Lee make this last year and it was the first time I used it. It was wonderfull!! I may have to try the freezing. Because I did a triple batch, it didn't set up as quickly as I liked and I did set the bag in the freezer for a little bit to get it to set quickly. But overnight would make it some much easier to slide the discs under the skin.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I was typing when you posted yours. Your wife and I use the same one!! DD and I saw Sandra Lee make this last year and it was the first time I used it. It was wonderfull!! I may have to try the freezing. Because I did a triple batch, it didn't set up as quickly as I liked and I did set the bag in the freezer for a little bit to get it to set quickly. But overnight would make it some much easier to slide the discs under the skin.

Yeah, she saw this episode 2 years ago and tried it then. She actually came up with the idea of freezing the butter overnight by doing her prep work the night. Like you, she noticed it wasn't setting fast enough. That's when she decided to leave it in the freezer longer and it seemed to work better. Plus she told me to mention that freezing it also makes it easier to cut into discs. That's the main reason she freezes it. She can make the chips big or small without having more butter on her than the turkey.

I noticed you also cook a 25 lb. turkey. She also learned from Alton Brown that it's easier and faster to cook two (10-15 pound) turkeys, than to try and cook one big turkey. You get just as much meat, if not more, from the two as you do the one. Plus you get double the turkey legs for anyone who wants one.

 

[NotUrsula]

the guts come in a bag?? So someone else grabs all the guts and puts them in a bag and then puts it back in the turkey? So all I gotta do is grab the bag.

Yes, normally, but it's usually a WAXED PAPER bag, and it will rip and leave some paper behind if the turkey is not sufficiently thawed when you go to remove it. If the turkey is properly thawed and just cold, it should come right out with no struggle.

PS: for those seeking Garlic-Herb mix, Lipton Recipe Secrets makes a good one. I don't use it for turkey, but it's great for doing up a pan of chicken drumsticks, potatoes, carrots and onions, and just letting it roast for about 90 minutes. I mix it with a little olive oil and about a cup of white wine. (Hmmm -- I think I'll make that for dinner tomorrow; DS can put it in the oven when he gets home from school.)