Cooking a turkey....

[litlwons]

I am sure there was a thread about this earlier, but I can't find it (mostly because I don't know how to).

How do you roast a turkey to help it be the moistest, most wonderful thing imaginable.:. I am cooking one for our Winter Solstice party and I want it to be good.

Thank you in advance!

Kathleen

[spero]

Well first, buy the best and freshest (no frozen!) turkey you can afford.

I just put mine on a rack in an open roasting pan, stuff it, then brush the entire outside with butter. I cook it (I think at 325 degrees) for the recommended period of time, and I've never had a dry turkey.

I tried brining my turkey one year, but it was a PITA and didn't really make that much of a difference.

[emmalyne]

i dont know if it tf but the best turkey i ever ate was on a big fosters beer can. empty 1/2 of the beer, poke holes in the top (with bottle opener) dump some spices in there and then (excuse the crudeness) shove it up the turk's bum. you need to keep the can upright so you cook your turk. sitting up. you can do this with chx too (on a reg. 12 0z. can). easy and so good. you cook it at the temp/time you normally would. btw you can/should also spice, butter, salt as you would too. you could try anything else in a can- juice, coconut milk etc. too.

[Taedareth]

Our turkeys always come out moist and delicious! Here's our secret: roast with the breast down.

We get a frozen turkey and thaw it overnight. Then remove giblets and rinse the bird outside and inside. Put it in the turkey pan breast down, cover with foil. Put in oven on lowish temp (325*F) for 4 hours, or however long depending on the size of bird. When the timer goes off, remove from oven, check internal temp with a thermometer, and feast!!

Does anyone know where you can get a non-aluminum turkey roasting pan? I like to cook turkeys year-round so I might as well invest in a permanent pan, instead of those flimsy aluminum ones.

[NatrlCatholicMama]

DH is in charge of holiday turkeys around here, and he likes to brine 'em, inject 'em (esp. Cajun spices), rub 'em, AND fry or smoke 'em, all the same turkey! And they're NEVER dry, not in the slightest. But me, when I cook one, I just roast it with a nice rub (salt, pepper, thyme, garlic) in and out of the skin, olive oil or butter all over under and over the rub. I roast it high temp at first breast down (to sear it the skin), then normal roasting temp the rest of the time breast up. The most important thing is not to overcook it. Germ-phobia is responsible for most nappy turkeys.

[spero]

Originally Posted by emmalyne

i dont know if it tf but the best turkey i ever ate was on a big fosters beer can. empty 1/2 of the beer, poke holes in the top (with bottle opener) dump some spices in there and then (excuse the crudeness) shove it up the turk's bum. you need to keep the can upright so you cook your turk. sitting up. you can do this with chx too (on a reg. 12 0z. can). easy and so good. you cook it at the temp/time you normally would. btw you can/should also spice, butter, salt as you would too. you could try anything else in a can- juice, coconut milk etc. too.

Omigosh, we made beer butt chickens on the grill for the first time, this year, and they were sooooooooo good! We actually bought the rack to hold the chicken over the beer can.

[ShaggyDaddy]

1) I am all about flavor, a nice golden skin is for show and has no place in my turkey.
2) I take AT LEAST 30 hours to make a turkey so stay out of my way.

30 hours (or less) previous to cooking...
Mix up a brine mixture... I use 1 cup honey 2 cups kosher salt, 2 quarts chicken or vegtable stock, (a few cgloves minced fresh garlic optional) 1 gallon water (boiled with the honey and salt in it), and 1 bag ice.

In a big orange drink cooler (the one with the spout at the bottom) put the hot water/honey/salt. Then put the bag of ice in. Then take the guts out of the turkey and put it in breast facing DOWN, now add the veggie/chicken stock and stir it all up. Cover it with the lid and you can leave it on your back porch for 4-24 hours (20-24 is what I prefer).

After you take it out, wash it with cold water then pat it dry with paper towels. Then rub it with warm butter or olive or veggie oil(with garlic in it if you want).

Stuffing is for chumps.

Now, in a proper roasting pan for the oven, or even better a $23 turkey sized roaster from Target (almost like a high temp croc pot) place the turkey BREAST DOWN on the rack. Keep in mind the breast down is all about flavor and you will not get a turkey you can "carve" in front of your impressed guests. Now put about 1/2 an inch of chicken or vegtable broth in the bottom of the pan. Put in the oven and cook according to the directions on the pan(usually 10-15 minutes per pound) Don't scoff those little pop-up timers, they work great.

Now once your turkey is done you have 1 of 2 choices... If the turkey is so tender (likely) that it falls apart you need to leave it in the roast pan and remove from heat, but cover it. If it seems like it will hold together, take it out of the roast pan and put it on a large plate or another pan and cover it with foil. You should let it sit removed from heat for AT LEAST 30 minutes, but 1 hour is ideal. If you cut it right away, all of the juices will "fall out" of the meat and it will not be as moist and awesome as it should be.

After the bird has "rested" for an hour now you can make yet another decision: Carve or "Pull" Ever wonder why when you cut an orange it leaks a lot makes a huge mess, but when you carefully peel a wedge it is basically dry? There are cells holding juices. If you pull apart the meat by hand you will maintain more of the cellular structure and the meat will naturally hold more moisture. It is not as pretty as a slice, but delicious isn't something you can see with your eyes. If your bird is properly juicy and moist, it can hold up to a slice, but I'd say why bother? Pulling it apart is another one of those "insurance" things.

I am what you could call obsessed with a perfect turkey. I believe that, like a great steak, a great turkey should require no sauce/gravy.

[litlwons]

Originally Posted by ShaggyDaddy

1) I am all about flavor, a nice golden skin is for show and has no place in my turkey.
2) I take AT LEAST 30 hours to make a turkey so stay out of my way.

30 hours (or less) previous to cooking...
Mix up a brine mixture... I use 1 cup honey 2 cups kosher salt, 2 quarts chicken or vegtable stock, (a few cgloves minced fresh garlic optional) 1 gallon water (boiled with the honey and salt in it), and 1 bag ice.

In a big orange drink cooler (the one with the spout at the bottom) put the hot water/honey/salt. Then put the bag of ice in. Then take the guts out of the turkey and put it in breast facing DOWN, now add the veggie/chicken stock and stir it all up. Cover it with the lid and you can leave it on your back porch for 4-24 hours (20-24 is what I prefer).

After you take it out, wash it with cold water then pat it dry with paper towels. Then rub it with warm butter or olive or veggie oil(with garlic in it if you want).

Stuffing is for chumps.

Now, in a proper roasting pan for the oven, or even better a $23 turkey sized roaster from Target (almost like a high temp croc pot) place the turkey BREAST DOWN on the rack. Keep in mind the breast down is all about flavor and you will not get a turkey you can "carve" in front of your impressed guests. Now put about 1/2 an inch of chicken or vegtable broth in the bottom of the pan. Put in the oven and cook according to the directions on the pan(usually 10-15 minutes per pound) Don't scoff those little pop-up timers, they work great.

Now once your turkey is done you have 1 of 2 choices... If the turkey is so tender (likely) that it falls apart you need to leave it in the roast pan and remove from heat, but cover it. If it seems like it will hold together, take it out of the roast pan and put it on a large plate or another pan and cover it with foil. You should let it sit removed from heat for AT LEAST 30 minutes, but 1 hour is ideal. If you cut it right away, all of the juices will "fall out" of the meat and it will not be as moist and awesome as it should be.

After the bird has "rested" for an hour now you can make yet another decision: Carve or "Pull" Ever wonder why when you cut an orange it leaks a lot makes a huge mess, but when you carefully peel a wedge it is basically dry? There are cells holding juices. If you pull apart the meat by hand you will maintain more of the cellular structure and the meat will naturally hold more moisture. It is not as pretty as a slice, but delicious isn't something you can see with your eyes. If your bird is properly juicy and moist, it can hold up to a slice, but I'd say why bother? Pulling it apart is another one of those "insurance" things.

I am what you could call obsessed with a perfect turkey. I believe that, like a great steak, a great turkey should require no sauce/gravy.

THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! THIS IS AWESOME!