Turkey day is only a few short days away, are you ready? If you have not yet make sure that you take the turkey out of the freezer and put it into the fridge to thaw. There is nothing worse than dealing with a still frozen turkey Thanksgiving morning. Its enough to send a hostess with the mostess into a full fledged panic attack.
I have put together a few tried and true tips that have helped me through more than a few Thanksgiving meal preparations. First things first you need to purchase your bird. I am not going to debate the merits of free range, grass fed over frozen Butterball. Another topic for another day. Buy what suits your budget best. A good rule of thumb is to buy a pound and a half per person. If your having 10 people you need a 15lb bird. Not everyone will eat a pound and a half, but a few things to consider are, you will loose some weight as the meat cooks, everyone has that family member who eats way more than their share and you will most likely want to have leftovers. Also if your family prefers white meat over dark you may want to consider buying an extra turkey breast. If you have a small family you may just want to do a turkey breast its much more economical, and way less hassle.
Once you decide the perfect bird for you the next step is preparation.You can brine and roast or deep fry. One word of caution NEVER brine then deep fry. You will end up with a splattering mess and quite possible start a fire. If your family is like mine, you will never live it down! It will go down in infamy as the Thanksgiving everyone ate Chinese.
When I make turkey I always brine it. It is sort of like a salt water marinade for the turkey. The salt acts to help hold in moisture so the turkey doesn't dry out as it cooks. If you decide to brine, check out this recipe from Alton Brown at the Food Network. Its simple and the results are fabulous. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html
I have never deep fried a turkey myself, so I really cant tell you too much about it. I have eaten them though and I must say they are tasty. My sister, the chef, abhors using the injection method that is often accompanied with deep frying. Her reasoning is that it is difficult to control cross contamination. No one wants to make their dinner guest sick so if your using this approach make sure that you clean that sucker well every time you use it.
My sister has a fool proof method to achieving a beautiful golden turkey that is not dry. Sandi suggests that you preheat your over to 500 degrees and then take a stick of butter (2 if you have a bug turkey) and throw it into the mixer. Add your chosen seasonings (this year I am using a dry cajun rub) and turn on high. You want to get a lot of air mixed into the butter and seasonings. Taste test to see if your happy with the butter/seasoning ratio. If there is too much seasoning add more butter, not enough seasoning add some more. Once your happy with the mix take your turkey out and put in the roaster pan, pat dry with paper towel and if your squeamish put on rubber gloves at this point. Rub the turkey with the butter seasoning mix. Use it all and slather that bad boy up!
Place the turkey into the 500 degree oven until the skin on top is nice and golden brown. Remove turkey from the oven and make a breast plate out of foil and cover just the breast part up. Turn the oven down to 350. Once the temp reaches 350 put the turkey back in and cook for the remaining time.
| Approximate Roasting Times for Stuffed Turkey | |
| 6 to 8 pounds | 3 to 3-1/2 hours |
| 8 to 12 pounds | 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours |
| 12 to 16 pounds | 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 hours |
| 16 to 20 pounds | 5-1/2 to 6 hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 6 to 6-1/2 hours |
| Approximate Roasting Times for Unstuffed Turkey | |
| 6 to 8 pounds | 2-1/2 to 3 hours |
| 8 to 12 pounds | 3 to 4 hours |
| 12 to 16 pounds | 4 to 5 hours |
| 16 to 20 pounds | 5 to 5-1/2 hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 5-1/2 to 6 hours |
One last little bit of advice from Sandi: NO BASTING! If you properly brine the turkey there is no need for basting. You will actually dry out the turkey by constantly opening up the oven to baste. It will take longer for the oven to heat back up and consequently it will take a lot longer for the turkey increasing the chances of it drying out. Now that we are done talking Turkey lets talk sides and dessert! The following are a few treasured family recipes.
Aunt Delores Sweet Potato Casserole
Its easy peasy and tastes fantastic! I sort of modified it from the original to help with time and space. I use one package of Simply Potatoe's buttered and mashed sweet potatoes. Place in a mixing bowl and add 1tsp vanilla, 3 tbs brown sugar and 3 tbs butter. Mix well and spread into a 2 quart baking dish. In a separate bowl mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup melted butter and 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Spread over top of sweet potato mixture and bake @350 for 30-40 minutes.
Aunt Sue's Corn Casserole
One can creamed corn, one can whole sweet corn and one box of Jiffy corn bread. Mix the contents of all 3(dont drain the whole corn) in a baking dish with one egg and dot the top with butter. Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Pumpkin Torte
One pre-made graham cracker crust. 2 small boxes of Jello Pumpkin Spice Pudding, 3 1/2 cups of milk, One super large container of cool whip and pumpkin pie spice (for garnish). In a large mixing bowl add both boxes of jello and milk and mix well. Add about 1/2 of the mixture to the pie shell (1st layer). Add 2 cups of cool whip to the remaining Jello, mix well and pour over the 1st layer. Refrigerate about an hour until pudding is well set. Top with remaining whip cream and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice.
Hope you all have a fantastic holiday filled with lots of good food, family and love!
xoxo
The Mrs
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