My turn and I am cooking tonight. I know Thanksgiving is not for 2 days but this is the way it has to be. Girl friend drives to Detroit tomorrow to be with family. I cannot make it. So we eat turkey tonight and I have turkey leftovers on Thursday instead of pizza.
So this is what I’ve got.
Fresh not frozen 12 lbs turkey
Stuffing mix w/ chicken broth
Corn bread mix
Potatoes for mashing
Assorted veggies
I will follow the directions on the bag for the turkey but figure there might be some tricks to trade. Any hints or suggestions are requested.
The bags rarely give the proper instructions for checking when it’s cooked: use a skewer or knife into the thickest part of the thigh, which is the part which cooks slowest - as soon as that’s done (ie clear juices), take it out of the oven, otherwise the breast will overcook. And always err on the generous side for the cooking time - if you take it straight from the oven and wrap in aluminium foil with a cloth on the top, it’ll stay warm enough to serve for easily 30mins, and at a push an hour.
A turkey is pretty goof-proof. SOP is to baste it with melted butter and cook for 20 minutes/pound. You pretty much can’t go wrong. If you want to sprinkle your favorite seasoning all over the bird too, go for it. Just baste it first and sprinkle away.
For several years now I’ve been using those Reynold’s turkey cooking bags, and they work bloody wonders. The bird comes out a lot juicier and more homogeneously cooked.
I swear by the Turkey Bag method. For my turkey I put it in the bag and twist it shut, leaving only a small hole in the end to let excess steam out. I do not slit the bag or anything so as to retain moisture. It cooks quicker as well. I also insert an electronic thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and let it come up to 160, at which point it is removed from the (350 degree) oven.
Moistest turkey you will even have, although it isn’t a show piece (no crispy brown skin), but the flavor can’t be beat. So I carve it up and serve it already sliced. Not a nice center piece, true, but then we eat for the flavor, not for the show round these parts.
Oh, do your stuffing in a pan. Easier and not as prone to giving you stomach troubles. Good luck!
I’ve tried it three ways: open with no covering, a foil tent, and the bag. The bag is clearly the winner and champeen in the moistness department, but as Navigator noted, it cuts way down on skin crispiness. Most people seem to love the crispy skin, but I think the moistness is the better trade off.
When I first hosted Christmas diner at my house my mom and my Aunt thought that the bag directions were not cooking the turkey long enough. They were wrong. Dinner was about 1 hour earlier than planned. Follow the directions on the bag.
GorillaMan foil lets out moisture unless you wrap the bird tight like you were going to freeze it.
How come the hide necks and giblets in the turkey. I found the neck before stuffing but did not find out about the giblets until after about a half hour of cooking. I guess I really should have looked those instructions a little closer. Burnt my hand trying to get’em out. :smack:
The last time I cooked a turkey my good friend Jose Cuervo was in the kitchen helping me. We inadvertently left the wire and the giblets in the bird for the entire cooking time. Didn’t harm the bird one bit. The dog didn’t seem to mind, either.
Well, I am not going to take it out now. I already had to pull out the giblet bag. And I lived after last year’s experiment. Will the foil tent help on the dry thing?
The foil method is best if you want a crispy skin. It prevents the skin from burning. The foil helps to keep it moist, but if you are gonna cook it at 325, realize it’s gonna take longer to cook especially if it’s stuffed or still partly frozen.
My method of choice right now is a covered roasting pan. Bag cooking produces a really welldone turkey if you’re not careful. And the stuffing can end up soggy. A twelve pound turkey will cook stuffed in a covered pan in about three hours. Put only about half a cup of water to facilitate the braising. And try to place in a roastong rack, unless you like soggy bottoms.
Right—a foil tent will make for a good, crispy skin. But it will dry out the meat to some extent. It all depends on which you like better: crispy skin or super-moist meat. Use the tent if you want crispy, and the bag if you want it juicy.
All this talk has got me to thinking—what if I use the bag, but remove the bag for the last hour or so of cooking? You wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of taking the bird out of the bag; just slit the bag and fold it down under the rack and stick the bird back in. Would this yield both juicy turkey and a crispy skin? I’m gonna try this—I’ll report back after Thursday.