Okay, Lounge. I need some Thanksgiving help.

[cobalt1999]

I love my wife but she's the world's worst cook. My daughters have learned that when they wake up to the smoke detector going off, not to panic, it's just mom making breakfast (I'm not exaggerating). The evenings when she says "I'm going try something new for dinner", my daughters and I just exchange wide eyed looks of terror.

Last Thanksgiving was really bad. Imagine a plate of, what I can best describe as, Turkey Jerky.

So, this year my daughters and I are going to make the dinner. We're set on the side dishes, but I've never cooked a Turkey in my life. I looked up recipes on Google and was inundated with hundreds of them without any clue to tell which ones are good and which ones are bad. If we screw it up, that pretty much negates our rights to complain about her cooking for a long time, so we need to produce a fantastic bird.

So, does anyone here have a Turkey recipe that I can borrow? It doesn't have to be simple, we're willing to work...just need a path to follow.

[Akoto]

1. In all honesty ...

If it's your first time doing this, just follow the cooking instructions on the turkey's packaging. It'll still taste yummy and you won't have to worry about getting complicated. Throw on some salt and pepper, baste often, there you go. :)

I have found that I actually prefer to cook the stuffing separately from the turkey. It still tastes good, and it reduces the risk of any bacteria not getting fried in there.

[ohiosmith]

2. Excellent advice. Get a Butter Ball or other brand that has a built in timer.

They are virtually fool proof.

[comsymp]

3. Agreed on both counts - but adding my .02

Instead of stuffing the bird (for the reason Akoto mentions above), slice an apple, about half an onion, a stalk or 2 of celery if you like the flavor (i don't) and jam 'em in the cavity, followed by a healthy dose of sage and thyme. The flavors will be infused into the meat by the time it's finished.

Oh, and I've found that there's no need to salt the bird - I generally smear a little butter on it before it goes in the oven, then baste a few times while cooking.

[Akoto]

5. Well ...

I am allergic to onions, but the rest of that sounds good. ;)

Can't go without my Stovetop stuffing, though! :p

[cobalt1999]

9. that sounds great.

I'm copying this recommendation down. Thanks.

[cobalt1999]

7. unfortunately, this bird will not come with instructions.

I've ordered the turkey from a local farm (organic). So no instructions. I suppose I could go to the store and copy the instructions on a store bird.

[Akoto]

10. Here's some basic guidance, then ...

Cooking times for an unstuffed turkey, by weight, at 325 degrees and fully thawed:

Size of Turkey - Hours to Prepare

8 to 12 pounds - 2 3/4 to 3 hours

12 to 14 pounds - 3 to 3 3/4 hours

14 to 18 pounds - 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours

18 to 20 pounds - 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 hours

20 to 24 pounds - 4 1/2 to 5 hours

You should buy a meat/poultry thermometer and check the breast, thigh and wing joints. It's safe to eat at 160F. Usually, when you measure the thigh and it says 180F, no other part of the turkey will be under 160F. :)

If you make stuffing, even separately, it should reach 165F before you eat it.

[comsymp]

11. And following up with add'l elaboration

You may also find this helpful:

http://www.butterball.com/en/main_canvas.jsp?includePage=roasting_perfection.jsp&t=Roasting%20to%20Perfection&s0=plan_n_prep&s1=guide

[malta blue]

12. I would follow these cooking guidelines,

but also add that if you cook the turkey breast-side down for the first hour or so, the meat will be juicier.

I usually rub the bird with an orange and do the onion, etc in the cavity.

Get a good meat thermometer!

[hedgehog]

32. You've already taken the best step.

You have a good bird.

I put chunks of butter over the bird and some olive oil in the pan beneath it, then set it in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes to seal the juices before turning the oven down to 350 or 375.

I rotate the pan and baste mine with a mixture of olive oil and butter every half hour and have always had a juicy bird.

Be sure to get a good meat thermometer to tell when it is done.

[XemaSab]

4. If you've never baked anything before

Bake a chicken and/or a cake this week just to see how the oven works.

Some run hotter than others. :shrug:

[lildreamer316]

6. There's a brand of turkey.

..that's in a bag in the freezer section that is called the "oven-ready turkey".
http://www.jennieo.com/ovenready/default.asp

Just in case you get down to the wire and are in a hurry.

[Beausoir]

38. Yes! I am looking into trying that kind this year. Seems idiot proof.

And since I'm hosting my in-laws, who wouldn't know good food if it fell into their laps, I am cutting as many corners as I can. They are wolverines.

[SOteric]

8. I wouldn't say this to anyone with a successful history of roasting,

but, look into the Jennie-O oven ready "Turkey-in-a-bag."

http://www.jennieo.com/ovenready/default.asp

[cobalt1999]

13. You and lildreamer think alike.

Maybe I buy and hide that as a back up. I really can't let my wife see that I've bought ready to eat turkey, she'll laugh until Christmas at us. :)

[SOteric]

15. It's not a ready to eat turkey.

It's raw and frozen. And it won't make a good back up, because it has to be roasted before you can serve it.

It's an oven-ready turkey. It's just ready to go straight into the oven in its little bag. And frankly, it's pretty hard to mess up roasting it. You don't even have to thaw the puppy, or baste it, or struggle with cleaning and prepping it before you put it in to roast.

[cobalt1999]

28. Wow, they make things really easy now.

I read the link more closely. I already have the bird ordered, but this link is going to be saved for next year when it's my wifes turn again. Altough, she could even mess that one up.

[Phillycat]

36. Wow, those are fascinating.

Thanks for the link!

[reyd reid reed]

14. Okay...since you've never cooked a bird before, here's the deal

it's not hard. Go to the grocery store and buy a box of Reynold's Turkey Bags. They come in a blue box and this time of year they're usually close to the frozen birds.

Follow the instructions on that. It'll give you a roasting chart for the size bird you've got and it'll cut the time it needs and you don't have to baste it.

As for the bird itself, since you don't have a Butterball (or whatever)...rinse the bird really well, inside and out, in cold water. Cut a lemon in half and rub the cut half on the skin and inside the cavity. Stuff it (if you want) and truss it (just wrap some string around the drumsticks so that they won't spread when the skin tightens as it cooks). Cut 1" slits on the breast, one on each side of the ridge that runs down the top of the bird, then stick your finger under the skin and make a little pouch and slide a tablespoon or so of butter inside (instant Butterball). Then, take some vegetable oil or butter and rub it all over the bird (I use both...first some butter and then the oil). Sprinkle a little paprika on the oiled bird and rub it in (gives it a gorgeous color) and then slide it in the bag, but the whole thing in the roasting pan, put it in the oven and check the time.

And remember to let the bird sit out for about a half-hour before you try to carve it. And make sure, if you stuff it, to get the stuffing out right away.

[cobalt1999]

19. that sounds easy

Combined with the apple, celery, spice stuffing from above and cooking upside down for the first hour, I think we'll have a winner.

[Gormy Cuss]

16. Keep it simple and buy a meat thermometer

First off, if you buy a frozen turkey, defrost it completely before trying to cook it. This should be done in the refrigerator and it will take DAYS --think at least 3 for an average size bird, longer for a large one.

Second, removed the giblet bag from the cavity. Trim the large fatty flaps of skin at the neck and the cavity to about half the width. You want to remove the excess fat from under the skin more than remove the skin itself. The giblets and neck can be boiled into a stock for the base of homemade gravy or discarded.

Third, don't fill the bird with stuffing. Testing doneness is just easier with an unstuffed bird. Make the stuffing in a separate pan -- technically, that makes it dressing, not stuffing.
Place in the cavity a whole peeled onion, some celery stalks, whole sprigs of fresh parsley. Other fresh herbs if you have them like rosemary, thyme and sage would be great. These are your aromatics to flavor the bird as it roasts. They aren't served with dinner.

Fourth, choose a pan that is wide enough to accommodate the turkey on a rack, and if you don't have a rack, get one. If the turkey is sitting on the pan the bottom half will braise (boil)in its own juices rather than roast. If the turkey is in a pan that is too small, the air won't circulate properly and it will cook unevenly. If you're considering the throwaway foil pans, don't cheap out. Buy the sturdiest one you can find.

Fifth, choose a method for adding fat to the skin. Rubbing herb butter under the skin is a common way to do this, as is placing bacon slices on top. Follow directions in whatever recipe you choose, but plan to do something in this vein.

It's necessary to baste the turkey at regular intervals (follow the guidelines of the recipe you choose.) Turkey basters work well but it can be done with spoons or ladles in a pinch.

Lastly, when planning dinner time, remember to allow at least 30 minutes for the bird to rest before you carve it. This 'resting' will keep the juices in the meat.

Good luck.

[hedgehog]

33. BE SURE TO REMOVE THE BAG OF GIBLETS!

There should be a neck and a bag with a heart, liver and I don't know what else tucked under the birds tail or inside its belly.

I always throw these parts into a pot of water with some salt, pepper, sage, thyme , an onion and some celery.

When the turkey is done, stir about 1/4 cup of flour into the drippings in the bottom of the pan and cook it over a low heat. Slowly stir in some of the broth you made above and there's your gravy!

The leftover broth is a good soup starter.

[lizziegrace]

17. The mistake I made

I didn't realize there were giblets and pieces and parts in both the neck cavity and the body cavity. Got the ones in the body, the neck? I roasted a turkey with a plastic bag in it.

Don't forget to get them both.

[cobalt1999]

20. LOL.

Sorry, but that's funny. I'll be very thorough.

[lizziegrace]

24. It was hysterical actually

when it comes to cooking, I don't take myself very seriously.

;)

:hi:

[reyd reid reed]

22. Did you really?

:hug:

[lizziegrace]

23. Oh yeah

That was when I was first married. Nothing like steaming, melting plastic to help you learn a lesson. ;)

[reyd reid reed]

25. I bet

Have you lived it down yet?

[lizziegrace]

26. That one I've lived down

my first attempt at "doctored" spaghetti sauce? Never. :)

[reyd reid reed]

29. You only Think you've lived it down.

I know about it now.

Muahahahahahahahaha

Now...wanna tell me about the spaghetti sauce?

:evilgrin:

[lizziegrace]

31. Uh

no...

;)

[reyd reid reed]

39. Awwwwww....

party-pooper.

:cry:

[Ediacara]

18. Baste like your life depended on it. Seriously.

Here's my stuffing recipe in general: use store-bought stuffing and follow the instructions WRT how much water and butter (keep in mind though, the stuffing box tells you to make WAY TOO MUCH stuffing compared to the size of the bird). Add in sliced leeks, chopped apples and pears, and a few handfuls of deluxe nut mix (with all the salt rinsed off). If you're feeling adventurous you can even chop up the liver in a food processor and add that to the stuffing.

Anyway, get the turkey (which BTW, you need to start thawing on a cookie sheet in the fridge no later than Monday) and wash it inside and out in the sink. You can stuff fresh herbs under the skin, and there are specific poultry herb packs that are sold in the produce department of most stores. Alternately, you can chop up some fresh cranberries and put them in a bag of sugar in the fridge overnight and stuff those sweetened cranberries under the skin. You also might want to rub the skin with butter or olive oil and put dried herbs on the outside of the skin.

Sit the turkey backside down in the roasting pan and start to stuff the stuffing in the body cavity and the neck cavity. Use this guide at the butterball site for a recommended length of cooking time:

http://www.butterball.com/en/main_canvas.jsp?includePage=roasting_perfection.jsp&t=Roasting%20to%20Perfection&s0=plan_n_prep&s1=guide

But like I said, baste, baste, and BASTE! Nothing saves a turkey more than frequent basting; and nothing ruins a turkey like forgetting to baste. If you have a meat thermometer, follow the recommendations on that page I put up. If not, there are two areas that are fairly good indicators of doneness:

The thigh meat right next to the femur should be a medium purplish brown and any liquids should be clear. There should absolutely not be any red meat or bone tissue, or any pink liquids.

The breast meat right next to the sternum should be white possibly with a slight hint of pink. Again, any liquids should run clear and absolutely not be pink.

If you happen to cut into the breast and find that it isn't done, make sure to spend extra time basting that area or else you'll end up with a very dry turkey.

[cobalt1999]

21. Oh, my life does depend on it.

After the crap my poor wife hears from me and the girls, she's ready to dish it right back at us if we mess this up. Luckily we all have a good sense of humor.

[Missy Vixen]

27. Foolproof turkey

Okay, first of all -- go to www.bettycrocker.com and look up the time required to bake the bird.

Go to your local grocery store and buy Reynolds Oven Bags. Follow the directions on the package to make the turkey. (If you get a turkey with the pop-up doneness gauge, be sure and cut a slit in the bag over the gauge so it doesn't go off prematurely.) The oven bag eliminates the need to baste, the turkey comes out perfect, moist and tender, and it's a piece of cake.

I know you'll have a great dinner!

Julie

[Lex]

30. Check this site out. Lots of great info:

http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?catitemid=56&id=644

[hedgehog]

34. Don't get overwhelmed by the turkey.

What makes the dinner tough is all the extra fixings. Try to do as much ahead as you can. Make or buy your pies the day before, prep your vegetables, etc. If you're cooking sweet potatoes, do that ahead so all you have to do is re-heat them.

[hedgehog]

35. If you decide to go whole hog and make stuffing, do not use

anything resembling wonder bread or you'll end up with a glutinous mush. Use some bread with body like a store made French loaf.

[NewWaveChick1981]

37. Two pieces of wisdom I have come across:

1) NEVER expect to cook a frozen bird on Thanksgiving Day. :P Thawing a turkey should be done in the fridge and takes about four to five days that way. Hubby and I usually hit the grocery store on the evening before Thanksgiving for last-minute stuff, and we always see people buying frozen turkeys. :rofl: Like that'll be ready in time for dinner... :P Fresh ones are scarce as you get closer to Thanksgiving.

2) Sometimes (depending on the kind of meat you like) it's better to cook just a turkey breast. If it's a frozen one, it takes less time to thaw, and there is no bag of giblets to worry about. Cooking time is less too. :)

[cobalt1999]

40. THANKS TO EVERYONE.

I didn't get to responsed to each suggestion, but I did print out the entire thread so I've got them all.

Here's what I'll do, after Thanksgiving, I'll post a picture of the bird and let everyone know how it went.

Thanks and you all are better than Google!