A turkey is probably one of the easiest pieces of meat to cook, and yet it can make even the most experienced cooks anxious. (Especially if it's being deep-fried for the first time.)
Clip and save this primer for next week and consult it for help in turning out a moist, delicious and memorable roasted turkey. And make your Thanksgiving mantra: "I can cook turkey. I can cook turkey."
Fresh or frozen
Opinions vary on the flavor of fresh vs. frozen birds. Some cooks prefer using fresh birds (they have never been chilled below 26 degrees and have a short shelf life) while others opt for frozen, noting that diners can't tell the difference. Suit yourself.
A fresh turkey is best purchased a day or two before roasting, while a frozen turkey should be kept frozen until ready to defrost.
How much to buy
Figure on 1 to 11/2 pounds of turkey per person - more if you have hearty eaters or want leftovers. If you know more guests will prefer dark meat than white, consider buying extra parts and roasting them in a separate pan. Be sure your oven is large enough to accommodate the size turkey you'll be cooking. It may be best to buy two smaller birds and roast them side by side. When buying, avoid any packaging with rips or tears.
Leave time to thaw
Ideally, a frozen turkey should thaw in the fridge, allowing 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey. A 12-pound turkey, for example, would take 2 to 21/2 days to thaw, while an 18-pound bird would take about 31/2 days. The thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator up to two days before cooking.
To prevent bacterial contamination, never thaw a turkey at room temperature or in warm water.
Prepping the bird
Unwrap the fresh or defrosted bird and remove giblets and the neck piece from the body and/or neck cavities (use all but the liver to make gravy, if desired.) Remove globs of yellow fat from inside turkey cavities and discard. Rinse the turkey inside and out a couple of times with cold running water; drain well. Pat dry with paper towels. (At this point, immediately before roasting, stuff the turkey, or season inside with seasoned salt, pepper and pieces of onions and celery.)
Sage advice
Flavor the Thanksgiving turkey with the holiday's most identifiable herb by strategically placing fresh sage leaves between the bird's skin and meat before roasting. To make the job easy, gently loosen the breast skin, starting at the cavity end, by sliding your hand underneath the skin. Take care not to tear the skin. Then slide individual sage leaves under the skin wherever desired.
To stuff or not
The stuffing may be made the evening before Thanksgiving, but don't stuff the turkey until just before roasting, if at all. Prestuffing may result in food poisoning. Place the prepped turkey in a large bowl, drumsticks pointing at the ceiling. This will make it easier to stuff. Spoon in the stuffing and close the opening. Turn the turkey over and stuff the neck.
Tie it up
To keep the stuffing in the turkey or to close the body cavities in an unstuffed bird, fold the neck skin over the back skin and fasten with a skewer, trussing pins or toothpicks; then twist the wing tips under the back of the turkey to rest against the neck skin. Close the body cavity by tying the legs together with a clean string or tucking the ends of the drumsticks into the hook or metal clamps that come with many birds nowadays. Trussing is optional, especially if you aren't concerned about the turkey keeping its shape.
Now you're cooking
Place the prepped turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, 2 to 21/2 inches deep. Do not add water. Brush turkey lightly with olive oil (or melted butter).
Roast in a preheated 325-degree oven. Cover loosely with foil, leaving a little space between the bird and foil and pressing the foil over drumsticks either for the first or last (it doesn't matter) 1 to 11/2 hours of roasting time to prevent overbrowning. Some cooks like to baste the bird with chicken broth or melted butter (using a bulb baster) every 45 minutes during roasting, but others skip it. If you do baste, do it quickly so oven heat does not dissipate.
The roasting pan
Those aluminum pans so ubiquitous this time of year are flimsy, and their shiny surface reflects heat onto the turkey, causing over browning. Be very careful when you remove aluminum pans from the oven, or your turkey might become the feast of Fido's life after it falls to the floor. Also, it's not a good idea to make gravy in the less-sturdy aluminum pan. It's a good idea to invest in a decent roasting pan.
Turkey roasting guide
-- 8 to 12 pounds: 23/4 to 3 hours unstuffed, 3 to 31/2 hours stuffed
-- 12 to 14 pounds: 3 to 33/4 hours unstuffed, 31/2 to 4 hours stuffed
-- 14 to 18 pounds: 33/4 to 41/4 hours unstuffed, 4 to 41/4 hours stuffed
-- 18 to 20 pounds: 41/4 to 41/2 hours unstuffed, 41/4 to 43/4 hours stuffed
-- 20 to 24 pounds: 41/2 to 5 hours unstuffed, 43/4 to 51/4 hours stuffed
Times are approximate in this chart provided by Butterball. Variations in ovens, pan sizes and materials, and the temperature of the turkey at beginning of roasting affect roasting time. Therefore, begin checking for doneness about an hour before the end of the recommended roasting time.
Is it done yet?
Remove turkey when the thigh meat reaches 175 degrees on a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh. The temperature will rise another 5 degrees while the turkey rests out of the oven, increasing it to 180 degrees - juices should be clear at this point. The center of the stuffing should reach 165 degrees, while a perfectly cooked breast should be 170 degrees. If the turkey is done before the stuffing registers 165 degrees, remove the stuffing from the bird and finish baking in a dish.
Let it be
Once the turkey is removed from the oven, remove the stuffing immediately and allow the turkey to stand 20 to 30 minutes before carving. While resting, juices draw back into the turkey and meat firms.
Carve like a pro
Make a deep, horizontal cut in the breast meat right above the leg. From the top of the breast, slice the meat downward toward the horizontal cut. Make the slices as thin or as thick as you like. To carve the dark meat, wiggle the leg to locate the joint. Cut the leg from the thigh at the joint. Slice the thigh meat from the turkey.
Reach out
If you have further questions, phone the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line toll-free at 1-800-288-8372. Home economists will offer assistance, even on Thanksgiving Day. Talk-Line hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Friday and Monday and Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. For more information, log on to www.butterball.com
