I find twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas I have to review my notes on what worked and what didn't whenever I roasted Turkey. I thought I would post my own tips here (for research at Christmas when I need my notes again LOL)
I love roasting Turkey and having it for the first couple of nights and then putting the leftovers into a casserole (in the freezer) for a later date. I have in the past made turkey enchiladas, turkey chile, and turkey curry in addition to the turkey soup.
Over time, I have found a few tricks that make for a pretty much fool proof bird IMHO.
The past 7 or 8 years I have purchased organic free range birds. Pricey, yes, good value/great taste yes! It used to bother me seeing about 5 cm of fat or whatever the substance was from a Butterball so I went all organic. If you can spend up to 50% more on the bird it is well worth it IMHO.
Watching Food Channel type programs, I found a lot of the cooks were using a brine to put the bird in for 24 or more hours prior to roasting. Typically the brine consists of a cup of kosher salt, chicken or vegetable stock, whole sliced onion, bay leaves, rosemary, sage, thyme, savory, garlic etc. Bringing all of these ingredients to a boil and then chilling the brine prior to putting the bird in the brine with an equal amount of ice water worked well. NO BS, the bird always turns out moist, cooked properly and tastes fantastic. A little extra prep pays off in spades every time.
So the perfect sandwich for me is a turkey / bacon sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes so roasting the meat ingredients together made sense. I also add sausages on top of my bird too. I set the oven for 450 F and roast it uncovered without bacon or sausage of about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the bacon, add the sausages and provide a foil tent. Back in the oven at 325 F and follow the turkey tips at
http://tastyturkey.ca
Gravy consists of the neck, plus the giblets etc simmering in a broth until its ready to serve dinner. I'll add some drippings and a bit of flour to the gravy at that point.
Accompanied with nice garlic mash potato, green beans/carrots, yams with apples and whatever creative veggie dish has worked in the past is what I usually prepare.
Roasting wise, I keep a good meat thermometer handy and take the bird out once it hits 170 F inside the breast.
So those are my notes from my cheat sheets.
What are your Turkey Tips?
I love roasting Turkey and having it for the first couple of nights and then putting the leftovers into a casserole (in the freezer) for a later date. I have in the past made turkey enchiladas, turkey chile, and turkey curry in addition to the turkey soup.
Over time, I have found a few tricks that make for a pretty much fool proof bird IMHO.
The past 7 or 8 years I have purchased organic free range birds. Pricey, yes, good value/great taste yes! It used to bother me seeing about 5 cm of fat or whatever the substance was from a Butterball so I went all organic. If you can spend up to 50% more on the bird it is well worth it IMHO.
Watching Food Channel type programs, I found a lot of the cooks were using a brine to put the bird in for 24 or more hours prior to roasting. Typically the brine consists of a cup of kosher salt, chicken or vegetable stock, whole sliced onion, bay leaves, rosemary, sage, thyme, savory, garlic etc. Bringing all of these ingredients to a boil and then chilling the brine prior to putting the bird in the brine with an equal amount of ice water worked well. NO BS, the bird always turns out moist, cooked properly and tastes fantastic. A little extra prep pays off in spades every time.
So the perfect sandwich for me is a turkey / bacon sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes so roasting the meat ingredients together made sense. I also add sausages on top of my bird too. I set the oven for 450 F and roast it uncovered without bacon or sausage of about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the bacon, add the sausages and provide a foil tent. Back in the oven at 325 F and follow the turkey tips at
http://tastyturkey.ca
Gravy consists of the neck, plus the giblets etc simmering in a broth until its ready to serve dinner. I'll add some drippings and a bit of flour to the gravy at that point.
Accompanied with nice garlic mash potato, green beans/carrots, yams with apples and whatever creative veggie dish has worked in the past is what I usually prepare.
Roasting wise, I keep a good meat thermometer handy and take the bird out once it hits 170 F inside the breast.
So those are my notes from my cheat sheets.
What are your Turkey Tips?
