Help making a whole turkey for the first time

amother

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 9:53 am

I'm making a whole turkey for the first time and would love a recipe plus any tips/tricks experienced cooks would like to share. I feel like a whole turkey sometimes comes out bland, is there any way to get the turkey to have real flavor? Also wondering what people do about defrosting, do you really leave it for days in the fridge.

Chana Miriam S

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 9:54 am

How big is it?

amother

Jetblack

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 9:56 am

Buy a pop up timer
Some turkey company’s have a hot line to call

amother

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 9:59 am

andrea levy wrote:

How big is it?

I haven't bought it yet but I'm planning on 12-15 lb. It's for 12 people but there will be at least one other main.

Amarante

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 10:12 am

A good meat thermometer is critical because you don't want to overcook the breast so it is dry.

In one way or another you need to defrost the turkey and it takes a long time. It wouldn't be safe to leave it out on the counter for that period of time while it defrosts. There are butchers that sell defrosted turkeys.

Jamie Geller has a pretty good recipe for a classic turkey. The way to infuse flavor is to rub the seasonings both on the skin and under the skin and put aromatics like lemon and herbs inside the cavity. It is not considered good practice to stuff the turkey for health reasons because of temperature. The dressing/stuffing should be cooked separately because bacteria can grow in the stuffing because it doesn't reach the high enough temperature for a long time and therefore is in the "unsafe" zone.

There are all kinds of techniques for cooking - high temperature for short period of time - low temperature - fried etc,

INGREDIENTS

1 turkey, about 10 pounds
1 lemon, halved
6 sprigs fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3 large onions, peeled and quartered; divided
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
4 tablespoons vegan butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup olive oil

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 12x17-inch roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Rinse turkey inside and out under cold running water. Pat dry.
Place turkey in prepared pan.

Stuff cavity of turkey with lemon, thyme, garlic and 1 of the onions.

In a bowl combine paprika, salt, pepper, margarine and olive oil. Microwave on high for about 20-30 seconds or until margarine has melted. Mix well.

Baste and rub the mixture on the turkey and under the skin.

Scatter the other 2 onions around the bottom of the pan. Loosely cover turkey with aluminum foil.
Bake, loosely covered, at 350 degrees for 2 hours and 30 minutes (15 minutes per pound for turkeys less than 12 pounds and 12 minutes per pound for turkeys larger than 12 pounds), basting occasionally.

The turkey is done when an instant-read digital meat thermometer inserted into the inner thigh reads 180 degrees F to 185 degrees F, or when the juices run clear when a long-tined fork is inserted into the thickest part of the inner thigh.
For golden and crisp skin, remove foil for last 45 minutes of baking. For neater slicing, let turkey stand for 20 minutes before carving.

During the last hour of baking, surround the turkey with 20 baby carrots; 3 sweet potatoes, sliced; 20 red bliss potatoes, halved; and 3 large heads of fennel, quartered. Sprinkle vegetables with kosher salt and pour 2 cups of water over them.

Last edited by Amarante on Sun, Nov 17 2019, 10:28 am; edited 1 time in total

ra_mom

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 10:20 am

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.....psc=1
First buy a thermometer that gets inserted into the thickest part of the turkey meat when it's raw and stays inside while it's baking in the oven. Set the temperature beforehand and it will beep when it has reached perfection. Then you can choose any one of many awesome recipes.
Thaw fully. Best way for flavor is to use a good salty rub all over, under all skin, inside cavity, and over skin as well.
Some good methods.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/re.....43576
https://www.foodnetwork.com/re.....09446

egam

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 10:23 am

amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:

Buy a pop up timer
Some turkey company’s have a hot line to call

Pop up timers are very inaccurate and many times result in dry turkey.

You can add flavor to your turkey by brining it before roasting.
Make a brine with water, brown sugar, salt, halved garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns. You can also add some apple cider, thyme or rosemary sprigs. Bring it to a boil, simmer for a few minutes. Once it’s cooled down, submerge the turkey and brine in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours. Rinse, pat dry and roast.

Approximate proportions - 1 cup each of brown sugar and salt for about 2 gallons of water.

amother

Jetblack

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 10:57 am

Put it into a Reynolds bag and ad flower

Amarante

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 10:59 am

Not specific to turkeys, but the new (or at least new to me) Country Crock Plant Butters are quite tasty and make a good sub for butter.

shanie5

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 11:09 am

amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:

Put it into a Reynolds bag and ad flower

I think you mean flour

egam

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 12:02 pm

Amarante wrote:

Not specific to turkeys, but the new (or at least new to me) Country Crock Plant Butters are quite tasty and make a good sub for butter.

Agree. I use them everywhere as butter substitute with very good results.

Chana Miriam S

Sun, Nov 17 2019, 12:21 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I haven't bought it yet but I'm planning on 12-15 lb. It's for 12 people but there will be at least one other main.

My father, the king of turkeys always cooked them for 9 minutes a pound up to 12 pounds, and 8 minutes for up to 15. That brings it to ‘just’ cooked, which is perfect. The bigger the bird, the longer it’s in tho which is why the number goes down. I’ll just add that cooking a whole turkey is much harder than cooking parts because breast reaches that point at about 145 and dark meat is probably more like 165.