D.C. Area Nesties
kiahj
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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So really... how hard is it to cook a turkey?
I have to confess that I have never cooked one of these things... and thought it would be nice to do a little mini thanksgiving either Tuesday or Wednesday before we go to CT since we won't don't do the traditional turkey thing up there.
I got the smallest turkey I could find, but its got to be at least 20 lbs.... of course, the guy at Safeway pulled the tag off to scan it so I really have no clue how much it weighs....
Any suggestions or fool proof methods?
Is this going to be a disaster? 
Re: So really... how hard is it to cook a turkey?
23 years ago, my mother wrote me out a tutorial (her words, she was an editor) on how to cook a turkey, at my request, bc I lived in Missouri (UGH) at the time and had no idea how to do this.
I will gladly retype her instructions -- which are FOOLPROOF -- and send them along to you, and to anyone else who's interested.
I'd scan the file and send you the PDF but then you'd know how crazy my family truly is, what with her sidebar comments. Oh, and the number of things I've spilled on it over the years....:)
"What is a week-end?"
You need to know how much it weighs. That determines how long you cook it. I hope you're kidding about 20lbs. That would feed a whole bunch of people.
This is a pretty easy "recipe". Just don't ever cook, and you'll have a moist turkey. Don't worry about brining.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Rinse turkey inside and out with cold water.
Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
Echo G'Town -- if you do not have a roaster pan large enough, buy a large foil pan and a cookie sheet large enough to hold the pan. (You will not be able to lift the bird in jsut the foil pan; it will collapse.
And get the heavy duty foil -- not the regular stuff - bc you need to cover/tent the bird for most of the cooking time.
"What is a week-end?"
Ditto this. I love my probe thermometer. Even if you don't know how much the bird weighs, it will cook it until the internal temperature is correct. And since you're not timing out a dinner on Thanksgiving day, that shouldn't be a huge problem.
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Oh my - I've never roasted a chicken either
I have a meat thermometer, but not the kind that goes on the outside of the oven... perhaps I'll get one of those tonight... I have a roasting pan too....
Pam&John, I'd LOVE if you could send me your mom's instructions! I love stuff like that, getting family "secrets" and all that...
Turkey is no longer made at my parents house after a bad experience many years ago when the turkey was basically raw after cooking so my mom microwaved it and we all refused to eat it. God, we were such brats back then.
Thanks everyone for your advice!!
(oh, and btw - I am totally not kidding about the size of the bird. It was on sale for $0.87/lb and it was $22.00 - so it might actually be about 24 lbs. - yah, that's going to be a lot of turkey, huh?)
(I know, I am Posty McPosterson this morning)
You do need to know the weight of the bird to know how long to cook it. And, if you stuff it, it takes longer to cook. You might want to consider taking it back to Safeway just to have them weigh it for you. Or, you can cook it at your leisure and if its done early, just let it sit for the rest of the meal. It takes roughly 20 mins per pound, stuffed, as I recall, to cook thoroughly.
The thermometer is key to knowing when the internal temp is correct. I also prick the breast meat and when the juices run clear, you're almost done. (You can cover the legs and wings with foil, bc at this point, they are probably way done and over-crispy....)
"What is a week-end?"
Keep it coming! It's all very helpful!!!
Wow- that's a lot of turkey. We bought a 20lb and we have 6 people coming.
Yeah, we're going to have a lot of leftovers... unless of course anyone wants to join us for what is sure to be a debacle... I have a couple of leftovers recipes for turkey that are freezable so I'll be doing the turkey thing for a while if this thing makes it out of the oven in one piece!
I've never cooked a turkey but I've seen others do it and I think it's a PITA, you gotta keep basting it and all that. IMO, it's hard and time-consuming! we get our dinner from boston market now and DH "cooks" it - puts it in the oven for 3 hrs
Let us know how it comes out, it might become your signature dish
(I'm really not great in the kitchen so a lot of stuff looks hard to me that others say is easy)
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Pam and John - I'd love the instructions, too!
You have my email, I think, but if now mssaintnest at gmail
Turkey cooking for dummies tips:
1. Make sure it is completey thawed before cooking - a frozen turkey can take days to thaw
2. Remove the giblet bag prior to cooking
3. Light foil over bird for first few hours, remove near end to brown skin
4. Baste, baste, baste (Don't know how necessary this is, but don't chance drying out your bird - it works for me)
Mom's recipe also includes a great one for turkey soup, in case anyone likes that. (Yes, she had to buy me a big stick pot bc I didn't have one -- you need to submerge the carcass....) Uses leftover stuffing, etc.
MsSaint -- you're on the list. I will type and email you tonight. Kia, send me your email.
And SSW, the bags? meh. I like the skin crispy (I will never be a vegetarian, obviously) and that doesn't happen properly in the bag. I would agree, though, that they've made it foolproof.
And Sofya, the basting is not hard, Yes, its an additional step, but the only way to get the crispy skin and moist breast meat. I wasn't in love with the brining we tried last year, and this year will revert to butter and seasonings.
"What is a week-end?"
Honestly, I hadn't ever done one either until my Thanksgiving test run (this is our first on the East Coast and DH can't take the time off work to go home for several days).
I used Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe and cooking instructions. Everything came out beautifully- the instructions were super detailed and perfect. I didn't have a meat thermometer before cooking mine, we just went by the pop out timer (which was admittedly a mistake- we have since purchased one), and it was still fine.
Mostly, I think the key is not to psych yourself out and to realize it is just one of those things that takes a really long time to cook- you're not doing anything wrong!
Finally, if you really panic, Butterball has a 24/7 hotline this time of year. 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372). They'll talk you down. :-) My mom had to use it one year, and we still laugh about it.
Stand up for something you believe in.
Pam - can I get the turkey soup recipe? We are going to have a lot of leftovers too but I did that one purpose - why cook more than once if you don't have to? tjlitzi at yahoo.com
I make a turkey waldorf salad to put over lettuce or in wraps and then I use turkey in my chicken pot pie recipe as well (freeze the turkey for later so we aren;t all turkey'ed out). But that soup recipe would also nicely round out my turkey leftovers.
ETA: I also think everyone freaks out about cooking the turkey because it is considered the centerpiece of the meal (although from the poll on here I could just serve sides and everyone would be happy). Also it is a time commitment to cook so it's not like you can keep one in the fridge for back up if the first doesn't turn out. At least that is why I freak out about it.
I gotta disagree with my dear friend Pam here. IMO, basting only serves to lower the temp of your oven. (Which throws off your cookig time.) The ONLY way to guarantee a moist bird is to not overcook. Brining, basting, rotating, whatever cannot undo what overcooking your bird will do. True, you may get some extra wiggle room from doing so, but a well cooked bird doesn't need any of it. Also, crispy skin just needs something to conduct the heat, and it doesn't need to be continually reapplied. A nice oil massage in the beginning will serve you well.
Julie -- how to cook a turkey has more personal preferences than anything!
I know basting lowers the temp, but I have a love of the crispy skin which cannot be met with not basting. So I add some time to my cooking and baste. (and I'm fast at it now, so I don't have to leave the door open that long....)
"What is a week-end?"
I figured that it was time for me to learn to cook an actual whole turkey. Who knows? If it goes well then maybe I'll invite everyone to my house next year and we can actually have a turkey ON Thanksgiving.
for starters, i just bought a 18lb-er for 9 people... so you get ready for lots of leftovers!
my first time cooking a turkey (and making gravy from scratch) was the first thanksgiving into our marriage and MIL was visiting. it turned out great so I don't think its really that hard.
i like brining. i also like baking it breast down for the first half hour or so. and the meat thermometer will avoid the risk of raw bird.