Quote:
Originally Posted by Boomer
Here I am at almost 2:00 AM, reading articles on the internet about cooking the perfect turkey……..
T’Day is exactly one week away, and it’s at our house. I am fine with having it at our house, but I must admit to being completely intimidated by THE TURKEY.
I have ordered a fresh one, so that’s a start.
People are bringing all kinds of good things, and the Army taught Mr. Boomer to peel potatoes really fast. (I guess he did that when he was not busy jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.)
BUT my turkey angst is getting the best of me tonight.
To brine or not to brine? Actually, any turkey roasting secrets or suggestions from TOTVland will be very appreciated. (Yeah, I know. We shoulda left town.)
Boomer
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Brine is for the over done crowd. I have never brined any turkey and I have tons of moist meat. The secret is to NOT over cook it. This actually depends on how you like your stuffing. When I do mine in the bird, then my cooking method changes as to if I do it outside the bird.
Stuffing outside means I'm going to spatchcock the turkey. of which I will typically lay that turkey on top of the stuffing. However I have to then keep a hot pot of butter and turkey stock on the stove to baste the turkey (key word in both techniques is BASTE)
Stuff inside means the turkey will get stuffed with stuffing that I pre make the day before and let the flavors combine. it is loaded with broth so it's very wet. This helps keep the moisture inside the bird. once stuffed I tied the bird and then up end it and resoak the stuffing untill it comes out the neck. with the legs tied up and wings tucked back the bird get a massage of butter (good butter) and salt and pepper. This will create my bast for basting. It gets 30 minutes at 450, then the remaining time at 350 baste every 30 minutes and turn the bird meaning flip around the pan so the other side faces the back of the oven. and you not only baste the bird but the stuffing showing between the legs.
I supposed the next question is when does it come out.... well the key is knowing how to rest a bird. I pull mine out when the breast meat (temp in up and down at thickest part without being near a bone) is 172-175 degrees and the thigh is 157-160. The bird comes out and sits on a cutting board for at least 30 minutes preferrably 45 minutes with an aluminum foil tent on it .
in order to plan on when to check that temp calculate 16 minutes per pound in a convection oven and 20 non convect. You begin checking temp on the last baste in the time frame. Example: you calculate 4 hours to cook the bird, at every 30 minutes Baste at the 3 1/2 hour point you check the temp breast and thigh. if one side is lower face that side to the FRONT of the oven. depending on your temperature at first temp check you'll have to judge how much longer, a good key is 10 minutes 5 degrees. so check again in 10 and you will know exactly how your oven works. if the temp came up only 3 degrees then adjust the remaing time based on that but do NOT go over. It's extremely easy to dry up a turkey.
By the way a side note - all that 'crud' in the bottom of the roasting pan is the secret to wildly awesome turkey gravy.
Hope that helped!