Frugal Food and Cooking

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

Kate — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:47:21 GMT

I rather cheat and use a roasting bag in my roaster pan. My pan doesn't have a lid and I didn't want to roast a bird like my grandmother used to do. She'd put a butter soaked rag on the top of the bird and then baste it every half hour all morning. The roasting bags are cheap enough and once the bird is cleaned, buttered and seasoned, I just tie the bag and pop it in the oven. Even with the popup timers that come in some birds, I use my meat thermometer in it as well. I'm not a big fan of stuffing, so the boxed variety does for us. I prefer the taste of StoveTop Savory Herb stuffing to my mom's homemade. Much less work anyway on a busy day. I do make the gravy homemade. I boil the neck and giblets (just not the liver) to extract the flavor and add the turkey drippings to this to make the gravy. (Mom would have put this in her dressing instead). Perhaps I'll add some of this flavorful liquid to the mashed potatoes this year as well. I have the Pumpkin pie to bake today to save me from having to do it tomorrow. (We're having Thanksgiving dinner here two days early as my boys will be in another state with my ex for Thanksgiving weekend.) So I"ll cook our Turkey tues and eat mom's turkey on thurs.

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

Kimmary — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:18:52 GMT

We put ours on our gas grill.One day this Spring we went to a gas grill demo at our hardware store.They had a chef showing all you can do with a gas grill.He had recipe cards and my DH ask lots of questions.I thawed out one of the turkeys in the freezer and we gave it a try.

You can not believe how moist the meat is.The skin is useless though.It becomes shell like to protect the juices but the meat is so good you really don't mind.

The one thing we have to watch is for flare ups.So it is best to roast a turkey right after the grill is cleaned.

We are having a fresh,antibotic,hormone free bird for Thanksgiving day.I am anixous to see how good it will be.

The stuffing I cook in the crock-pot from a recipe I found in Country Woman years ago.Very moist,made with potato bread.

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

latte4me2day — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 05:08:29 GMT

well this year our turkey is a jennyo frozen loaf thing baked at 375 for 5 -6 hours (free ham this year from franks work with his points) stuffing....comes out of a box and is cooked i nthe microwave

last year i had this huge turkey pan with a lid (was one of those "not important right now" items)....i got issues with the "garbage" inside of a turkey or a chicken....so the ex cleaned it.... put a few cups of water into the pan, paid 1.95 for a bottle of butter garlic basting injecting stuff....turkey was cooked for 18 hours at 200 degrees and just fell apart it was so moist an tender......mmmmm turkey........id liek to have a real turkey this year, but no space in the fridge or freeser for anything other then the turkey loaf thing.....oh well next year ill have a good turkey again

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

Juardo — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 02:22:54 GMT

Well, I learned to cook a turkey from my husband. First of all he takes the turkey, puts it in the sink and cleans off any pin feathers. Then he rinses it well, inside and out with cold water. Then he gently seperates the skin from the meat, on the chest area being careful not to tear it. He places butter or margarine in between the skin and meat. He works it around so it is evenly dispersed. Then he rubs the outside of the bird with margarine or butter, and then takes salt and rubs it all over the turkey, massaging it well. Then he puts it in a pan, covers it with foil, then puts it in the oven to bake. He follows the package directions and once it starts making juice he bastes it ALOT! He bakes the bird unstuffed. It always comes out very, very juicy. We have actually had juice squirt across the room. Once my mom experienced the turkey my husband makes, he became the official turkey baker in our family.

I make the stuffing which is from a recipe that hubbies mom taught me but over the years I have tweeked it and made it my own. And bless my husband he has recently told me that he likes mine better....I will never tell his mom that though. I would not want to hurt her feelings, but just knowing makes me smile inside.

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

babs — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 01:08:14 GMT

I do the same as Ariana with the butter and a mixture of sage, thyme, and rosemary under the skin. Stuff with 2 apples, 2 sweet onions, slice of lemon. Roast in the oven baste, baste, baste. Apples and onions are removed when done. These are not eaten. Babs

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

Edey — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:05:52 GMT

I don't have any different ones in the kitchen but the rest of the house is on other circuits, so I'll try setting them in different rooms in the house, maybe put the roaster in the garage or on the patio as that is the largest area to set it out. I would have to make sure I don't use the microwave, or any space heaters if it is cold(rarely is, except morning) because that would blow fuses for sure. Some day we'll get it re-wired when we have several thousands to pay for it. Or sell the house first. Thanks for the suggestion. E

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

TizzyLizzy — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:21:32 GMT

I'm not an electrician, but we have funky wiring as well. Crock-pots pull very little power and I can use two together I know, as I do it all the time. They do okay with the microwave running, too - it's just something that pulls a lot of power, like a toaster or coffeepot with one another or along with the 'wave that shuts down the breaker box. So you might give your crock-pots a try with your other small appliances.

I love the stuffing inside the bird, too, but I'll eat it anyway it gets fixed - mmm, I'm ready for Thanksgiving already, lol! Liz

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

Edey — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:42:51 GMT

I can't make the stuffing taste as good when cooked outside of the bird as it is inside. The texture is better inside and flavor is better. I've cooked the stuffing in a casserole dish covered but it still wasn't as good. We still eat it with lots of gravy on it, so it doesn't go to waste. I thought of using the crock maybe this year for the extra stuffing to experiment. We've never been sick either from stuffing it inside. This year I am going to get a good meat thermometer to test for doneness. If I could I think I would try to use several crockpots for sides and desserts, but I'm afraid I'd blow fuses in my old wired house. Maybe I should try just to see if it would or not. The crocks sure would make it more convenient and cooler. We have had plenty of Thanksgivings in SoCal that got close to 90 degrees during the day. I just melt when it gets like that and the oven is on all day. That would be another good reason for the roaster. E

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

TizzyLizzy — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:14:13 GMT

LOL, I don't know - the stuffing's the best part of a turkey, if you ask me. And that I bake separately as everybody here eats plenty of it - along with their ham, go figure...Liz

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

TizzyLizzy — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:56:25 GMT

I've been cooking only a turkey breast the last few years and I do it in my oblong crock-pot. I put an onion and a few celery stalks (cut in large pieces) in the cavity, and add about 1/2 cup of water or chicken broth to the pot. I rub it with butter and sprinkle on seasonings (I like lemon-pepper on it best) and cook it on high about 4-5 hours. You won't get the crispy, brown skin this way, but the meat is soooo tender and flavorful. Saves plenty of room in my oven for everything else...Liz

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

Pat — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:40:06 GMT

There really seem to be a lot of different ways to roast turkey! The best one I ever made was when I used a boiling water bath canner because I didn't have another pan big enough for it. It was so tender and moist that it literally fell apart when I tried to get it out of the canner - at least parts of it. It was still whole enough to carve, but not the model picture of a roasted turkey! I think it was because the sides of the canner were so high that it held in the moisture and flavor. I should do that again... but next time, I'm using a rack so I can lift it out.

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

Edey — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:23:55 GMT

I do mine just like Ariana, except I don't put as much broth in the pan. I've have also used the bag, but one year forgot to get them so just went back to the open roaster with a piece of foil over the top. Worked out just as well.

The worst one I did was in a roaster, which I bought so I could have use of the oven for pies and side dishes. It didn't cook it work very well. I followed the instructions that came with it and the turkey turned out like sawdust. The book said the temperature should be 375 degrees for six hours, which I knew sounded like too hot for too long, and I was right. I'm going to try it again, (because of a faulty oven), only this time maybe in the bag and with a lower temperature. Or maybe I will try to cook the pies in it instead. Supposedly it can be done that way. I'll find a use for it one way or the other. E

Re: How do you cook a turkey?

Amy B — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:57:28 GMT

I'm pretty low tech too. I do fresh herbs and sometimes butter or olive oil under the skin like Ariana, but my stuffing is the same as yours minus the celery (the one food my husband hates) and giblets but with apples and walnuts. I like to do stuffing both in and out of the bird.

I also pull the bird out before it is officially "done" according to the thermometer and let it stand. This allows the juice to redistribute and it does continue cooking internally. My brother the chef does his this way too, and that way we can avoid the terminally dry turkeys of our youth.