Sunday, November 23, 2008

Thanksgiving

HELP!  Anyone I need a turkey recipe.  Sarah I know you have to have one.  PLEASE help me. I have a 20 pound turkey to cook. 

I have cooked thanksgiving dinner for 15 years but my mom has always cooked the turkey. It now falls to me to do it all and frankly I have no recipes!!

Negin

6 comments:

willblatt said...

Two words: deep fry!

Heather's Pink said...

The second two words: oven bag
I bought turkey sized oven bags and then put an apple in the cavity and two celery stalks under his turkey arms to keep it moist. The instructions for cooking come with the bags. Good Luck! Last year was my first year to cook the bird and it was easier than expected. You can do it!

SarahPyrah said...

here a a good one. I am with kim though, those roaster bags are the best and then you don't have to baste the bird...

For turkey
1 (11- to 12-lb) turkey at room temperature 1 hour, reserving neck, giblets (excluding liver), and wing tips for stock
1/2 medium onion
1 bunch thyme
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 cup water

For gravy
2 cups hot turkey stock
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Melted unsalted butter if necessary
Reserved chopped giblets from stock (optional)

Equipment: small metal skewer; a 24-inch piece of kitchen string; a covered turkey roaster, or a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan and heavy-duty foil; a 2-qt measuring cup or a fat separator
Garnish: thyme sprigs

Make turkey:
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in lower third.
Rinse turkey inside and out, then pat dry. Mix together 2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and rub all over turkey inside and out. Put onion and thyme in large cavity. Pin neck skin to body with skewer. Center kitchen string under back of breast and bring ends over to pin wings, then crisscross string and tie ends of drumsticks together. Put turkey on a metal rack in roaster and brush with 4 tablespoons melted butter. Cover pan (if using a roasting pan, cover turkey with parchment paper, then foil) and roast 1 hour.
Baste with pan juices and add water to pan. Continue to roast, covered, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (test both; close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Baste with remaining tablespoon melted butter and roast, uncovered, until skin is browned, about 15 minutes more (total roasting time: 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours). Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into pan. Transfer turkey to a platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 175 to 180°F).
Make gravy while turkey stands:
Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into 2-quart measure and skim off fat (or use a fat separator), reserving fat. Pour pan juices into a bowl and add stock.
Whisk together flour and 1/3 cup reserved fat (if there is less, add melted butter) in a heavy medium saucepan, then cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 2 minutes (mixture will be thick). Add pan juices and stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking. Stir in any turkey juices from platter. Chop and add giblets (if using). Simmer gravy, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Negin said...

I love you both, LIFE SAVERS!! Will do.

SarahPyrah said...

when in doubt, keep it simple. Besides the turkey only a small part of the plate, it is the sides that we just get bloated on :)

Heather's Pink said...

A friend at work is beginning tonight his family's 37lb turkey in a smoker with a 15 lb ham on top. He says the ham juices pour over the turkey perfectly. He also said he has a propane smoker and has to be with it the entire time once he starts. I think propane is not the flavor I would want my turkey to taste like.

Wrapping a turkey in bacon may be just as good. 15 lbs of bacon seems like a lot though.

Dan