How do you cook your turkey?

[MayzieGSD]

This year I have to make my first turkey and I'm somewhat nervous about how it will turn out. Thinking of using the oven bag method to help keep it juicy plus putting some butter under the skin? Cook it at 325 degrees?

I know there's another thread about brining a turkey but I don't want to brine it. Any tips on how to get a juicy turkey?

[Sean Rescue Mom]

Both last year and this year I bought a free range turkey from Whole Foods. They have wonderful directions and helpful tips.
Here you go: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/holi...des/turkey.php

[Cassidy's Mom]

I've been grilling mine for 15-20 years, and it always comes out moist and juicy. Do you have a meat thermometer? If not, buy one. That's the best way to be sure it's done without overcooking it, which will dry it out.

I used charcoal to grill up until a year or two ago when we got a gas grill. I keep the heat low, (indirect heat - on the sides, not directly below the bird) and it usually cooks in about 15 or less minutes per pound vs 20 minutes per pound.

[MayzieGSD]

Thanks, I do have a thermometer but my grill isn't big enough to fit a turkey but I bet it gives it good flavor!

[Cassidy's Mom]

Here's an article from the San Francisco Chronicle where they tried it a bunch of different ways: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...17/FD77530.DTL

ETA: I mix softened butter with salt & pepper, ground sage, and paprika, and rub it over the bird before cooking. I mix dry white wine, (usually Chardonnay) with chicken broth, about 1/3 wine to 2/3 broth to moisten my stuffing, and the rest of the wine/broth goes into the drip pan. The seasoned butter and fat from the turkey melt into the broth and wine, and I use that to baste the turkey. It makes wonderful gravy!

[selzer]

Make the stuffing. Generally we use stuffing bread and peperidge farm stuffing cubes -- used to just use the bread, but got lazy. We saute celery and onions in margerine and use lipton noodle soup for moisture. Poultry seasoning also.

While the celery and onions are cooking we start going at the bird, cleaning out the inside and getting the fat and giblets out. Neck and hart get boiled for a while for the giblet gravy. The fat will be cleaned for the top of the bird. After cleaning the bird all over and inside and letting him drain a bit, we salt the inside.

Then we put him on a broiler pan and look for feathers and remove any. Then we stuff him, making sure to put our fingers in and give the stuffing room to breathe a little, then we put the legs back in the wire thingy along with the tail and cover the remaining stuffing, tops of the legs and top of the bird with the fat. More stuffing goes in the neck cavity and the whole bird is given a once over with the fat or with butter depending if there is enough fat.

Then we make the tent out of Aluminum foil.

We put him covered in the oven for a number of hours basting occasionally until he pops. Different ovens are different. Mine I cook at 315-325. Mom's I cook at 325-350. Toward the end we remove the tent so that the bird will brown nicely. Again basting regularly.

While bird is cooking, the neck and heart are cut up.

Bird is removed from the roaster and the drippings, if watery are boiled down, otherwise, we use flour and water to make gravy. Add salt and pepper and giblets.

Serve with real mashed potatoes (mashed with butter and milk), cranberry sauce, creamed peas and carrots, augratin couliflour, augratin broccoli, and baked sweet potatoes mashed with butter.
Jello salads round out the meal, and for desert Dad's Pumpkin pie and real whipped cream.

No, I did not get this large on TV Dinners, LOL. I love to cook and to eat, but I do not bake, I leave that to dad.

[OllieGSD]

Try and resist the urge to constantly baste and check the bird once it is in the oven. It will reduce the temperature of your oven which will lengthen the time needed to cook the turkey and dry it out.

[Mary Jane]

I have used a high temperature (450F) method and it works extremely well:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...-Turkey-232985

[raysmom]

Just a hint from the one and only time I cooked a whole turkey....

Make sure you take the bag of gizzards, liver, neck, etc out of the cavity before cooking

I ran water through mine and everything before cooking it, but I didn't know that parcel was in there until we were sitting down for dinner and were carving the turkey!

[MayzieGSD]

Originally Posted By: Cassidys MomHere's an article from the San Francisco Chronicle where they tried it a bunch of different ways: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...17/FD77530.DTL

Interesting... they recommend cooking at 400 degrees. This makes me nervous but they claim it turns out the juiciest??