Posted on 11/18/2007 5:38:00 AM PST by PJ-Comix
Okay, we are just a few days away from Thanksgiving so let this thread be the Official Thanksgiving Turkey Guide. Tips on preparing turkeys and the trimmings. I am really posting this thread out of ulterior motives. I just bought two Thanksgiving turkeys and assured my wife I know everything about how to cook them. She doesn't since she is from Venezuela. Problem is that I fibbed a bit. My main experience in cooking Thanksgiving turkeys before was merely heating up pre-cooked turkeys. This time I will be doing it almost from scratch.
Okay, I do have one small tip. I was originally intending to buy the turkey either today or tomorrow. However, while I was looking at the Butterball turkeys in Winn Dixie, one of the guys from the meat department called me over and informed me he was about to bring out a bunch of Honeysuckle White all natural you turkeys and that the cost would only be 69 cents per pound!!! I decided right then and there to buy the Thanksgiving IMMEDIATELY since that turkey supply at that price might not last. The only problem is that I wanted at least a 20 pound turkey and the Honeysuckle White young turkeys came in smaller sizes so I bought TWO turkeys. One about 13 pounds and the other 12 pounds. Total cost under 18 bucks. Then when I bought them, the Winn Dixie self serve machine popped out a $10 off coupon towards an purchase of $50 or more which I will use on Wednesday to buy LOTS of trimmings, wine, etc.. I don't know if there are Winn Dixie stores in your area but you might want to check this out. (Note: I am not associated in any way with Winn Dixie).
Okay, I could use a few tips myself. Should I cook the two turkeys together estimating the total time based on 25 pounds? Also I would like info on preparing the trimmings, especially the stuffing, etc.. My idea is to take the meat tidbits that come with the turkey and chop them up and then fry them to mix with the stuffing. What else can I mix with the stuffing? Also we have a big supply of olive oil here so I would like to use that to baste the turkey. How often do I need to baste? Since I am a garlic person, what is the best way to incorporate garlic with the turkey?
On the side there will be white wine, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce. What else would be good side dishes?
All info about turkey and trimmings preparation from you Freeper chefs would be appreciated by myself and others.
Oops...that’s “turkey”, not “turnkey”...80=
I suggest putting onion, red bell pepper, and celery in the stuffing. This is a good time to include garlic, too!
If you want your turkey to be garlic-flavored, you could rub the inside cavity with garlic powder or roasted garlic. You don’t want to cook your stuffing in the turkey - salmonella is no fun - but in a casserole dish.
My family likes sweet potato pie with turkey. Boil and mash the sweet potatoes. Add butter, honey, and cinnamon. Bake in graham-cracker pie crusts, covered with mini-marshmallows.
One important point - get your turkeys on *early*, and don’t get into the wine too much before you have food ready!
Garlic and turkey don’t do well together in the flavor dept in my opine. Try the savory herbs, Rosemary, thyme, things for poultry etc.
You can quite safely stuff your bird, just assure the stuffing temp reaches 165F or so. The stuffing can absorb more juices too, so leave it a bit dry...I don’t generally stuff the bird any more these days, it’s just too much trouble to scoop it all out!!
Olive oil? Nah, BUTTER!! One trick I use is...put a 1/4 stick of butter into the cavity and let it melt and mix with the juices while cooking. Use your baster/brush to suck the juices out and baste every 30 45 mins...a perfect brown bird!!
SNOWY MASHED POTATOES
Potatoes - enough to feed the whole gang
Sour Cream - a tub of it
Philly Cream Cheeze - a package
CHIVES
Garlic
Cream or milk and BUTTAH!!
Peel and Boil taters, smash whip or otherwise mash them up.
Mix in enough sour cream, PhillyCheeze, Chives etc to suit your taste...
Put all back into a casserole dish with some fancy swirls on top, more buttah and some sprinkle cheddar cheeze on top, bake for 15 mins until top is all browned and bubbly cheeze ...
Serve, make sure YOU get some first.
I’ve used those oven bags for turkeys with great success. Very simple.
Though if you’re feeling daring, try this: (bacon wrapped turkey) http://www.chow.com/recipes/11130
And I prefer a pinot noir with my turkey...
What else would be good side dishes?
STUFFED MUSHROOMS
SWEET POTATO PIE
STUFFED ARTICHOKES
Boil the turkey innards to make broth then dice them up to put in the stuffing, (I give ours to the dog, he LOVES it.)
A few years back I made stuffing as above, but added minced walnuts and a touch of cinnamon, the guests loved it, the family did not, that was the last time for that.
Some experts suggest cooking the turkey upside down so the juices run into the meaty part of the bird, not out through the bony part. It doesn't make for the classic golden brown thanksgiving picture though.
Rub the cavity and under the skin with a mixture of softened butter, garlic, and chive (my mother used to do this)
That ought to help.
I agree with Tax-chick to cook the stuffing separately, it is safer. My mother-in-law does it in the crockpot and it is marvelous. Back in the days when my hubby shot wild turkeys, I put them in a roaster with a little chicken broth, an onion, bay leaf, an apple, and wrapped the ends of the drumsticks with bacon slices (and discarded all except the turkey when it was done). You can also “inject” the turkeys with an herbed garlic seasoning to get a good flavor throughout. My mom often inserted small dabs of garlic butter between the skin and the meat, especially on the smaller areas.
Since I don’t cook meat anymore, someone else does the turkey, and I do the sides: sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (with sauteed mushrooms, sliced almonds, and soy bacon bits), a corn and pepper salad, cheesy garlic toast, and a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert (everyone else is bringing pies).
I got an email (hilarious!) about putting a little tinfoil “bikini” on the bird, arranging the upper legs to look like a sunbather, baking it nice and brown, and then watching your guests faces as they see the roasted sunbather, LOL!
Although I think I've been overruled as to who cooks the bird this year. Which means cornbread stuffing...blecchhh!
Grandmas Stuffing
pound of each
ground beef
chorico sausage ground or finely diced
2 medium onion
garlic cloves
2 tbls oregano
4 stalks of celery finely sliced
14oz. bag of Pepperidge Farms stuffing mix
2 cans Swanson chicken broth
saute all meats and veggies together
prepare stuffing according to directions using broth in place of water
mix all together
stuff in turkey
cook turkey as directed
Earlier this week, some folks in Plymouth were duplicating the first Thanksgiving feast and those stalwarts wre encasing the turkey in clay and then putting it in the fire.
It looked like they were potters who rolled out the clay on potters tables, but I’m sure you could find something suitable in the back yard. Just don’t get it too wet.
Also, probably not a good idea to build the fire indoors.....also a back yard endeavor.
When I make my stuffing I take the giblets, and the neck boil them into a broth (using chicken stock, or bullion cubes) and use that as my moisture with the bread crumbs.
You are also right on with the herbs. I am a garlic freak, but I save that for the side dishes, and a little to my stuffing.
I am saving this recipe. My family has always wanted the same old stuffing, but I wanted to try it with sausage this year. I have gotten a few strange looks, so I may just make two, one with, and one without, and since this one looks so close to my original recipe, it would be the gradual change needed to finally get my way!!!
Everyone always looks forward to it. Hope they like it.
But wouldn't I miss out on a lot of that great turkey juice flavor in the stuffing?
Why is butter better than olive oil?
I guess it depends on whether you’ve had salmonella. The stuffing inside tends to prevent the inside of the turkey from fully cooking.
Obviously, people wouldn’t have survived years of stuffing their turkeys if everyone got sick. It’s just a matter of your personal cost-benefit calculation.
With two turkeys in the oven, don’t know if I would have room to cook stuffing separately. Also, how do I calculate the cooking time with two turkeys cooking at the same time?
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