Do you have a special way to cook your turkey?

[Amy10223]

Years ago (man many) my ex-husband carved out the carcass of a half-frozen turkey, and then sewed it back up with a special thick, curved needle and thread. Then, when it was thawed out, I dressed and stuffed it. We roasted it following the recipe, and the result was a turkey that you could cut sideways (of course the chest only) and come out with a round turkey slice with stuffing in the center. We poured marsala mushroom gravy over it. It was delicious, but so much work. I don't think I could ever do that again. It was from Gourmet Magazine if you are interested in pursuing it! =( I I I )>. This is how we sliced it.

[FreyaRed]

Usually I would separate meat from bones by turkey. If it has to be a whole bird I would put it in salt brine for at least 24h to get constant salt amount in deeper meat layers. Then I would stuff some peaches, apples, smoked plums, pineapple pieces inside with 200-300g butter and spices. I would put it in convection oven for 2-3 hours by low temperature (130-140C or. 260-280F).
However I prefer duck or goose

[Massageman]

Not really, if you are just considering the methodology of initial baking process.

We are considering doing it the day before this year, to avoid last second pandemonium. Several people we know have done it this way and just reheated the turkey which had been roasted the day before. Ditto the spuds.

I will just "chunk out" the breast halves and slice them. I can see how having the meat colder can improve the slice-ability. Then just add some reserved juices, reheat , and serve it up the next day.

Due to family scheduling, we will be celebrating later in the day on Friday this year, so we certainly have the time to do it "the usual way" too. Still deciding.

[D_Bone_Steak]

I cut it up and cook it that way to make it more tender. Like cut right down the middle and lay it flat so that the whole thing is cooking in the juices. I still stuff butter and thyme under the skin and use foil.

It usually comes out with the meat falling off the bones and juicy.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

Not really. We just put it in the turkey cooker, and it cooks like that. So, we get to watch the turkey spin.

[katiesmuff]

Sounds so good! My mother still does the 2 turkeys and 1 ham for our Thanksgiving and Christmas for our large family. I love taking leftover turkey and some stuffing making a sandwich with some mustard oh so good as well.

[Abbycado]

My dad does a special brine that is put on for for a good half of the day. Yummy.

[Amy10223]

What's his secret? I'm making mine with rosemary this year.

[Abbycado]

I'll have to get the right measurements, but I know it has a little bit of brown sugar, salt, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and minced garlic.

[Amy10223]

Sounds good. Thanks!

[Bricealan]

On year I cooked an 11 lb. bird on my Microwave oven, (yep) by putting it in a "browning bag" and basting it like you ordinarily would do a turkey in the oven.

I came out great, and 'brown"

[AviatorTom]

Not really. We generally just follow the standard turkey recipe. Sometimes, we have a spiral ham instead of turkey.

[kaucky1]

A boneless turkey easiest thing ever no mess to clean up almost gone less than hour after cooking

[Amy10223]

You must mean a turkey breast? I have not seen any boneless turkeys sold anywhere.

[ohsheeT]

Of course I do I put it in the oven on the low temperature make sure it gets plenty of butter

[krin_m]

I started deep frying turkey about 10 years ago and ever since then I have always done that.

[Amy10223]

I have a colleague in NJ who used to do that. Fried turkey on a big roasting thing outside. Sounded delicious from what he described.

[krin_m]

It truly is. You just have to be very careful and you better know what you are doing. :-)

[Amy10223]

Yes, I wouldn't try it without someone with experience with it!

[dreamstar72]

Have you ever tried the “air frying” way? It’s the same as deep frying but with a little oil and if you baste it, it taste better and is just as brown.

[Staximus]

I hate turkey because few people know how to cook it right. When I worked at Claim Jumper they had a turkey breast that was cooked with fresh thyme, oranges, onions, Lawry's seasoned salt, and some other stuff. It was the best turkey ever.

[Amy10223]

I don't like dry turkeys. For that reason I baste it a a lot, and I also sometimes put bacon slabs across the chest as it roasts. Then I let it brown without the bacon the last half hr or so, before taking it out. I have not heard of Claim Jumper before.

[msc545]

I can't cook, and I have no place to go for Thanksgiving, so it will probably be sushi - again.

[dreamstar72]

My daughter made one last year by splitting a in half before baking it and it was great, so great she doing the same way Thursday.

[RingOfFire]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/HYvMWIvghnQ

...

[RingOfFire]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJe8xFUztGU

[ReesesThins2]

Just in the oven.

[Iron_Man]

We smoke it it’s the best

[MarjorieJ]

Just in the oven

[worldscolide]

We sous vide ours.

[Amy10223]

? Sorry don’t understand.

[worldscolide]

Sous vide is a French form of cooking. Where the protine, in this case turkey, is vacuum sealed with its seasonings, at a specific temperature (145 degrees f), in a water bath, for a period of time until done. For a whole turkey it's about 38 hours. It produces the most tinder, juicy, moist, flavorful turkey you will ever have.

I do the same thing with steak, which produces steak that you can cut with a spoon, while at the same time being medium rare.

[Amy10223]

I believe I know what you are talking about. It's like letting the meat sit in the refrigerator for many days in a brine so that it retains the moisture and is much better when it is cooked. I have read about this and done it myself using pork chops. They wee very good after some days in a brine jar. However, where would you place a while turkey to do this?

[Amy10223]

I see, you vacuum seal yours.

[worldscolide]

Yup vacuum seal, this year we placed it in the sous vide container 24 hours before it was to be eaten. When done, we remove it, remove the vaccum seal bag, and slice it. It was incredible.

[Amy10223]

The sous vide container is kept on for 38 hours? It is safe to do this?

[worldscolide]

Depends on temperature. In the case of turkey it's 145f 63c. And being held that long has the effect of pasturizing the food, making bacteria growth impossible. If it were held below at cooler Temps sure it would be unsafe.

[worldscolide]

Cooking with sous vide is more science and precision. For example, the minimum safe temp for beef is 129f 54c. Pork is 150f 66c. And so on.

[Amy10223]

I saw those sous vide being sold online. I guess some are better than others. They are not that expensive at all. Some are, though.

[worldscolide]

Yeah it depends on what you want. I prefer a device that doesn't do Bluetooth or wifi, so the ones I go for usually tend to be cheaper.

[worldscolide]

The most important aspect of it is the heating element. If it's using a spiral heating element it's a good one. If it's essentially a large heat sink inside, stay away.

[Amy10223]

I’ve seen the ones with a spiral element in it.

[worldscolide]

Yup those are the best

[scott04sa22]

Deep fry

[pinkCadillac2]

Not really

[slatyb]

I hate turkey.