Talking Turkey

No Kidding.

I want to talk about Turkey, roast turkey that is.

I am cooking one right and since thanksgiving is coming soon.

I thought we could talk about recipes.

I've cooked over 100 turkeys so far and all of them have came out great.

I learnt a secret long time ago from a chef at the Chateau Laurier on how to cook moist turkey and have improved it over the years.

The would soak the turkey breast down in about 2 inches of beer. and baste it before cooking for about an hour. I tried and the turkey came out moist and brown and juicy. I later started pouring beer inside the cavity also.

But now I found the best way is use a flavor injector, I inject a bottle of beer or ale into the turkey breast and legs . This is the best way as it gets the beer into the meat.

For the stuffing and gravy.

When I take the giblets and neck bones out of the turkey I put it a small part of water with a bit of salt and pepper and boil it for 20 minutes. Mean while I just chopped some onion, celery and mushrooms up. Get a large mixing bowl

and pour about a cup of the turkey broth from the pot, add 3 tablespoons of butter into the broth to melt it. add a tablespoon of onion soup mix,

remove the giblets from the pot and chop it up. Put all the vegetables in the bowl into the broth, mix it up. Now add a box of stovetop turkey stuffing into the mixture and stir it around. Add more broth until the mixture is moist. Now let it sit for 5 minutes to absorb the liquid. Now add more water the pot containing the neck bones, I also add a tablespoon of onion soup mix to the broth, now chop up about 5 mushrooms into tiny pieces and add this the broth, this will be used for the gravy later. Keep checking and make sure that there is enough water at all times. Now stuff the turkey with the dressing, roast it at 325 until it is roasted. When the turkey is done, add the pan dressings to the broth, I also add a tablespoon of oyster sauce to the gravy mixture for extra flavour. Skim the fat off, and then heat the gravy up and add some cornstarch slurry to the gravy to thicken it. Sorry I don't have the measurements, i eyeball it and taste. you may add salt and pepper to the gravy to your taste.

Please post any of your Turkey recipes or hints, for stuffing and gravy

:)

Roast turkey is my favorite meal, well one of them anyway. They say you shouldn't put the dressing in the turkey when raosting but I find it is the best way, gives the most flavor and my recipe is simple and the one I like best. Cube enough bread to fill the cavity mix in 1 whole egg an onion, sage, salt and pepper, stuff this mixture in the cavity and roast the bird. For good gravy you need some of the turkey drippings, flour or corn starch, poutry seasoning, salt, pepper and sage. Mix these ingedients over low heat and enjoy.

To add to this yummy meal I like squash, mashed potatoes, carrots and of course cranberry sauce- I think the canned is as good as any-jmo.

Fro dessert -pumpkin or mincemeat pie-and a good helping of whipped cream, now I'm hungry!

One of the best turkeys I had ever was one my brother cooked. He deep fried it in one of those propane deep cookers. It was so moist!

I preheat the oven to 450 degrees, reducing heat to 350 degrees and put the turkey in the oven, cooking 20 minutes/pound

I stuff the turkey with my oyster stuffing. It's a bread stuffing with celery, onions, and of course, oysters (tinned oysters, not smoked oysters though) and seasonings. And a breakfast treat, I get an extra couple tins of oysters. I put them in an egg wash, then dip in seasoned flour and fry in butter in a frying pan. Serve on toast. My fancy breakfast before I start Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner. When my brother and sister in law come though, well I can't make the oyster stuffing, they hate it, so I substitute mushrooms.

And the stuffing I stuff in the turkey

I make a basting sauce if you will, 3 parts dry white wine, 1 part melted butter, with seasonings (sage, pepper etc). Then the part that makes a good turkey great. Every 15 minutes during cooking baste the turkey. Gives you a nice moist bird

Some tips, others may do this too. First, get one of those disposable roaster pans in the grocery store. Easier to throw it out than clean up by hand after dinner a regular roaster pan.

And closing up the bird, cookbooks talk about trussing up the bird. Get some safety pins, much easier

RG

I love cooking but I still haven't mastered the turkey. My turkeys little wings always seem to get burnt up. I guess you have to build a tinfoil tent but what are other ways to protect the turkey from getting burnt. I'm going to try cooking a turkey again soon. I'm so happy to read different recipes.

I love cooking but I still haven't mastered the turkey. My turkeys little wings always seem to get burnt up. I guess you have to build a tinfoil tent but what are other ways to protect the turkey from getting burnt. I'm going to try cooking a turkey again soon. I'm so happy to read different recipes.

 

Peachy

I forgot to add but glad you mentioned it, but after the turkey browns, I always cover the bird with tin foil. Biggest thing, once in the oven, you have to keep monitoring the turkey and frequently basting. Putting it in unattended and coming back a few hours later, you'll have a dried out bird.

Just don't be intimidated by cooking a turkey. The cookbook I used as a guide is Joy Of Cooking...great for giving cooking hours and temps

Good luck in your next turkey

RG

Also the Betty Croaker cookbook is a good start

Thanksgiving is coming up soon.

And I know some of the people are excellent chefs and home cooks.

It would be nice for people to post their favourite recipes for roast Turkey and the trimmings and also recipes for Turkey Leftovers.

Let's see what we come up with.

Looking forwards to trying something new year for Thanksgiving dinner.

This trick takes some effort with a huge bird, but no problem with a smaller bird. A friend told me about it and I haven't moved away from this method. Most people leave the turkey right side up to show the golden colour on the breast when removing from the oven just before serving. Try cooking it breast side up but once it becomes somewhat golden (about 40% of total cooking time), flip the bird entirely, only then cover the wing tips, and cook it breast down for the remaing time so all the juicier parts drip into the breast meat as well. It will look a little light when you remove after measuring but rest assured it is fully cooked. Take it out about two-three degrees less than when you are supposed to (not a huge deal but it's about precision) as it cooks a touch after removing. It's cooked perfectly throughout while still very juicy.

My recipe is simple yet effective, most is prepped the day before.

I tear up 3-5 loaves of bread into the roasting pan your using, depending on how many loaves, I mash up 5-12 potatoes. Add the mashed potatoes to the bread, season with poultry seasoning, sage, salt, pepper. Mix by hand, tasting as you mix, you may need to add more seasoning. Once it's all ready put it to rest overnight at room temperature. Taste in the morning and add seasoning if needed.

The turkey I normally buy is a butterball or something along those lines and I freeze it, since I buy them on sale. I put the turkey in water, flipping it and replacing the water every 3 hours. Once thawed out you remove the insides and the neck, set those aside. Once you have it cleaned out to your satisfaction, stuff the turkey with the dressing mix, don't worry you will have extra.

Sew the turkey back up, place in center of roasting pan on racks so it doesnt stick to the bottom, and pre heat oven to 450. Reduce to 325 as you put the turkey in the oven. Take remaining dressing and put it in foil, once you have it layered out in the foil, add the neck to the center and finish wrapping the extra in foil, set it in the fridge. Season turkey how you like to, I like poultry seasoning, salt pepper and a bit of honey for shine. Build a tent of foil and throw it in the oven, remember to baste it 2-3 times per hour. Check often once you are coming close to 3-3.5 hours into cooking. With about an hour left, drop heat from 325-300 and put the extra dressing still wrapped in foil in the oven with turkey. Remove tinfoil when ready and brown and let sit in oven as you turn it off.

For the gravy, I use brown turkey gravy mix, a bit of flower or corn starch, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, the giblets and drippings. Fairly simple, add all ingredients into a pot and simmer on low-medium until you are satisfied.

That's my easy recipe for turkey. And it always comes out moist and amazing tasting.

Additional Comments:

I will fix all the auto correct screw ups after I get to my computer lol

Mmmm yummm. That sounds amazing!! I'm excited for thanksgiving already lol. I am very fortunate that I don't have to cook as I am visiting family. But I will more than likely be bringing a pumpkin cheesecake that I freshly bake ;).

This trick takes some effort with a huge bird, but no problem with a smaller bird. A friend told me about it and I haven't moved away from this method. Most people leave the turkey right side up to show the golden colour on the breast when removing from the oven just before serving. Try cooking it breast side up but once it becomes somewhat golden (about 40% of total cooking time), flip the bird entirely, only then cover the wing tips, and cook it breast down for the remaing time so all the juicier parts drip into the breast meat as well. It will look a little light when you remove after measuring but rest assured it is fully cooked. Take it out about two-three degrees less than when you are supposed to (not a huge deal but it's about precision) as it cooks a touch after removing. It's cooked perfectly throughout while still very juicy.

The variant of this I use is to start the bird breast down ( fats from the back drip into the breast meat as suggested above) but then flip breast side up for the last short while to brown the breast to finish.

I preheat the oven to 450 degrees, reducing heat to 350 degrees and put the turkey in the oven, cooking 20 minutes/pound

I stuff the turkey with my oyster stuffing. It's a bread stuffing with celery, onions, and of course, oysters (tinned oysters, not smoked oysters though) and seasonings. And a breakfast treat, I get an extra couple tins of oysters. I put them in an egg wash, then dip in seasoned flour and fry in butter in a frying pan. Serve on toast. My fancy breakfast before I start Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner. When my brother and sister in law come though, well I can't make the oyster stuffing, they hate it, so I substitute mushrooms.

And the stuffing I stuff in the turkey

I make a basting sauce if you will, 3 parts dry white wine, 1 part melted butter, with seasonings (sage, pepper etc). Then the part that makes a good turkey great. Every 15 minutes during cooking baste the turkey. Gives you a nice moist bird

Some tips, others may do this too. First, get one of those disposable roaster pans in the grocery store. Easier to throw it out than clean up by hand after dinner a regular roaster pan.

And closing up the bird, cookbooks talk about trussing up the bird. Get some safety pins, much easier

RG

gonna have to try this stuffing sometime and the safety pin trick..thanks

I've only made a Turkey dinner with all the trimmings once. It was successful, but I must admit I made several phone calls to my mom. I suppose I could make a Turkey dinner, but I have to be honest. It always tastes better when my mom makes it! The thing that I love most along with my sisters and my mom's grand babies is her stuffing! There are just some things you can't make as good as our moms and her stuffing is one of them.

My partner's family make's their turkey differently. They cover their turkey with bacon. and when the bacon is cooked they remove it put it in dishes and pass it around as a snack! Genius! It keeps the turkey moist and juicy and you get some bacon to munch on. Yum Yum. All I know is it's a family tradition that's been passed down and I must say that I like it!

Just took my turkey out of the freezer, it's a utility so tomorrow evening I put it in a brine bath over night. A combination of salt, brown sugar and water in a cooler and it will be tenderized. I stuff the neck with sausage and use the remainder in the bread stuffing. Last but not least I put three or four rashes across the breast, it was always a hit for the kids who would pick away at them while waiting for dinner.

Hoping for company this year but even so as I live alone there's always a lot left, which first goes into one of the best soups of the year. I also do a bunch of turkey pot pies for the freezer.

Count to dinner begins.

I've giving the turkey his last drink of beer, injected one bottle of beer into the breast and legs, will let it sit while, I boil the liver and gizards for the dressing and the gravy. I will pour this broth over the turkey stuffing for flavour, once it is stuffed in the oven for 3 + hrs until ready. It will be golden brown and very juicy with the beer tenderizing the meat. I used a mexican dark beer today. We will see how it turns out. Wish me luck.

update 3pm. Turkey is in the oven + ham

update 6 pm. turkey was perfect, brown and moist. No taste of beer :)

now to much food, need a nap :)

Treat the turkey like a lady you're about to massage. Lay her breast down, lube her up and get her nice and warm. When she's nearly there, flip her over on to her back. When she's hot enough and her juices run clear, you can put her in your mouth and enjoy ;)

Since Christmas is almost upon us. And most of us are having Turkey again.

I thought I would bring this thread up to see if there are any more hints or tips on making a Turkey dinner.

Any suggestions ?

It's that time of the year again :) . Any more turkey recipes or stories to share:)

Turkey injected with beer to ease the pain :)

Stuffed and in the oven.

Wish me luck :)

Since it is almost Christmas. I thought I would bump this thread up in case anyone was cooking Turkey. Cooking Turkey is too much work in clean up. This year Prime Rib :)

It's that time of the year again. I am in Grand Turks for 2 weeks. Just missed hurricane Matthew. Life is different here. Probably no turkey this year? Maybe we will find a large chicken. Plenty of free range donkey, horses and goats. But thought I would bring up turkey for you to in Canada. Hope you have a happy gobble gobble day.

Yeah, prime rib is my go-to for most eating holidays, but this year we made a nice 5 pound capon. Just perfect. Tonight, I'm making chicken noodle soup with the stock I got out of it and some of the leftover meat. Nice.