Comments on: Let’s Talk Turkey

By: Colleen

Colleen — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 20:14:14 +0000

I usually have a number of people for dinner on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since I only have 1 oven and a warming drawer the turkey took up valuable space in the oven when other food had to be cooked or kept warm.
My son-in-law had been cooking his turkey in his weber for years and urged me to try it. I was concerned that the turkey would come out with a smokey flavor. I stuffed and prepared the turkey as usual, put a drip pan below him in the Weber, banked coals on either side, put the lid on and opened the vents and added a few more coals every hour .
Much to my surprise the bird was done quicker than I anticipated and had not a bit of smokey flavor. It was moist and delicious. I will never go back to the old way I cooked the bird.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 23:20:45 +0000

I’m the turkey-cooker in our large family and my worst critic. I’ve brined, bagged, slow-cooked (1 hour/lb.) and this year I’ll use an oil-less fryer. I enjoy the challenge of mixing it up and although we’ve had amazing turkeys and some not-so-amazing, I can never remember the recipe we use the previous year – only the faces, stories, and laughter. I can tell by the posts that you all enjoy the holiday as much as I do!

By: ph

ph — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:26:21 +0000

cook the turkey breast side down for the first half of the cooking time. this allows all the juices to accumulate in the breast meat and it wont get dried out. halfway through, flip the bird so that the breast side is now up, and the skin will get crunchy crispy. works perfectly for me every time!

By: Heidi

Heidi — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 05:04:33 +0000

Brine, brine, brine. You don’t need anything special, just mainly salt and sugar(or some kind of sweetener). After that its just your flavor preference(herbs, flavorings, and such) .

By: Stephanie Lammers

Stephanie Lammers — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 02:24:12 +0000

For years I cooked my turkey in the plastic bag – it typically turned out okay – not really moist like one would think. Then my daughter took over the turkey for Thanksgiving – her first time – she pulled out that ‘plastic red thingy’ because she thought it shouldn’t be there, then of course didn’t pull the bag of ‘goodies’ out of the cavity and baked it in the oven bag upside down (on accident). The white breast meat was so moist and delicious – we decided she was the Turkey guru from there on out.

By: Nancy @ Coupon Clipping Cook

Nancy @ Coupon Clipping Cook — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 00:12:58 +0000

The turkey tip that works out great for me is to cook the turkey on a kettle-type BBQ. The wonderful BBQ smell is beyond description, the gravy from the drippings is the best ever, and the meat is so tender. The time it takes to cook and the number of coals to use is calculated based on the weight of the turkey. Here’s a recipe on TK. https://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/how-to-barbeque-a-turkey/

By: Christina Roth

Christina Roth — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 04:16:40 +0000

As someone who made the decision earlier this year to make my own Thanksgiving meal for the first time, I’ve come to one conclusion: there is no consensus for cooking your bird. I’ve been scouring the internet and my personal cookbooks and recipes for “the perfect bird” recipe and have yet to find one that is consistent with everyone else’s. It’s overwhelming, since all I want are the best tips and tricks of the trade. My mother’s turkey is great, but so is my grandmother’s and they both have given me contradictory information regarding their cooking methods and why theirs is the best. I’ve no idea what method to go with this year, but I may post again to share my results!

By: Renee Anderson

Renee Anderson — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 01:55:37 +0000

After thoroughly washing it, I cover every square inch of my turkey with bacon, add a little bit of water to the base of the roasting pan and then cover everything with tinfoil. This year, I baked it for about 5 hours on 200 degrees and then, because I was running out of time, I turned the temperature to 350 degrees for about 2-3 hours, and took the foil off for the last hour of cooking. It turned out to be a wonderfully moist bird, with a beautiful roasted color. Not only does the bacon self-baste the turkey, it adds wonderful flavor as well. The drippings make the best gravy. In our home, my family fights for the bacon when it comes time to carve the turkey up! My mom and my aunts have always made turkey this way and now that I am married and hosting gatherings of my own, I continue the tradition.

By: Betty

Betty — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 14:09:39 +0000

I started brining my turkey’s about 6 years and won’t go back! This is the recipe I like the most: http://www.food.com/recipe/honey-brined-herb-roasted-turkey-13961
I tried a couple others but this is the favorite of everyone. I use one of those large orange water dispensers (like construction workers use) to put mine in. I’ve been able to get up to a 19.5 pound turkey in it. It works for me because it’s always cold enough to leave it in my garage to brine. I do brine it at longer, usually put it in on Tuesday night. The first year the drippings were salty so I just rinsed it longer than normal and that fixed it. I didn’t have to soak it. I sprinkle salt under the skin and if I remember put some butter under there too. I stuff the cavity with lemon and some fresh herbs. If it isn’t stuffed with stuffing it really doesn’t take that long to roast. Nothing smells as good as a turkey in oven! (once my brother cooked his on the grill, which is good but you didn’t get the smell when you walked in the house.) Don’t forget to let it rest before you rope someone into carving it for you while you get the rest of the stuff done. I would say if you haven’t tried brining a turkey, DO IT. It is SO worth it. As an added benefit, it will help it finish thawing.

By: KrissyC E'sMommy

KrissyC E'sMommy — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 08:49:57 +0000

Love the bowl of bleach by the sink for cleaning. I use vinegar…it takes a few seconds longer, but does about the same amount of work. Plus then it kills odors. lol. I too don’t brine. I hold off on any seasonings till towards the end, cover that baby up for a while, and keep basting every few minutes after. Biggest trick tho is to let it rest. Helps to seal in the juices. Turkey can be pretty irrestable tho, so resting isn’t always a welcome thought. lol. I don’t use butter, or anything special, but my turkey always ends up moist, delic, and there are rarely leftovers after my inlaws are done…and mind you this is just my FIL, MIL and BIL, plus my little family of three. I generally cram a second turkey in the oven to enjoy days of leftovers while we eat. lol.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy all that wonderful food, family and happy times.