Thanksgiving can be a time of wonderful family gatherings and warm memories. It can also be a very stressful time for the people hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Whether this is your first time or your twentieth time cooking a turkey, you know it is imperative for it to come out perfect. The Thanksgiving turkey is talked about long after the wishbone has been broken and it will either come back to haunt you with delightful memories of how delicious it was, or your family will be groaning about how badly the turkey turned out. To increase your odds of having your Thanksgiving turkey go down into the Hall of Fame memory vault, here are some tried and true turkey recipes and tips for preparing your turkey.
Brine Turkey
One of my favorite secrets to a juicy, delicious turkey is to brine it. Brining means allowing the turkey to marinate in a bath of ingredients consisting of water, salt, vegetable broth, and spices. The brine seeps into the meat while the salt prevents the turkey's natural juices from escaping during cooking, leaving you with a moist, tender turkey packed with flavor. The time needed to brine is dependent on the size of your turkey. Allrecipes is a website that offers free recipes and user reviews. To find the perfect brine recipe for your turkey, simply go to the website and type in "brine" into the search field. Once you've picked out your recipe, you can adjust it to fit the size of your turkey. It's as simple as that. In addition, once the turkey has been cooked, you can use the juices as a base for the gravy.
Roast Turkey
If your main concern is a dry turkey (and who isn't fearful of this), try roasting the turkey instead of cooking it in a conventional oven. This is a very simple solution to a common problem. Although a roaster can take up quite a bit of under cabinet storage space, it is worth its weight in gold. Most roasters come with an instruction booklet and some recipes. Find the recipe for roast turkey and follow the directions. Typically, the directions will consist of telling you what temperature to heat the roaster to, and how to calculate the roasting time based on the weight of your turkey. It could not get any easier. The beautiful thing about roasting a turkey is that it is virtually impossible to screw up. The turkey will be so moist and juicy that it will literally be falling off the bones when you take it out of the roaster. Another benefit is that the roaster frees up the oven so you can bake other things at their proper temperatures.
Organic Turkey
Although hard to find, some people swear that once you go organic, you'll never go back to store brand turkey. Even when prepared in a conventional oven, organic turkey tends to come out juicier and more flavorful. This is due to the freshness of the turkey. It never gets frozen, which is where much flavor tends to get lost. Also, an organically fed bird tends to naturally have more flavorful meat. Organic turkey is generally not sold in local chain super markets. Try butcher shops and natural food stores to see if they are planning on getting a shipment of organic turkey and then reserve one if you can. If that doesn't work, Williams-Sonoma offers fresh organic turkeys through their Internet ordering system. Be prepared to pay more for this level of freshness and flavor, as organic turkeys are in limited supply.
When in Doubt, Order Out
If cooking the Thanksgiving meal is just too daunting, or you absolutely cannot risk any errors, you always have the option of ordering a turkey and have it shipped to your home. Places such as Hickory Farms offer fully cooked Thanksgiving turkeys in addition to all the trimmings. The birds ship frozen but fully cooked. Simply thaw and then pop it in the oven. Nobody will ever know the turkey was not homemade and you can bask in glory as your family members praise your fine culinary skills.
Brine Turkey
One of my favorite secrets to a juicy, delicious turkey is to brine it. Brining means allowing the turkey to marinate in a bath of ingredients consisting of water, salt, vegetable broth, and spices. The brine seeps into the meat while the salt prevents the turkey's natural juices from escaping during cooking, leaving you with a moist, tender turkey packed with flavor. The time needed to brine is dependent on the size of your turkey. Allrecipes is a website that offers free recipes and user reviews. To find the perfect brine recipe for your turkey, simply go to the website and type in "brine" into the search field. Once you've picked out your recipe, you can adjust it to fit the size of your turkey. It's as simple as that. In addition, once the turkey has been cooked, you can use the juices as a base for the gravy.
Roast Turkey
If your main concern is a dry turkey (and who isn't fearful of this), try roasting the turkey instead of cooking it in a conventional oven. This is a very simple solution to a common problem. Although a roaster can take up quite a bit of under cabinet storage space, it is worth its weight in gold. Most roasters come with an instruction booklet and some recipes. Find the recipe for roast turkey and follow the directions. Typically, the directions will consist of telling you what temperature to heat the roaster to, and how to calculate the roasting time based on the weight of your turkey. It could not get any easier. The beautiful thing about roasting a turkey is that it is virtually impossible to screw up. The turkey will be so moist and juicy that it will literally be falling off the bones when you take it out of the roaster. Another benefit is that the roaster frees up the oven so you can bake other things at their proper temperatures.
Organic Turkey
Although hard to find, some people swear that once you go organic, you'll never go back to store brand turkey. Even when prepared in a conventional oven, organic turkey tends to come out juicier and more flavorful. This is due to the freshness of the turkey. It never gets frozen, which is where much flavor tends to get lost. Also, an organically fed bird tends to naturally have more flavorful meat. Organic turkey is generally not sold in local chain super markets. Try butcher shops and natural food stores to see if they are planning on getting a shipment of organic turkey and then reserve one if you can. If that doesn't work, Williams-Sonoma offers fresh organic turkeys through their Internet ordering system. Be prepared to pay more for this level of freshness and flavor, as organic turkeys are in limited supply.
When in Doubt, Order Out
If cooking the Thanksgiving meal is just too daunting, or you absolutely cannot risk any errors, you always have the option of ordering a turkey and have it shipped to your home. Places such as Hickory Farms offer fully cooked Thanksgiving turkeys in addition to all the trimmings. The birds ship frozen but fully cooked. Simply thaw and then pop it in the oven. Nobody will ever know the turkey was not homemade and you can bask in glory as your family members praise your fine culinary skills.
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