The annual turkey post, or, How To Bake Big Bird.

[seanan_mcguire]

Back by popular demand, here is my family's turkey recipe. I share because a) I care, and b) apparently, some people have experienced dryness in their breast meat when cooking their turkeys in another fashion, whereas my mother once set a turkey on fire and still had moist breast meat. Despite the, y'know, flames. Any recipe that can survive

Comments

[saladofdoom]

I usually stuff the turkey with bread things, either cornbread or bread baked on a steel baking sheet flattened out. I put the stuffing spices into the bread or cornbread before baking, bake and dice it the night before, then mix it with stock, giblets etc. If you pull the 'sack' out the night before, you get a better idea as to whether you need to finish the thawing under cold water instead of the 'fridge. It also gives you a chance to turn chicken stock into turkey stock by chopping up the neck and gizzard and simmering those in the chicken stock (or whatever else you have on hand

[seanan_mcguire]

See, I put the neck in the pan, where it basically marinates in ginger broth and becomes a fantastic meat candy bar. But I'm special like that. :)

Your recipe sounds awesome. I shall have to be there when you commit turkey someday.

[wren_chan]

*Cackles* This was as much great for the humour as for the nommable, nommable recipe. If I ever have to roast a turkey instead of just helping, I may well try this.

Thanks!

[seanan_mcguire]

Very welcome!

[jacylrin]

My mother always buys the biggest bird she can find. We try to eat around 5. See you then ;-)

My husband has turned to the deep frying method of cooking turkey (using Alton Brown's setup for safety and sanity). I approve, especially since I only have one oven in my kitchen (unlike Mom, who has 2). Of course, on Thanksgiving we still wind up using my oven as an auxiliary of Mom's kitchen because of the sheer number of people she feeds (and often has to pack up everything to go to her in-laws' house, even though she does most of the cooking--bless her, as her Mother-in-Law fancies herself a gourmet chef, but really isn't that good at basics and usually dessicates everything).

[seanan_mcguire]

I have to approve of cooking methods that occasionally come with bonus pillars of flame. Because really, who doesn't love a good pillar of flame?

[bercilakslady]

Have fun with your turkey! It sounds pretty good, if you like dead animal flesh. :)

[seanan_mcguire]

I do indeed like my dead animal flesh.

[linenoise]

The foil tent is an important addition, and one that I almost forgot about in my preparations for this year's bird. (I'm doing a dry-brined recipe this year. Big Bird has been sitting in my fridge covered in salt since Sunday night.)

Breast meat tends to absorb heat faster than thigh meat, but breast meat also is "done" (and therefore "overdone") at a lower temp. The foil tent slows down the breast so that the thigh can catch up.

Your recipe does sound like deliciousness. Maybe next year.

[seanan_mcguire]

Mmmmmmmmmm, turkey.