Cooking Tips for Cooking a Turkey
August 13, 2009 by Patricia
Filed under Cooking Tips
Cooking a turkey is pretty easy once you know what you’re doing. These tips for cooking a turkey will make everything go smoothly.
Tip #1 for Cooking A Turkey – Plan Ahead.
The truth is, it can be difficult to cook a turkey on short notice. You need to plan ahead if you want to cook a whole turkey. Frozen turkeys are available year-round, but a frozen turkey takes a couple days to thaw, depending on how much they weigh.
Fresh turkeys can be cooked the same day you buy them, but in the U.S. you can only get fresh turkeys the week before the Thanksgiving holiday – unless you ask your grocer or meat market to order a bird especially for you.
If all else fails and you must have a turkey right away, you are best advised to buy a smoked turkey. A smoked turkey is fully cooked when you buy it, and all you have to do is heat it up and serve.
Tip #2 for Cooking a Turkey – Use a Meat Thermometer
Turkeys come in a variety of different sizes and ovens work in varying levels of efficiency. Eating raw turkey can make you and your guests very, very sick, so use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the meat is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit before you remove the bird from the oven. Insert the meat thermometer in the deepest part of the breast or thigh.
Tip #3 for Cooking a Turkey – Skip the Stuffing
Stuffing that’s cooked inside the bird is very tasty, because it has been soaked in turkey fat; but it is unhealthy for the same reason and there are issues with bacteria when you cook the stuffing inside the bird.
A turkey cooks faster without stuffing and it is easier to maneuver because it’s lighter in weight when the stuffing goes into a separate casserole dish.. Stuff the turkey cavity with a bouquet garni, a bundle of herbs, or stuff it with aromatic root vegetables like sweet onions and carrots to add flavor while cooking. Discard the herbs and vegetables when you carve and eat the bird.
Tip #4 for Cooking a Turkey – Use a Cooking Bag
You can use a turkey baster to keep pouring hot juices all over the turkey, but a safer, more efficient way to guarantee that your turkey stays moist, is to put the whole bird in a cooking bag. All the moisture will be trapped in the bag, making it almost impossible for the turkey to dry out.
Tip #5 for Cooking a Turkey – Let the Bird Sit
After you take the turkey out of the oven, the interior of the turkey will continue to cook for a short time after you remove it from the heat source. Don’t try to carve the turkey until all the juices have settled – usually about 20 to 30 minutes after the turkey is removed from the heat source.
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