How do you cook a turkey?

[shrubnose]

Boil it and give it to the dogs and grill some good rib-eyes for the humans.

:lol:

 

[justabubba]

Boil it and give it to the dogs and grill some good rib-eyes for the humans.

:lol:

that is exactly this year's menu
with a side of dressing to go with a baked potato

 

[Riveroaks]

Boil it and give it to the dogs and grill some good rib-eyes for the humans.

:lol:

Steaks are great for midsummer BBQ's and the 4th Of July.

Not at Thanksgiving.

 

[Riveroaks]

Inside a paper grocery bag. We have used this method for over 30 years. the hard part may be to get your hands on a paper bag. You may stuff the bird or not. I usually do both. The turkey needs to be coated with Crisco before being put in the bag. you fold the wings back seal the bag with a stapler and place in roasting pan on a rack. when the turkey is done you tear a hole in the bottom of the bag with a meat fork then use the drippings to make your gravy. The bird browns nicely but is very tender from being steamed in the bag.

Crisco is synthetic lard made from vegetable oil.

I like bacon fat better because it is more flavorful.

Butter is more flavorful too.

Either butter or bacon fat works for me for coating birds before baking them.

 

[ChezC3]

Put the turkey in the roasting pan...add a stick of butter, two inches of chicken broth, coarse chopped celery, carrots and onions. Cook it at 300 degrees, breast covered with foil a while. That's it.

add salt, pepper, and a little thyme and you've got it...

(you may want to start the oven @450 for the first 20 with it uncovered and then reduce temp and add foil to crisp the skin nicely, but the bird on a bed of mirepoix and butter -- you're in the right ballpark)

 

[justabubba]

Boil it and give it to the dogs and grill some good rib-eyes for the humans.

:lol:

your post reminded me of this

 

[shrubnose]

Steaks are great for midsummer BBQ's and the 4th Of July.

Not at Thanksgiving.

Every day is a good day for a one inch thick rib-eye.

:lol:

 

[shrubnose]

your post reminded me of this

View attachment 67192958

You never have to worry about what to do with left-overs when you serve rib-eyes.

 

[Riveroaks]

Every day is a good day for a one inch thick rib-eye.

:lol:

Eating steak like that is going to kill you and you will die younger than otherwise.

I agree that you need a protein meal every day, and for me this means meat not soy protein.

But I prefer to vary the meats:

- white fish like perch, bass, cod, halibut etc.

- salmon, trout, steelhead

- tuna, mackerel

- fresh & saltwater eel

- shellfish

- chicken, duck, goose, turkey

- bacon, pork, ham

- lamb

- veal

- corned beef

- ground steak

- beefsteak.

Traditionally, St. Patrick's Day is corned beef, Easter is lamb, 4th of July is grilled steak, Thanksgiving is a big bird of some kind (my duck is presently thawing in the fridge slowly), and Xmas is a honeybaked ham.

Ground steak is great in chili, sloppy joes, and spaghetti anytime.

Stew meat is great in stews and stroganoffs.

I would get really tired of rib steaks every day, and it would kill me or you.

 

[Dragonfly]

Wife and I just smoked a turkey last yesterday/last night. Smaller bird, bout...12 pounds, maybe? Came out amazing.

What wood did you use?

I tried smoking a turkey breast once and the majority of people who tried it didn't like it so much. Too "smokey". I admit it was one of my first attempts at smoking anything, and I can't recall exactly what wood I used. It might have been hickory.

Since then I've never used anything harsher than cherry, but I don't think I've done Turkey with cherry.

 

[Dragonfly]

I've roasted turkey in oven, I've deep fried them in peanut oil, and I've had variations of turkeys from grills and smokers.
I've brined and injected too.

We have a "self-basting roasting pan" that always always always produces a moist and delicious turkey. Some chicken broth in bottom of pan, entire stick of butter, salt and pepper, stuffing inside the bird, celery, onion.....

Oh how I love the whole friggin day of Thanksgiving. The house smells so good...and the food..........

 

[rhinefire]

I have not eaten turkey probably in 50 years. I never thought it was anything to look forward to and loved instead all the other goodies mom worked her butt off to serve. In fact why not open a franchise restaurant serving nothing but stuffing?!

 

[jimbo]

I don't stuff turkeys, geese, ducks, or chickens.

Your choice. That's what makes America great.

 

[Alyssa T.]

Steaks are great for midsummer BBQ's and the 4th Of July.

Not at Thanksgiving.

I have messed up birds before, so I usually try and fix something non-traditional if I am alone for Thanksgiving. Friends think I am so creative or such a rebel for not doing traditional turkey and all that. Nope. Just an incompetent turkey cook, that's all. Nothing creative about it, really.

 

[shrubnose]

Eating steak like that is going to kill you

and you will die younger than otherwise.

I agree that you need a protein meal every day, and for me this means meat not soy protein.

But I prefer to vary the meats:

- white fish like perch, bass, cod, halibut etc.

- salmon, trout, steelhead

- tuna, mackerel

- fresh & saltwater eel

- shellfish

- chicken, duck, goose, turkey

- bacon, pork, ham

- lamb

- veal

- corned beef

- ground steak

- beefsteak.

Traditionally, St. Patrick's Day is corned beef, Easter is lamb, 4th of July is grilled steak, Thanksgiving is a big bird of some kind (my duck is presently thawing in the fridge slowly), and Xmas is a honeybaked ham.

Ground steak is great in chili, sloppy joes, and spaghetti anytime.

Stew meat is great in stews and stroganoffs.

I would get really tired of rib steaks every day, and it would kill me or you.

"Red meat is not bad for you.

Now blue-green meat, that's bad for you!" ~ Tommy Smothers

:lol:

 

[ReverendHellh0und]

Stuffed with mom's stuffing, slow smoked over Oak and cherry then finished with high heat.


This was from several years ago.

We also do several more breasts with a salt and pepper rub, over oak, and wrapped later in the cook with a a stick of butter.

 

[ReverendHellh0und]

enough of this talk about stove top dressing in a damn box
the dressing (and gravy) comprise the best part of the thanksgiving meal

cornbread dressing recipe

Ingredients
Cornbread (one pone should be enough. one pone is what comes out of one cast iron skillet; see corn bread recipe below)
7 slices oven-dried white bread (equivalent amount of focaccia bread is even better)
1 sleeve saltine crackers
8 tablespoons butter
2 cups celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
7 cups chicken stock (turkey stock if you have already cooked your bird)
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sage
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
5 eggs, beaten

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine crumbled cornbread, dried white bread slices, and saltines; set aside.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook until transparent, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the vegetable mixture over cornbread mixture. Add the stock, mix well, taste, and add salt, pepper to taste, sage, and poultry seasoning. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Reserve 2 heaping tablespoons of this mixture for the giblet gravy. Pour mixture into a greased pan and bake until dressing is cooked through, about 45 minutes.


and hell no, dont even think about using cornbread made from a box. try this instead:

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 cup creamed corn
2 tablespoons bacon grease

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet into the oven such that it becomes oven temperature.

In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and creamed corn, whisking together to combine thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine.

Swirl the bacon grease in the hot cast iron skillet to coat the area where the cornbread will bake. Pour the batter into the skillet. Bake until the cornbread is golden brown and springs back upon the touch, about 20 minutes.

final unsolicited cooking tip: ALWAYS brine poultry. how hard is it to stick a bird in a pot of cold water to which you have added a scoop of salt. let it sit for 5 minutes. ensures juicy, moist meat


Canada John, wish i had your turkey cooking times 30 years ago - my first attempt at cooking t-day dinner. what a disaster that was

far too complicated.


sautee onions in butter, thyme and white pepper, salt.

decrust wonder bread and break it up.


mix it, stuff the bird with it.



There is no better stuffing.

 

[VanceMack]

I've had three deep fried turkeys. Two were sooo dry! The last one was brined and injected. That one was delicious.

The trick is in the heat of the oil, type of oil and really, the size of the bird. But injection is a must for fried birds.

 

[Riveroaks]

I have messed up birds before, so I usually try and fix something non-traditional if I am alone for Thanksgiving. Friends think I am so creative or such a rebel for not doing traditional turkey and all that. Nope. Just an incompetent turkey cook, that's all. Nothing creative about it, really.

A turkey or goose is a huge bird. Too much meat for one person.

A duck or a chicken is perfect.

You can google on ALL-RECIPES how to cook them based on size and weight.

That's what I always do. Google is one of my best resources, as is WIKI and so forth.

Leftovers from chicken or duck taste good as mayo sandwiches too. That's where you chop up the cold meat and mix it with mayo, sea salt, and ground black pepper, and spread it on fresh sweet French bread. Yum !!!

 

[Riveroaks]

Your choice. That's what makes America great.

I normally do not encourage people with the philosophy about freedom (which originated with John Locke in the early 1700's) to do things that are risky.

Stuffing a bird carries all sorts of contamination and bacterial infection risk with it.

Better to bake the "stuffing" as a separate loaf in the oven.

 

[MaggieD]

A turkey or goose is a huge bird. Too much meat for one person.

A duck or a chicken is perfect.

You can google on ALL-RECIPES how to cook them based on size and weight.

That's what I always do. Google is one of my best resources, as is WIKI and so forth.

We live about 15 minutes from a Sam's Club. Their famous loss leader is a rotisserie chicken for $4.99. It's brined and lightly seasoned. Heck, you can hardly buy a decent sized fryer for $5. I miss cooking them myself, but, frankly, Sam's is as good or better because of the brine.

 

[Riveroaks]

We live about 15 minutes from a Sam's Club. Their famous loss leader is a rotisserie chicken for $4.99. It's brined and lightly seasoned. Heck, you can hardly buy a decent sized fryer for $5. I miss cooking them myself, but, frankly, Sam's is as good or better because of the brine.

Safeway Food Stores (recently acquired by Albertsons Inc) also does that too.

They bake anything that is about to expire for date of sale requirement, and that grabs the attention of the last minute shoppers who don't have time to cook.

A baked chicken like that costs the same as one uncooked.

Therefore they are breaking even with the 50% markup covering the labor to bake and wrap it.

So I would not call it a loss leader at Safeway, and I am guessing Sam's does the same.

For precooked chicken I still like KFC !!!

 

[Alyssa T.]

A turkey or goose is a huge bird. Too much meat for one person.

A duck or a chicken is perfect.

You can google on ALL-RECIPES how to cook them based on size and weight.

That's what I always do. Google is one of my best resources, as is WIKI and so forth.

Leftovers from chicken or duck taste good as mayo sandwiches too. That's where you chop up the cold meat and mix it with mayo, sea salt, and ground black pepper, and spread it on fresh sweet French bread. Yum !!!

I would never cook a turkey for myself. No way. That is way too much food for me. I have trouble finishing a turkey sandwich by myself, let alone a whole bird. Unfortunately, in the past, friends wanted to do big dinners like this and I found myself around the stove with a bird. No good.

You know that saying about too many cooks in the kitchen? Yeah, times like that I was the "too many." Maybe someday. If not, I'll just have lasagna or something for Thanksgiving. It's all good.

 

[Riveroaks]

I would never cook a turkey for myself. No way. That is way too much food for me. I have trouble finishing a turkey sandwich by myself, let alone a whole bird. Unfortunately, in the past, friends wanted to do big dinners like this and I found myself around the stove with a bird. No good.

You know that saying about too many cooks in the kitchen? Yeah, times like that I was the "too many." Maybe someday. If not, I'll just have lasagna or something for Thanksgiving. It's all good.

I love lasagna too !!!

 

[KevinKohler]

What wood did you use?

I tried smoking a turkey breast once and the majority of people who tried it didn't like it so much. Too "smokey". I admit it was one of my first attempts at smoking anything, and I can't recall exactly what wood I used. It might have been hickory.

Since then I've never used anything harsher than cherry, but I don't think I've done Turkey with cherry.

Maple. And we only smoked the bottom half. To smoke the breast, you gotta brine it first. Cut in behind the leg and thigh, across both sides, and that entire portions pulls away. Do the breast in the oven, and all the dark meat in the smoker.