Cooking Weblog

Here are some helpful hints to keep in mind when its time to make that fabulous Thanksgiving turkey. I will have a recipe for a great bird but unfortunately It won’t be out until after Thanksgiving… darn! Well, I won’t be cooking it until that special day. Anyway, here are some things to keep in mind.

It all starts when you go to the store to buy your bird. You will probably see a lot of different types such as organic, free range, fresh and frozen to name a few. Lets look at these a little closer to figure out what kind to get.

A free range turkey is one that is allowed to roam around and eat whatever it can find. They are let out of their cage hence making it a “free range” bird. They have food in their cage to begin with as required by law and will normally stay close to that. Since there can be predators out on the open range, they really don’t travel too far away from the safety of their cage and why should they, easy access to food is right there so the flavor of this bird is similar to any other and these can come either fresh or frozen.

An organic bird is one that is not injected with steroids or antibiotics and eats organic ( pesticide and chemical free ) feed. These can tend to be a little more pricey and are a little smaller. These can also come fresh or frozen. The flavor will be a little different, slightly more gamy.

A fresh turkey is one that has not been frozen. It goes directly from the farm to the store. The thing is, they can and usually are thrown around which can cause bruising which is not good for the meat. Another thing is that even though it is classed as fresh, you really don’t know how fresh unless you look at the date in which it was packaged which hopefully was done right after slaughter.

The way I go is with a frozen bird. This type is usually flash frozen right on the farm to ensure maximum freshness. It can also be thrown around safely without any bruising because it is frozen. It is usually cheaper than the others but just as tasty.

If you do buy a frozen turkey there are two safe ways to thaw it out. DO NOT leave it on the counter! By the time the middle of it thaws the outside will have more than enough time to grow bacteria because it will be in what is called the “danger zone”. The danger zone is the temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees. This is ideal temperature for germs and bacteria to grow… we don’t want that. The safest way to thaw your bird is in the refrigerator, it’ll take roughly two to four days to thaw depending on the size but this will ensure that no bacteria can grow. The other safe way is to place the bird ( still in the wrapper ) in a clean sink or bucket and run cold water ( just a trickle will do ) over it. You want to continuously run the water though. Just filling the bucket or sink up and turning it off will allow bacteria to form in the water so keep it running. This will take a few hours or more, also depending on the size of your bird.

Cooking your bird? There are different ways to cook the bird, deep fried is really good but you have to know what you are doing. You can easily start a fire if you are not careful which will ruin your whole day. Lets just stick to the traditional way, roasting.

The first thing you might want to do after thoroughly washing it is to season your bird. I like to use a brine which is basically to submerge it in a solution of salt, some type of sugar and water. You can add anything you like after this so have fun. Another way is to season the outside of the bird or under the skin. I like the brine because the flavors penetrate deep into the meat and add moisture making for a juicier turkey. Typically with a brine you will want to soak the bird for at least 8 hours and up to a day. A lot of people like to rub the skin with butter which is fine as long as you keep basting it otherwise you can end up with spots. This is because of the solids in the butter which tend to cling to part of the skin but doesn’t coat evenly. Rubbing it with oil will allow for a more even browning of the skin. Another technique to get that golden brown skin is to start cooking the bird on high heat, around 500 degrees for about 1/2 hour then reduce the heat to about 350 degrees. This will kind of separate the skin from the meat so it can crisp up easier.

Should I stuff my turkey? I don’t recommend stuffing your bird. This is where you can have some problems. In order for the bird to be cooked thoroughly it must reach at least 165 degrees internal temperature. This is normally checked by inserting a thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. When you stuff a bird you change where you need to insert the thermometer. It now needs to be inserted into the middle of the stuffing and by the time the stuffing reaches 165 degrees your bird will be overcooked and dry, not good. Some of you might be wondering why the stuffing has to reach 165 degrees and the answer is that all of the uncooked juices of the turkey will be absorbed by your stuffing. Those juices need to reach 165 degrees. You can stuff your bird, but with things you will discard after cooking like onions, garlic cloves, citrus fruit and fresh herbs. You will also want to pull your turkey out of the oven at around 150 to 155 degrees and cover it. This is called carry over cooking meaning that as the juices redistribute back into the meat the temperature will rise so you will end up with an internal temperature of 165 degrees. If you like the presentation of the stuffing inside your bird I recommend stuffing your bird with a cooked stuffing after your turkey has been cooked. This will eliminate any question of harmful bacteria.

How do I carve my turkey? I know most of you will probably slice the meat right off the bird starting usually with the breast meat. If you notice which way the grains of the meat go you’ll see this isn’t the best choice. You always want to slice against the grain. The best way to slice a turkey really is to cut the whole breasts off and then slice it into pieces. The same goes for the legs and wings.

I hope this will help some of you when turkey day arrives and that your Thanksgiving will be full of joy and happiness. Take care and HAPPY COOKING!

David

One Stop Cook