Official Turkey Cooking Helpful Hint Thread

W

WhoseHouse

250+ Posts
Since my husband and I have to host Thanksgiving at our home for my first time, I took it upon myself to start the first turkey thread for this year. We can include helpful hints and recipes for other dishes, too. I think we are going to brine and fry the turkey so anything pertaining to that is particularly appreciated.
We can start with this: Where should I buy the turkey? I'd like an all natural, free-range type bird, not sitting in salt water and preservatives, preferably. Also, for about 15 people, how much bird do I need? Should I get one big one or a couple medium ones? Please keep in mind that I have never cooked a turkey (or anything for 15 people, for that matter) so my knowledge is very limited, if not non-existent.
 
I am a big fan of the pre-brined free range organic turkeys from Central Market. I prefer to get one large bird rather than two smaller birds myself. I've done various brining recipes in the past but had one disaster where the brining bag leaked and that pretty much ended it for me! You'll want at least a 15 pounder for leftovers. If it was me (I love cheddar biscuit leftover turkey pot pie) I'd go for a 20+ lbs.
 
Best way to brine a big turkey: buy a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot, submerge turkey and place something heavy on top to keep the turkey from floating (a bowl works well for this). Then, place the bucket in your refrigerator (you'll probably have to take out a shelf or two).

I prefer to smoke mine vs. frying. But, the key is brine. Prevents your turkey from getting dried out.
 
I brined last year. Honestly, I didn't think the turkey turned out any better than using a bag-- I think they're called boilin bags?-- to cook it in, and brining was a massive pain in the ***.

I love to make my turkey w/ fresh rosemary, butter, and honey under the skin. Toss some rosemary and garlic in the middle and cook em in the bag.

WH-- I'd suggest you make two turkeys, one fried and one conventional. I figure w/ that big of a crowd, you'll have someone who doesn't like fried, (I know I don't.)

Also, if you're going to make the dressing, you need to cook the cornbread 4-5 days in advance to give it time to dry out.

Make your life easier by doing as much prep work ahead of time as possible-- chop the onions, celery, etc.

I heart thanksgiving!!
 
Many moons ago, I was dating a girl who roasted turkey this way. She would take a hand towel and soak it in oil. I don't know if she would squeeze out the excess. She would then cover the turkey in the oil soaked towel and roast it that way. I have never seen anyone else do this and I have never tried it myself.
 
I've brined turkeys for years and have a pretty easy way to do it. I put the turkey in a plastic bag and put it in a cooler. Add ice all around the outside of the plastic bag enclosed turkey, then add the brine inside the plastic bag and tie it off. It has no problem staying cold for the ~12 hours of brine time and clean-up is a snap.

wrt brining:

"The salt has two effects on poultry, reports Dr. Alan Sams, a professor of poultry science at Texas A & M University. "It dissolves protein in muscle, and the salt and protein reduce moisture loss during cooking. This makes the meat juicer, more tender, and improves the flavor. The low levels of salt enhance the other natural flavors of poultry."" source link
 
Real off topic, but I would like to smoke a bird this year for my roommates and myself of course, any advice on time or any other hints? Im assuming a temp between 250-300 should be right.
 
I think I have tried cooking turkeys every way possible with some pretty good results.

I once saw a gal take a store bought whole bird (like a butterball) rub it with vegetable oil, salt and pepper, stuff it into an oven bag, bake it for however long the wrapping said to. It might have been the best turkey I ever had.

I still brine and fry or brine and smoke. I feel foolish every time I do though thinking how little time she spent and how good it was.
 
WhoseHouse, the turkey advice below is from Cook's Illustrated, perhaps the definitive source for turkey roasting. I've used this recipe for years with excellent results.

Preparing a holiday meal for a large group is a big job. One of the main things we've learned is to prepare as much food as you can in the days leading up to event. If you can get to the point where you're just finishing the final steps for dishes then you'll have it under control. BTW, consider an online subscription to Cook's Illustrated. They are by far the best source of truly tested recipes that we've found and with an online subscription you'll get access to all their archives. Everything we've ever made from their library has been excellent. I definitely recommend it if you are entertaining challenged like we are.
----------------------
The Last Word on Roast Turkey

Since we introduced the brined turkey in 1993, we have tested dozens of techniques for producing the perfect Thanksgiving bird. Here's what really works.
The Problem: Big birds and small birds, kosher birds and self-basting birds. With all of these choices--and more--on the market, how can the home cook make the right choice and then cook it properly?

The Goal: We wanted to present one straightforward recipe that would be flexible enough to accommodate all of the choices open to the cook when roasting a turkey.

The Solution: Our recipe allows for a brined or an unbrined turkey (we found you should never brine a kosher or self-basting bird, as they'll become too salty), and for a turkey brined in four hours or overnight (the shorter the soak, the saltier the brine). It also provides timing and temperature guidelines for small (12- to 15-pound), medium (15- to 18-pound), and large (18- to 22-pound) birds (large birds get a hotter oven to start out then a cooler oven to let them cook through without burning the skin).


Roasted Brined Turkey
We offer two brine formulas: one for a 4- to 6-hour brine and another for a 12- to 14-hour brine. The amount of salt used in each brine does not change with turkey size. If you’re roasting a kosher or self-basting turkey, do not brine it; it already contains a good amount of sodium. Rotating the bird from a breast-side down position to a breast-side up position midway through cooking helps to produce evenly cooked dark and white meat. If you’re roasting a large (18- to 22-pound) bird and are reluctant to rotate it, skip the step of lining the V-rack with foil and roast the bird breast-side up for the full time. If making gravy, scatter 1 cup each of coarsely chopped onion, celery, and carrot as well as several fresh thyme sprigs in the roasting pan at the outset; add 1 cup water to keep the vegetables from burning.


Serves 10 to 22, depending on turkey size
table salt
1 turkey (12 to 22 pounds gross weight), rinsed thoroughly, giblets and neck reserved for gravy, if making
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted


1. Dissolve 1 cup salt per gallon cold water for 4- to 6-hour brine or 1/2 cup salt per gallon cold water for 12- to 14-hour brine in large stockpot or clean bucket. Two gallons of water will be sufficient for most birds; larger birds may require three gallons. Add turkey and refrigerate for predetermined amount of time.

2. Before removing turkey from brine, adjust oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 400 degrees for 12- to 18-pound bird or 425 degrees for 18- to 22-pound bird. Line large V-rack with heavy-duty foil and use paring knife or skewer to poke 20 to 30 holes in foil; set V-rack in large roasting pan.

3. Remove turkey from brine and rinse well under cool running water. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Tuck tips of drumsticks into skin at tail to secure, and tuck wing tips behind back. Brush turkey breast with 2 tablespoons butter. Set turkey breast-side down on prepared V-rack; brush back with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Roast 45 minutes for 12- to 18-pound bird or 1 hour for 18- to 22-pound bird.

4. Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven (close oven door to retain oven heat); reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees if roasting 18- to 22-pound bird. Using clean potholders or kitchen towels, rotate turkey breast-side up; continue to roast until thickest part of breast registers 165 degrees and thickest part of thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 50 to 60 minutes longer for 12- to 15-pound bird, about 1 1/4 hours for 15- to 18-pound bird, or about 2 hours longer for 18- to 22-pound bird. Transfer turkey to carving board; let rest 30 minutes (or up to 40 minutes for 18- to 22-pound bird). Carve and serve.
 
Everything you need to know about smoking a turkey. I've found this brine works just as well and is easier than the one listed on this thread.
Apple Juice Turkey Brine
1 gallon apple juice, chilled
3/4 cup Morton's Kosher Salt
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

Takes about 2 batches to cover a turkey, depending on the size of your container. A 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot/Lowes is a good choice if you don't go the trashbag in a cooler route.
 
after being a guest for 40 yrs, i started hosting thanksgiving at my house 5 yrs ago. the most intimidating part was the turkey. at first i used to have a local bbq joint smoke them for me, but the last 3 yrs i have brined and baked in the oven and they have been the best turkeys i have had anywhere. i use an ice chest, rosemary, allspice, peppercorns, apple juice, orange juice, bay leaves. it makes all the difference in the world.

its also the only time i ever use a meat thermometer. usually takes 4-5 hrs, but i like to stop at 155, cooler than some recommend but i am no fan of a dry turkey. i also use a rub that emeril came up with about 3 yrs ago that has some molasses and herbs in it.
 
Ok here is my plan, please review and post any changes/suggestions.

Get 2 10-12 lb turkeys (for 15 people)
Brine overnight (1/2 cup salt per gallon of water) in cold ice chest
Let dry and come to room temp
Rub with spice mixture (pepper, garlic, rosemary, etc, but no salt)
Fry

Am I missing anything??
 
brine it...

put the turkey into a kitchen trash bag I like to use half ice and half cold water in the brine and mix the salt completely before pouring in the brine. We like to put in whole garlic cloves and some taragon with the brine. Put the turkey, brine solution and ice into the kitchen trach bag. tie it off SECURELY. Put the whole bag inside another kitchen size trash bag and tie it off, then toss it into the cooler with some additional ice in the cooler. I like to freeze a milk bottle of water and put it in the cooler so that my cleanup is complete when I pull the kitchen bag out of the cooler.

Rub with butter and roesmary under the skin and place taragon and some small onions in the body cavity and cook it up. rub the skin with olive oil for a nice browning. Tent with foil until the last hour and and a half.

use the thigh for your temp probe and BARELY hit the temp mark for perfection. by the time the thigh is to temp the rest of the bird is past temp.
 
If you cook your turkey in an oven bag you do not have to mess with brining. I have had both and the one out of the bag is always better plus you get about 6 to 8 cups of the best turkey broth from that bag than you have ever tasted.

Just cut up some large chunks of onion and celery and place them in the bag. Set seasoned turkey on top of the celery and onion and bake according to the directions. It will be the best turkey you ever ate.
 
Putting butter under the skin of a fried bird is probably a waste. Supposedly keeps it most if you are roasting it in the oven, but I don't see a need if you are frying it. Just put the rub on the outside of the bird. I always just inject the turkeys I fry but if you are brining it, probably not a need to inject. Good luck.

One good thing to do is take a head of garlic apart and fry the individual cloves a few at a time. They are damn good to eat while you are drinking beer and standing around the fryer.
 
Well, I followed my plan (brine for 12 hours, let sit and dry for 8+ hours, rub seasoning all over, fry) and my turkey wasn't bad by any means, but it was also not any more moist than the other turkey which we didn't brine, only injected. Neither turkey tasted like the spices that we rubbed on/injected.

How did everyone else's turkeys turn out? The only thing I can think of is maybe I didn't have enough salt in the brine (1/2 cup per gallon).
 
That strength of brine was on the light side, but should have been enough. Seasoning rubbed on the outside doesn't do much at all as you discovered. (Been there, tried that.)

I used the Cook's Illustrated cut up turkey technique I mentioned previously and several people said (unsolicited) that it was the best turkey they'd ever had. I'd have to agree. I've tried for years to make the perfect turkey (after years of tolerating dry white meat). After trying every technique you can imagine, I don't know if turkey could be any more moist, flavorful, and tender than this recipe produced. My wife was skeptical, but she's completely sold now. I am now finished trying to improve my turkey. This recipe produces the perfect turkey as far as I'm concerned.
 
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