Never cooked a Turkey....help

[Tommy1010]

Were having our first thanksgiving at house this year.

I never made a turkey from start to finish. Any help with prep work is appreciated. I can always ask family members. but that kills the suprise if i need help cooking when Im inviting everyone for my food.

What i do know is:
*thaw for a few days.
*remove insides and wash thoroughly.
*set oven to 350*f
*stuff the bird with stuffing or veggies
*line roasting pan with either foil to wrap bird later, or coat pan with olive oil.
*baste every 15 - 20 min.
*cook for about 3 - 4 hrs until thickest part is 180* inside.
*remove cover to brown outside
* let sit for 15 - 20 min before carving.

seasonings are a personal preference so thats not a problem. But just getting the friggin thing set up is my issue.

[Green Mountain]

For Thanksgiving we always go to my sister's house.

But for Christmas I am nominated to deep fry the turkey Cajun style. It is far more easier and tastier to cook the bird in the yard. When deep frying you thraw the bird. Rub it down with cayene pepper and salt.

Get the peanut oil up to 350*F. Dip in the bird and cook it 4 mins to the pound.

(Oven cooking takes 20 mins to the pound.)

[TomHVAC]

sounds like you are ahead of where i was the first time i tried. a suggestion, try using a roasting bag or roaster with the breast down and forgo the basting. if you want the skin brown, a few minutes at 450 breast side up out of the bag or with the top off the roaster will do the trick.

[Some Dude]

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1951060&pid=CSE_Froogle&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku1765167

Is what i use, turkeys also come with directions, get the stuff out of them, rub them down with some olive oil etc and rock on.
Even i can do it.

[pageyjim]

Were having our first thanksgiving at house this year.

I never made a turkey from start to finish. Any help with prep work is appreciated. I can always ask family members. but that kills the suprise if i need help cooking when Im inviting everyone for my food.

What i do know is:
*thaw for a few days.
*remove insides and wash thoroughly.
*set oven to 350*f
*stuff the bird with stuffing or veggies
*line roasting pan with either foil to wrap bird later, or coat pan with olive oil.
*baste every 15 - 20 min.
*cook for about 3 - 4 hrs until thickest part is 180* inside.
*remove cover to brown outside
* let sit for 15 - 20 min before carving.

seasonings are a personal preference so thats not a problem. But just getting the friggin thing set up is my issue.

While stuffing the turkey may taste better care has to be taken because you may not cook it enough and can get sick. You can always cook the stuffing in a sererate pan.

165 degrees should be fine. 180 might be a little dry.

[tipsrfine]

Breast side down in the oven with one of those v shaped racks that fit into the pan, and put the bird in an oven bag. Did one like that last year and the breast meat was so tender that I could slice it really thin and it still held together-like deli sliced turkey.

[dandyme]

go to the butterball site


or get a fryer..................it's easier

[Wendo]

Another thing that is good is to take the meat after it is cooked and put it in a slow cooker with some cream of chicken soup!!

[fgp6889]

FRY!!!! thats my vote, once you have it that way its hard to even go back to the oven.

[A/C guy's chick]

This year hubby is putting the turkey on the spit ( rotisserie) He makes the best bird on charcoal I have ever eaten. It leaves me the oven for other things like green bean casserole and rolls and stuffing and sweet potatoes and and and ..mouth watering desserts ! yum..love his cooking man style !

[oldplanemech]

DEEP FRY IT!

[snupytcb]

i usually cook it on the grill. it's easy(and another reason to drink beer). i brine it over night and put it on the grill about 10 am. just try to maintain 375-400 deg for around 7 hours. the only real maintenence needed is refueling the charcoal and watching the temp. i will inject the legs with brine or something a few times so they don't get dry.also, keep it loosely covered untill the last hour or so. if it has not browned melt some butter and corn syrup, brush it on and turn the heat up a little. let it cook uncovered untill you get the color you want.

[heaterman]

Stuffing is fine with smaller birds but care is needed to make sure you don't poison your Holiday guests. Deep frying has become my favorite method, faster, and the meat stays moist, plus the variety of injectable flavorings is endless.

[hvacker]

Anton Brown has his recipie on Food Network. He does good stuff.

[flange]

rub it with some olive oil, spice it up with salt and pepper, turn it upside down and cook it slow on low heat, no more than 350. build a foil tent around it for most of the cooking time and open up at end, maybe last half hour. keep pan wet. no big deal.

if frying, go in slowly and dont overfill the oil.

[DavyB]

Were having our first thanksgiving at house this year.

I never made a turkey from start to finish. Any help with prep work is appreciated. I can always ask family members. but that kills the suprise if i need help cooking when Im inviting everyone for my food.

What i do know is:
*thaw for a few days.
*remove insides and wash thoroughly.
*set oven to 350*f
*stuff the bird with stuffing or veggies
*line roasting pan with either foil to wrap bird later, or coat pan with olive oil.
*baste every 15 - 20 min.
*cook for about 3 - 4 hrs until thickest part is 180* inside.
*remove cover to brown outside
* let sit for 15 - 20 min before carving.

seasonings are a personal preference so thats not a problem. But just getting the friggin thing set up is my issue.
get a wife.

But if you want it done right. Deep fry that sucka. Go to Lowes and they have a kit for it. If you've never had a deep fried turkey, this will blow you away. One side note: Start drinking after the turkey has been in for awhile. NOT BEFORE! (don't use a frozen turkey) follow the instructions!

[t527ed]

While stuffing the turkey may taste better care has to be taken because you may not cook it enough and can get sick. You can always cook the stuffing in a sererate pan.

165 degrees should be fine. 180 might be a little dry.


have heard stuffing from the bird could make you sick but have never had a problem from it. if your worried about it you could remove stuffing while turkey is resting and put it in the oven in a pan.

165° at the thigh, not touching bone is perfect temp.