Well, it is that time of year again. It is time to throw on a few layers of clothes, grab the rifle and head to the woods for a cold day of tracking and hunting for you holiday feast. Oh, wait a minute. That is not how it is done these days. You are looking for cooking turkey tips, or turkey cooking tips, right? OK, it is time to put down the remote control, get off the sofa, and head to the supermarket to buy your holiday turkey. For those who have never roasted one of the giant birds, the task might seem daunting. No worries, it is actually easy. Of course, the first step is to buy the bird. I guess you already figured that one out. OK, now it gets easier than you expected. If the turkey has been frozen, it will take 24 hours of defrosting in the refrigerator for every five pounds of weight. The fridge is the safest way to defrost. Use a shallow roasting pan. A dark pan is better than a shiny one, because the dark pan will cook the turkey faster. Cover that bad boy with butter. Do not be shy, because this is the holiday season. If you want to stuff it, then stuff it, but do so just before you put the bad boy in the oven, because you do not want the bacteria. Put a triple layer of aluminum foil under the bird on the roasting pan. OK, here are some choices for you. Do not freak out, please! You can cover the bird or not cover the bird. You can cover it with a lid to the pan. You can bag it in a roasting bag. It is not recommended that you use a paper shopping bag, because most are recycled these days. That is good for the environment over all, but we do not know what will go in our bad boy bird. You can make a tent out of aluminum foil, but that will add more cooking time. Or, you can just let it all hang out and put the bird in the oven naked. You get to decide, because this is your crisis, not mine. Stick a thermometer in the bird before you put him, or her, in the oven. That is the best way to know if he, or she, is fully cooked. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and cook the bird at that temperature or higher. You can find all sorts of different advice about how long you should cook a turkey. The equation is usually so many hours per pound. But it varies, so ask your butcher. She or he knows everything. Last step is to pull the perfectly cooked, delicious holiday turkey out of the oven, and enjoy. I told you this would be easy. Now you have turkey cooking tips, and cooking turkey tips. So, chill out, you did it! |
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