How to Make Your First Turkey Perfect
Thanksgiving and Turkey cooking go hand in hand. There can’t be a thanks giving meal without Turkey, and knowing how to make a delicious and moist roast is a must for an everlasting experience. However, it is easier said than done. Roasting a turkey is a sensitive process and the biggest problem is that there so many tips and advices available that you eventually end up ruining the meat, making it dry and crumbly. Roasting a perfect Turkey can however be quite straight forward if you follow some simple steps.
Things Required:
– An independent oven thermometer
– A quick-read thermometer
– A disposable aluminium roasting pan
– Kitchen twine
– Bamboo skewers
– A bulb baster
– Aluminium foil
Instructions
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1
The first step is to buy a freshly butchered turkey. Try not to buy a frozen bird. The Turkey should be big enough to feed the whole family. The size also affects the cooking time. Normally a stuffed 18 pound Turkey will take four and a half hours to cook at 35 degree Fahrenheit.
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2
A few days before cooking check whether your oven is properly calibrated with the help of oven thermometer. The desired temperature is 350 degree Fahrenheit.
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3
The next step is to prepare the stuffing. Select the stuffing you know best and add flavour to it by making gravy of the Turkey gizzards and adding to the stuffing contents. Stuff the body and tail cavity gently. Set the oven to preheat.
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4
Take a long length of kitchen twine and tightly wrap around the body of the turkey so that the wings are secured flat against the body.
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5
The next step involves stitching the two sides of the opening. This is done with the help of a skewer. Then use one length of a kitchen twice to lace around the skewer and another to tie the ends of the turkey legs, thus closing the opening further.
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6
Put the turkey in the roasting tray and apply room temperature butter to the exposed chest part. Salt the top and bottom of the turkey.
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7
Now the roasting process starts. After some time, meat juices will start to accumulate in the roasting pan. Use a bulb baster to suck the juices and then spread it over breast and the legs. The rule of thumb is to roast the turkey thirteen and a half minutes per pound and baste it every 20 minutes.
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8
When the turkey is roasted three fourth of the way, making a triangle with the aluminium foil, place over the breast and continue the process.
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9
When the breast temperature reaches 160 degree Fahrenheit, the Turkey is done.
