Taking Care of Turkey

Here it is November already, and I’m already thinking about the bird. Not sure if I’m going to do one, but I am thinking about. As long as I’ve got bird on the brain, here are some interesting tidbits I came across on how to cook a turkey. It's quite interesting to read the differing perspectives on how to cook the bird. In fact some of the advice is down right contradictory. Try it all the different ways and you decide which works best in your kitchen.

NO SALT, NO BASTING

The bottom line is to not bast it because basting sucks moisture out of the bird. Here's one chef's suggestion on how to cook your thanksgiving turkey.

• Dry the turkey, place in roasting pan on a V-rack. Never put a turkey flat on the pan without a rack or you'll boil it and dry it out instead of roasting it.
• Never use a fork to turn or lift the turkey or any meat, this causes it to lose moisture.

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees, paper towel dry inside and outside of the turkey.
• Brush turkey inside and outside with oil, season, (Remember: No salt, it evaporates moisture).
• Place turkey on V-rack in roasting pan. Remove excess skin around cavity.
• Wedge a metal fork between the backbone and the bottom ribs, keeping the cavity open so the heat reaches the backbone.
• Cover the breasts and legs with Pam/oiled foil.
• Add 4 cups of broth to roasting pan.
• For conventional ovens, cook at 450 to 475 degrees for two hours. Cook for 1 1/2 hours at 425 degrees for convection ovens.
• Remove foil for last 20-25 minutes browning skin.
• Do not baste! Basting breaks caramelization.

The turkey is ready when:

• The turkey is ready at 155 degrees.
• Check temperature through the breast with thermometer, adjust cooking time if needed. There'll be residual cooking for 1/2 hour.
• Rest the turkey 30 minutes before carving. Remove fork, deglaze pan for gravy, salt and pepper to taste after carving.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO SALT? BRINE THAT BIRD!

 Brining means to soak the bird in salt. The premise is that brining locks in juices.

You'll need:

• 2 gallons of water
• 1/2 cup Kosher salt per gallon of water
• 1/2 cup Sugar per gallon of water
• A container large enough to submerge the bird

To brine a turkey, soak it in kosher salt for 4-14 hours. Typically try to brine it at least overnight, which is what the recipe above is for. If it won't fit in the fridge, you can use a clean cooler. After the bird soaks, thoroughly rinse, then it's ready to cook.

Don'ts

• Don't brine prebasted turkeys
• Don't brine if you plan to fry

YEAH, FRY IT!

 A new national poll commissioned by LouAna Peanut Oil and Cajun Injector Marinade shows that 49 percent of adults surveyed have eaten fried turkey, and 28 percent plan to eat fried turkey this holiday season. The survey of 1,000 adults was conducted by the Opinion Research. Last year, a similar survey reported that nearly 39 percent of U.S. adults say they've eaten fried turkey.

It takes just 48 minutes to fry a 12-pound turkey in peanut oil, compared to more than three hours to roast a turkey the traditional way. And the turkey won't be greasy as long as you fry it at a constant 350 degrees F. A Cajun-fried turkey only has 220 calories per serving.

I won't fry chicken, much less a turkey, but my brother does, and boy, is it good!