Turkey Help......How do I make My turkey juicy and tender....?

Question

I am making a turkey for My in-laws and I want to seriously impress. How would I make My turkey tender and juicy and knock thier socks off??? PLease help

Answer 1

The first person to answer your question had the right idea...brining. A brined turkey stays moist and tasty. Alton Brown's recipe from the Food Network is excellent.

Good Eats Roast Turkey Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Yield: 10 to 12 servings

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.



Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Answer 2

Todays turkey have a love of water already infused into them so more than likely your turkey will be juicy and tender...that is unless you cook the crap out of it.
There a lot of good non-traditonal turkey recipes at foodnetwork.com

Answer 3

Succulent Roast Turkey

Brining turkey makes it more succulent, more tender and well-seasoned throughout. I offer two curing procedures, one for those who've got the space to wet-cure the whole bird in the refrigerator, and a wet-then-dry method where refrigerator space is limited. The first method yields the very best results, but the second method still makes startlingly juicy, tasty roast turkey.

1 fresh 15-pound tom turkey

For the brine:

1 cup salt

1 cup sugar

1 gallon cool water
Dissolve salt and sugar in water.

Best method:
Rinse and dry turkey, place in brine to cover. Cure in the refrigerator 4 to 5 days.

If-you-don't-have-room-in-the-refrigerator-for-a-turkey-sized-bucket-full-of-brine method: Place turkey in brine to cover and leave at room temperature 10 to12 hours. Pour off the brine, place bird in a pan or on a deep platter, tent with plastic and place in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. (This produces a less complete cure than the first method.)

To roast:
Rinse the turkey inside and out, dry thoroughly inside and out, then leave at room temperature for an hour or two. (I call this "tempering" the bird—moderating its temperature—before you roast it. This helps it cook more evenly and rapidly. In any roasting operation, the outer sections tend to overcook as the heat reaches the center. But if you arrange for the center to be 10 degrees warmer than refrigerator temp before you start oven roasting, you minimize this effect.) Note: don't "temper" a stuffed bird.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Answer 4

Ideally it would help if you had a fan-assisted oven and then you would not need to fret. However, if conventional, my maxim is to cook long and low and baste very regularly.

It will also help if you have stuffed the bird's cavities. It does not have to be with stuffing, just apples, oranges etc to infuse flavour and impart moisture.

An important matter which most people forget however, is to start the thing cooking breast side down and afterward turn it legs up - it makes a difference, believe me!

Answer 5

Use a turkey bag, clear plastic bag to cook a turkey in. You can buy them in the grocerystore. Keep the meat covered at all times once you carve it. Turkey meat dries out with exposure to air, especially when very hot, the juices will steam off.

Answer 6

Buy a fresh never frozen turkey
let it rest for 30 minutes before carving
dont stuff it

Answer 7

I buy Honeysuckle turkeys and follow the directions on the package...only I baste with a combo of melted margarine, parsley, oregano, garlic pepper, & paprika. I usually put in a little stuffing (I cook the rest in a pan). Hasn't failed me in 18 years. good luck....have fun & don't stress to hard with it. The turkey isn't the hard part....the trick of a great dinner is all in the timming!

Answer 8

Go to Food Tv. com and look under Alton Brown for how to make the best tasting turkey. He teaches you how to brine it and bake it in the correct manner so it doesn't dry out. i heard frying also works well too.

Answer 9

Get one of those 'flavor-injector' thingys and squirt some yummy juice into your turkey! Believe me, it works!
oh, try making some cranberry sauce to go with it, it'll add to the flavor.

Good Luck!

Answer 10

I usually put a cut up lemon and onion inside my turkey and it helps add flavor and moisture.