How do i cook a turkey?

Question

So it's my partents 40th anniversary this thanksgiving so my siblings and i divided up the thanksgiving menu so my mother wouldn't have to step one foot into the kitchen. I however got stuck with the turkey.My question is, how do i season it and keep it from drying out?

Answer 1

Go get a Reynolds bake in bag (in the same isle as the foil, etc) in your grocery store. Follow the directions on the box for the size of your turkey. These bags are GREAT!! I have never had a dried out turkey using them. Happy Thanksgiving and relax, you will do great.

Answer 2

I highly recommend those Reynolds turkey bags, you don't have to baste and it won't dry out! Check out the isle with the aluminum foil, zip loc bags, ect. Also, don't put stuffing in the turkey, by the time the stuffing is at just the right tempurature to be safe to eat the turkey is completely dried out.

First, defrost the turkey completely and clean out with lots of cold water. Place on rack and cover with poultry seasoning, oregano, and any other spice you like and think would go well. Some people even cut under the skin and stuff between the meat an skin spices, but that's more advanced.

Next, cover the entire turkey with a very generous amount of unsalted butter, let the butter sit out until it gets to room tempurature so it's easy to spread. This will displace your seasonings a bit and you may need to reseason. Place in the bag, follow the directions for the bag, and place in baking pan in the oven until 165 degrees at 325. I believe it works out to about 15 to 20 minutes per pound. You may even want to cook it upside down for the first 3/4 of the time so all of the juices go to the breast meat and it's super moist. The last hour or so turn right side up (by flipping the bag) to brown the rest of the skin.

Let the turkey sit for 20 minutes when done, if you cut into it too soon after out of the oven all of the juices will just leak out. Good luck!

Answer 3

Easy enough. Go get a baking bag big enough to fit your turkey with room to expand. Rule of thumb...1 hour for every 4 lbs. of meat. Butter the little guy really well. Either fill the body cavity with stuffing or just bread seasoned with poultry seasoning. If you use stuffing, fill him up, then use the heel of a loaf of bread to hold the stuffing in. Put the whole bird in the bag and place it breast side down in the pan. This allows the juice to run down into the breasts and keeps them really moist. Since the turkey is in the the bag, you will not need ot baste since the juice will stay in the bag rather than evaporate. When the button pops up on the meat thermometer that comes in the turkey, you're done. We normally leave it in a couple of extra minutes just to make sure. Let it cool a bit before carving. Hope this helps. It's the easiest way I have found to cook a large turkey.

Answer 4

hey, i got the turkey too! i did this a couple of years ago, and it was really good. okay...first, make sure you check the cavities really good. the big one and the little one where the neck would be. you don't want to leave any little bags of innards or whatever. rinse the turkey well in cold water. then, i salt the whole thing heavily and rinse it again. it helps to kill stuff. i don't stuff the bird with stuffing, instead i cut up an onion and garlic and put it inside the cavity to cook. i also slice up garlic thin and put some slices, along with some pats of butter, under the skin of the breasts. just work it in there nice and liberally. i put the whole thing in one of those turkey roasting bags. this way, it bastes itself and won't be dry. then i just let it bake in a roasting pan, per the specs on the turkey packaging for the poundage and until the little button pops up. it's really good and easy enough.

Answer 5

butter herb turkey

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons garlic herb sauce mix (recommended: Knorr)
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 (32-ounce) bag celery and carrot party sticks
2 large onions, large dice
1 (32-ounce) container low-sodium chicken broth
12-pound turkey, thawed if necessary
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
3 (3/4-ounce) packets fresh herbs poultry herb blend (sage, thyme and rosemary)
1 lemon, thickly sliced

In a small bowl, combine softened butter, poultry seasoning, garlic herb sauce mix, and crushed garlic. Use a fork to mix together until well combined. Cover and put in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes, until firm but not hard.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Arrange celery, carrots, and half of the diced onions in the bottom of a roasting pan. Add chicken broth and set aside.
Rinse the thawed turkey and pat dry. Use your finger to carefully loosen the skin around the entire bird. Take the butter mixture and cut into large pieces. Place the butter pieces under the skin of the entire turkey. Rub the remaining butter pieces on the outside of the skin and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the inside of turkey cavity with remaining onions, fresh herb poultry blend, and lemon slices. (Truss if necessary.) Insert the pop-up thermometer at an angle about 3-inches down from the neck cavity and 2-inches from the breast bone, in the thickest part of the breast.
Place turkey on the bed of vegetables in roasting pan. Place in the oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F. Roast for 1 hour, then baste with pan juices every 20 minutes until thermometer pops up or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 180 degrees F, about 3 hours (depending on the weight of turkey!

Answer 6

To avoid dryout, I tent my bird with tinfoil which allows the juices to steam and I've never had a dry bird Some people swear by the turkey oven bags but I've never used one. As for seasoning, rub the entire bird with salt and pepper (inside and out). If you're not going to stuff it with traditional stuffing, you could place some onions and citrus slices as well as some fresh herbs in the cavity.

Answer 7

1ST KILL YOUR TUKEY
then pluck your turkey
then wash your turkey
then slice the turkey skin and slide butter under it.
then spice your turkey
then stuff your turkey
then cook your turkey
40 min a lb of turkey
take it out 1/2 before time is up
wrap your turkey in tin foil
turn off oven
put turkey back in oven wrapped.
serve in one hour.
you have juicy turkey.......

Answer 8

Soak it in brine for the night before you cook it.

Answer 9

you have to constantly baste the turkey! If you don't it will become dry.

BASTE IT I SAID.....BASTE!

Answer 10

Use a roasting rack (V shaped) and place the bird in it breast side down - cook as per any recipe and for the last 30 minutes flip the bird over to make deep golden - the juices from the back flow into the breast making it moist and tender.
or use the Sunset 2 hour Turkey recipe from Vons its fool proof:
INGREDIENTS
1 frozen Manor House turkey, 10-24 pounds, thawed
1-2 tablespoons Safeway SELECT Verdi extra virgin olive oil
Morton coarse kosher salt
Vons coarse ground black pepper
1 cup Safeway fat-free chicken broth (optional, for drippings)
TURKEY ROASTING TOOLS
Roasting pan (13"x16")
V-shaped rack
Meat thermometer
Oven thermometer
PREPARATION
4-6 days before cooking
Thaw frozen turkey in the refrigerator. When you eventually cook the turkey, it should still be at refrigerator temperature (at room temperature no longer than 1 hour before cooking).
1-2 days before cooking
Clean your oven to prevent smoking of burned-on grease when cooking at high heat.
DO NOT USE A CONVECTION OVEN.
30 minutes before cooking
Preheat oven to 475º and use oven thermometer to check temperature.
Remove and discard truss that holds turkey legs together. See Tip A. Pull or trim off and discard lumps of fat in neck and body cavity. Remove giblets from cavity and save for gravy, if desired.
Rinse turkey inside and out with warm water. Pat dry with paper towels. Rub turkey skin all over generously with olive oil. Set bird breast down and sprinkle back with salt and pepper.

Place the adjustable V-shaped rack in the roasting pan (set rack sides so the bird is a minimum of 2 inches from pan bottom). Put turkey, breast up, on rack; sprinkle breast with salt and pepper. Fold wing tips under. See Tip B.

Using aluminum foil, form caps over the tips of each drumstick. If wing tips extend beyond pan rim, fashion a foil collar underneath to make sure drippings flow back into pan. See Tip C. Leave legs untied. Do not add stuffing or close body cavity.

Insert the oven-safe meat thermometer near center of breast through thickest part of breast to bone (the coldest part of the turkey and most accurate spot to check doneness). See Tip D.
Set pan on the lowest rack in a 475° oven (do not use convection heat; it causes excessive smoking). Roast according to above time chart, checking as directed during cooking, until thermometer reaches 160°. Halfway through roasting time, rotate pan in oven to assure even cooking and browning. See Tip E. If areas on turkey breast start to get browner than you like, lay a piece of foil over the dark spots. If there is any smoke, check pan and wings for drips into oven; adjust foil under wings, or slide roasting pan onto a larger, shallow-rimmed pan.

Drain juices from body cavity (often plentiful in unstuffed birds) into roasting pan. If making gravy, spoon off and discard fat from drippings in pan. If drippings are dry, skim any fat from pan, then add 1 cup fat-free chicken broth; scrape drippings free. Use in Amber Gravy as directed (see 6 Delicious Side Dishes for recipe).
Set pan on the lowest rack in a 475° oven (do not use convection heat; it causes excessive smoking). Roast according to above time chart, checking as directed during cooking, until thermometer reaches 160°. Halfway through roasting time, rotate pan in oven to assure even cooking and browning. See Tip E. If areas on turkey breast start to get browner than you like, lay a piece of foil over the dark spots. If there is any smoke, check pan and wings for drips into oven; adjust foil under wings, or slide roasting pan onto a larger, shallow-rimmed pan.

Remove pan from oven, set in a warm, draft-free spot, and loosely cover pan with foil to keep it warm. Let turkey rest 30 to 45 minutes. The resting period will allow the internal temperature to reach 165°, the USDA safe cooking temperature for poultry.

Cut off turkey legs at thigh joint. See Tip F. If joint is red or pink, return legs to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes (at 300° to 475°) or heat in a microwave oven for 3 to 4 minutes.
Carve the rest of the turkey. Turkey juices may be clear to pink or rosy; both are fine. Save juices to pour into gravy for richer flavor, if desired.

GOOD LUCK!