Hey Guys,
So I'm cooking a Turkey this Friday for an early Thanksgiving party and I've never cooked one before. I'm a decent cook, can make chicken curry, follow simple recipes and what not, but I know cooking a Turkey is a bit more serious affair.
I tried to read up on it and I think I have the basics down, but have some specific questions:
- definitely getting a fresh bird instead of frozen, as I dont want to deal with the thawing process. But the frozen Butterball birds say they come with seasoning already applied to the bird? Anyone think this is better than a fresh bird?
- I'm going to bake it, instead of frying and am aiming for moist meat all around. What's the best way to do that? I've read about putting the bird in a cooking bag of sorts or wrapping in Aluminum foil. I also read that brown-bagging (putting the bird in a greased grocery store brown bag) is not really safe for health reasons, but has the best results.
- Stuffing. I know it needs to be pre-cooked before being put in and I've also read that putting stuffing in makes the cooking time longer. Some recipes suggested putting an onion or an orange in the body cavity to add flavor, instead of stuffing and just serve that on the side. Any suggestions?
- Baking process: I think I like the idea of roasting at a high temp like 450F initially for say 30 mins and then slowly cooking at say 300F for 3.5 hours for a 15 lb bird. What do you think?
So I'm cooking a Turkey this Friday for an early Thanksgiving party and I've never cooked one before. I'm a decent cook, can make chicken curry, follow simple recipes and what not, but I know cooking a Turkey is a bit more serious affair.
I tried to read up on it and I think I have the basics down, but have some specific questions:
- definitely getting a fresh bird instead of frozen, as I dont want to deal with the thawing process. But the frozen Butterball birds say they come with seasoning already applied to the bird? Anyone think this is better than a fresh bird?
- I'm going to bake it, instead of frying and am aiming for moist meat all around. What's the best way to do that? I've read about putting the bird in a cooking bag of sorts or wrapping in Aluminum foil. I also read that brown-bagging (putting the bird in a greased grocery store brown bag) is not really safe for health reasons, but has the best results.
- Stuffing. I know it needs to be pre-cooked before being put in and I've also read that putting stuffing in makes the cooking time longer. Some recipes suggested putting an onion or an orange in the body cavity to add flavor, instead of stuffing and just serve that on the side. Any suggestions?
- Baking process: I think I like the idea of roasting at a high temp like 450F initially for say 30 mins and then slowly cooking at say 300F for 3.5 hours for a 15 lb bird. What do you think?
Do what ever the Joy of Cooking tells you to do Jay. I would rub olive oil on the bird....lightly sprinkle with seasoning salt....and sprinkle with cajun spices
