The Main Dish 'The Turkey'

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  For those who don't know Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday. What is the main thing that everyone looks forward to on the day. Thats right. The Turkey.....

This might have happened in some families, but I remember a Thanksgiving day when I went over to a family members house for Thanksgiving and guess what there was no turkey there was beef and chicken instead. WWWHHHAAATTT!!!!! No turkey. That's what I felt like shouting at the top of my lungs. On Thanksgiving you need to have the turkey. Thanksgiving is a day to remember to give thanks but the main dish of the day is definitely the turkey. No substitutions.

Now another horrible thing is to have a turkey on Thanksgiving but then it end up dry, rubberlike and tasteless. You were better off with no turkey at all....

There is a right and wrong way to make your turkey. You want it to be juicy, soft, tasteful and absolutely yummy so here is a family recipe for what I think is one of the best turkeys I have ever tasted.

'Two tips to helping your turkey stay juicy buy a turkey cooking bag at your local grocery store, it keeps the turkey moist and use a turkey baster.'
Traditional Yumalicious Turkey
Defrosting:
The preparation starts 1 day and a half ahead. On the first day before you go to sleep.(If your turkey is frozen) Fill your sink with warm water and salt then take off the wrapper from your turkey and put you big bird inside that sink. Leave it there throughout the night whilst you sleep. When you wake up in the morning your turkey will be defrosted and salt will have entered the pores of the turkey.giving some flavor.

Cleaning:
After you defrosted your turkey clean it (I prefer to remove the turkey skin because I think it is fattening but some people like it so if you do you can choose to keep it on) I remove the skin by peeling it back and cutting off all excess fat, clean and remove all the gutting from the inside; once this is done with my knife I poke holes all over the turkey (this will help the seasonings to be not only on top but seep inside as well) Then take lemon juice or wine and pour it on top of the turkey and scrub off all slime and rinse it well in the sink.

Seasonings:
Then take your cleaned out turkey and pour a little bit of oil on it (this will help the seasonings stick to the turkey) then put your seasoning. What I find great is salt, pepper, garlic salt, all purpose seasonings like 'lawrys' etc. When seasoning you need to put a lot but not too much. Because since it is so big it will take a lot to season it well. Just be a bit careful not to over season. Though I think that will be a bit difficult. Put your turkey in the bag and leave it in the fridge to absorb the seasoning until the next morning when you put it in the oven. (Follow the instructions on the back of the box to place it in the bag so that if you are keeping the skin on it won't stick to the bag)



Cooking in the Oven:
Preheat oven to 325F. Take your turkey out of the fridge and place it in the oven inside of the bag for 3 - 4 hours straight. Every 30 or 45 minutes use your turkey baster and pour the juices of the turkey on top of it keeping it moist. (You are pouring the seasonings back on top over and over again). You know when your turkey is ready when the plastic popper pops out showing it is done or if you don't have that when your turkey is no longer having red juices pouring out but instead clear juices. It is almost always ready in this time period. If your turkey is over 23 pound more or less you should give it and extra 30 minutes to an hour. If you are in complete doubt then cut a piece with a knife to confirm that the inside is no longer pink but instead white.


Printable Recipe


Your Done,This goes well with the traditional american meals yams, Mac and cheese, rice, mashed potatoes, potato salad, cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie, banana pudding etc. I am hungry already.


Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your meal and most importantly don't forget to Thank God for everything you have.
If you have any questions or get stuck along the way. Email me for quick cooking advice at elisesinbox@yahoo.com

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 26, 2011 at 4:33 PM

    Oi naughty! Where's the photo of us? You only put the food. :-(. Still love you though x

    ReplyDelete

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