Turkey tips

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Turkey tips

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There’s plenty of information on how to pick out and cook the perfect turkey. Some argue the bigger and most expensive the better, while others say the smaller ones rank the juiciest. Organic or non-organic? Stuffed or unstuffed? Baste or let it alone? Let's face it; to most of us a turkey is a turkey. They’re all ugly no matter where they come from, and in the end if it taste good no one knows the difference anyway. 

What about the Tryptophan? You know, the stuff that supposed to make you sleepy? According to research you’ll get more by eating dried egg whites, which is listed highest in content out of all the other proteins that have it. Yet turkey gets all the credit. So when the drowsiness sets in afterward, you can most likely blame it on the variety of “stuff” that accompanied the turkey. Mix all that with some liquids like wine and eggnog and your bound to crash. Whatever turkey you choose to cook, here are a few tips for retaining the flavorful juices and keep salmonella at bay.

Ingredients:

One of everything =

1. Turkey
2. Apple
3. Stalk of celery
4. Onion
5. Stick of butter
6. Bay leaf
7. Garlic clove
8. Salt and pepper

• Thaw bird (if necessary) wash and pat dry.
• Pre-heat oven to 300° on convection roast.
• Remove cavity insert of giblets (omittng liver) and add to a pot of salted water for stock and simmer.
• Cut apple, celery, onion and half of butter into chunks and stuff into cavity. Add remaining ingredients.
• Place bird BREAST SIDE DOWN into large roasting pan.
• Spread ¼ cup remaining butter outside and under skin.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Place in oven and roast half of it’s cooking time in this position. (For a 20 pounds about an hour and a half) Don’t baste at this point.
• Remove bird from oven. Remove ingredients and add to stock. Flip bird breast side up. Don’t worry about the flat chest. It’s the taste that counts after you stuff it with the worlds greatest stuffing.
• Lightly cover with foil and roast remaining time. Baste occasionally and check internal temp of thigh until it reaches 180 F.

There are many advantages to this cooking method. For starters the breast doesn’t dry out and the majority of the inside has time to cook before stuffing with  "the world's best stuffing for 2012."

Read more at examiner.com