Okay, Let's Talk Turkey?

what a great idea. i had christmas in september with my kids because one son is away in the army, and the rest of us are in different states. you do what you can when you can.

to keep my turkey moist I use cheesecloth. I soak it in chicken stock season with bell's seasoning. heat the seasoned chicken stock with 1/2 stick of butter.

pull the skin away from the meat of the turkey very carefully at the breast and sides. mix butter and sage and shove it under the skin between the meat and underside.

cover the turkey with the soaked cheesecloth. every half hour baste the cheesecloth with more of the chicken stock mixture.

you will have a lovely browned and moist turkey. good luck and merry christmas.

I use a covered roasting pan because they are self basting and allow tenting at end before carving. The use of the meat thermometer is very good and really the only way to go because ovens and thermostats vary so much , usually up to 25 degrees off the setting. I uncover to complete the browning. I use my mothers method and I am in my seventies and we always added ginger ale as the liquid in the pan to start it, just a cup or two. I use 325 -350 and allow 20 minutes per lb. The old cook books say longer but today's turkeys are Hybrid and gain meat faster etc and tend to cook faster , also some are retailed already basted with butter flavoured oils etc.

You have a small turkey likely a hen and about 20 weeks of age so will cook fairly fast so start checking at 2 hour mark. You should be okay with foil pans and foil covering but for the future a stainless covered roasting pan is great to have around and the sales are on now.

First... you cook a turkey for 15 minutes per pound. If it's unstuffed. So yours needs to cook for about an hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours max. Just wash it and season with salt, pepper, garlic or garlic powder, poultry seasoning, or sage and thyme... which ever you have. Make sure to season inside the cavity too. You can rub it with olive or vegetable oil before seasoning. Then tuck the wings under the bird, and tie the legs together, it looks nicer when it's served if you do. Double up your aluminum pans and tent it with foil. Tent means not tightly covered, just have the foil folded down the middle and sitting over the bird. Make sure it reaches the sides of the pan on both sides. It sort of looks like a tent. Roast at 325. remove the foil for the last half hour of cooking and turn the oven up to 350. Baste about 3 times during this browning process. Make sure to tilt the pan a little so that excess juices run out of the cavity.

You can make gravy with the drippings if you want.

Here's what I do...I don't know if it's the best, but it's really good.

I season it with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. (Mixed first)

I put Real butter inside the cavity with 3 bay leaves. Butter on the outside and under the skin.

I cook it in an aluminum roasting pan with carrots, celery and garlic cloves on the bottom.

I tent it and cook it for 8-10 hours @ 225 and then remove the foil and cook @ 325 for 30 mins.

If your trying new ways, try this and see how you like it. :)