Yesterday I roasted my first Turkey!
For the past 20-some years I have watched my momma cook the bird to perfection with elegance and ease and this year I decided to be independent and call the baster my own. The occasion of
FriendsGiving inspired tackling this rite of passage and I am writing this tutorial in hopes that you too will bring friends together, expand your cooking knowledge, and appreciate the life you're living.
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| My Kitchen Board! Working on my chalking skills! |
More on
FriendsGiving...
FriendsGiving was influenced by one of the greatest shows EVER, Friends. And many avid TV watchers are probably familiar with the importance of Thanksgiving in that show. So, I decided to bring all of my friends together to have a good old fashion pot luck dinner.
My first annual
Friendsgiving brought a total of 35 people together in my condo! I can't wait for many more to come.
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| Bro Sis Thanksgiving time! |
My information is a compilation of the wonderful inter-web and years of Turkey cooking experience from my mom.
How to Roast a Turkey (unstuffed)
1. Buy a Turkey
4 - 6 Servings = 4.5 - 5.5kg
8 - 10 Servings = 5.5 - 7kg
12 - 16 Servings = 7 - 10kg
I bought a very standard turkey from Superstore ($0.95 per lb) which worked great!
2. Thaw the Turkey
24 hours per 2.27kg (5 lbs) in the refrigerator. Leave the plastic wrap on and place the turkey on a cookie try to catch the gross juices.
3. Prepare the Turkey
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| Monica wanna-be! |
Once thawed, take the Turkey out of the fridge about 1.5 hours before you're going to put it in the oven. Wash that bird up with warmish water, inside and out, and take off any leftover feathers. Warning, rubbing down a turkey is what I imagine massage therapist experience when massaging seniors.
Clean out the packets of 'ew' and set them aside. Some people cook these parts as well but I didn't... maybe next year.
4. Season the Turkey
Rub down the entire turkey with butter. (Lots of butter. Let's be real, Thanksgiving is a definite YOLO life moment)
Mix together seasonings. (this is very modifiable so add whatever seasons you like)
2 parts sage
1 part garlic salt
1 part paprika
1 part nutmeg
1/2 part ground pepper
Rub this mixture into the butter all over the outside of the bird.
Quarter a lemon and an onion and place them along with some bay leaves in the cavity of the bird.
5. Cook the Bird
Place the bird in the roaster on a wire rack to lift it off of the bottom. According to different websites and blogs it seems that there isn't a lot of preference over breast up or down. I choose breast down because it would make sense that the juices would fall down into the bottom of the bird making a more succulent piece of poultry. However, when it comes time to carve the beast, keep in mind that you'll have to flip it over to get a nice cut off of the breasts. Your call.
Cook it at 350F until the internal temperature of the breast is 170F and the thigh is 180F.
NEVER SERVED UNDERCOOKED POULTRY
An approximate cooking guide from the Turkey Farmers of Canada: (unstuffed)
3.0 - 3.5 kg = 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 hours
3.5 - 4.5 kg = 2 3/4 - 3 hours
4.5 - 5.5 kg = 3 - 3 1/4 hours
5.5 - 7.0 kg = 4 1/4 - 3 1/2 hours
7.0 - 9.0 kg = 3 3/4 - 4 1/2 hours
9.0 -10.9 kg = 4 - 5 hours
Baste every 45 mins and be sure to get right under the skin of that 'used to be flying' piece of meat. You don't want to open the oven too often because the heat will escape from the oven!
6. Carve the bird
Get a manly man of the house to carve the bird. Pull off the legs, flip the bird so breast side is up and then slice away.
Enjoy!
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| DONE!! Here's to many more... |
