Turkey - the best way to cook

24 Dec 2010

I was mean to be going to my sisters to be fed tomorrow. I got the bird and its absolutely massive - fresh from the farm . But as with all else this year things are not going to plan. Both my sister and hubby are terribly ill and I have volunteered to cook the turkey here and do whatever else is required blink

. Anyone who knows me knows that cooking is not something I am renowned for. One year I cooked the turkey upside down and carved it that way too and I couldnt understand why the meat just wasnt that nice doh!!!! So I know that there are some fantastic cooks on here so any tips on how to make this a wonderful turkey would be really appreciated!

24 Dec 2010

Just keep it simple Corrie.
Shove an onion up it's arse, add a couple of knobs of lard on the breast and then cover the whole bird in streaky bacon. Cover with foil then roast for 20 minutes per lb and 20 minutes extra. Just check the juices run clear to be sure it's cooked.

24 Dec 2010

Brine it Corrie. Stick it in a washing up bowl of cold water with a cup of salt ((( and perhaps a bit or sugar and orange peel if you're feeling that way out? ))) dissolved in it right now, and just leave it somewhere cold till morning. Take it out, dry it off, ram an onion, apple and orange up its backside, shove a little bit of butter in under the skin over the breast, bit of streaky bacon on the outside, sit it on top of quartered onions in the tray then cook it. Can't go wrong, and it will come out lovely and moist no matter what you do to it. smile

N x x x ;)

24 Dec 2010

Quote by Jewlnmart
Just keep it simple Corrie.
Shove an onion up it's arse, add a couple of knobs of lard on the breast and then cover the whole bird in streaky bacon. Cover with foil then roast for 20 minutes per lb and 20 minutes extra. Just check the juices run clear to be sure it's cooked.

Yes corrie id go with thattoo altough hubby always cooks christmas dinner have fun x x x

24 Dec 2010

Stick an orange and an onion inside it and lay strips of streaky bacon over the breast before you cook it. Cook the stuffing separately.

24 Dec 2010

i was in the usa one xmas and they cook the entire turkey in a huge deep fryer. they had them out on the driveways in case they caught fire. they said it was a great way to do it. obviously totally unacceptable here. but think of the taste!

24 Dec 2010

Don't tie the legs together - that way the thickest part (top of the thighs) cooks a bit quicker. And that way the breast isn't so dry once the rest is done. That can make it too big for the oven though - so test for size first.
Make sure you take the giblets out.
If you're covering it with foil - uncover for the last 15 mins or so, to let it get nice and brown. Safest way is to slit the foil down the middle and push the foil apart rather than try to take it off completely(you can spill juices down your arm if you're not careful).
Slosh a glass of port or red wine into the tin about the 15 minute mark. Then use the juices to make a gravy.
One recipe I tried worked out quite nicely - zest an orange and bash the zest into half a pound of butter. Slide your fingers under the skin and push as much of the butter as you can into a layer under the skin. Another option would be to do the same thing with Thyme rather than orange zest. Fiddly but tasty.
One year I followed a book recipe and put the turkey in at midnight on the lowest setting my oven would do. The turkey was fabulous - delicate, moist, delicious and fully cooked at 8 am. LOL. And breakfast to the smell of cooked bird didn't work so well. If I do that again I'll put it in at 6 am not midnight.

24 Dec 2010

Quote by foxylady2209
Slosh a glass of port or red wine into the tin about the 15 minute mark. Then use the juices to make a gravy.
.

or you could just drink a glass of wine or port (or indeed any other alcoholic beverage) every 15 mins till no-one can stand up - then who 'hic' cares who t' trurkey was like?

24 Dec 2010

Assuming you get it the right way up this time...
Place in a roasting tin, rub the breast with soft butter and sprinkle with salt (pref sea salt), layer top of the turkey with streaky bacon, place a couple of thick rings of onion on the top (to stop the foil sticking to the bird/bacon). Cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven 180c @ 25 mins/lb + a further 25mins without the foil and onion rings.
Leave to rest for at least 1-1.5 hours to reabsorb the juices before carving.
Hey presto - perfect succulent Turkey
WARNING - They'll prob give you the job every year! lol

24 Dec 2010

You lot are so brilliant lol

just realised its 18lb so its going to be a tough call for the oven so the USA idea actually sounds fab :lol: thank you so much xxxxxx

24 Dec 2010

Quote by Gufuncouple
Assuming you get it the right way up this time...
Place in a roasting tin, rub the breast with soft butter and sprinkle with salt (pref sea salt), layer top of the turkey with streaky bacon, place a couple of thick rings of onion on the top (to stop the foil sticking to the bird/bacon). Cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven 180c @ 25 mins/lb + a further 25mins without the foil and onion rings.
Leave to rest for at least 1-1.5 hours to reabsorb the juices before carving.
Hey presto - perfect succulent Turkey
WARNING - They'll prob give you the job every year!

Bloody hell - what temperature is your house at? In my kitchen it would be stone cold by then - even under foil.
I would love to have a double oven - one just isn't enough when you are doing a roast at a lower temp and potatoes or Yorkshires at searingly hot.

24 Dec 2010

Quote by foxylady2209
Assuming you get it the right way up this time...
Place in a roasting tin, rub the breast with soft butter and sprinkle with salt (pref sea salt), layer top of the turkey with streaky bacon, place a couple of thick rings of onion on the top (to stop the foil sticking to the bird/bacon). Cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven 180c @ 25 mins/lb + a further 25mins without the foil and onion rings.
Leave to rest for at least 1-1.5 hours to reabsorb the juices before carving.
Hey presto - perfect succulent Turkey
WARNING - They'll prob give you the job every year!

Bloody hell - what temperature is your house at? In my kitchen it would be stone cold by then - even under foil.
I would love to have a double oven - one just isn't enough when you are doing a roast at a lower temp and potatoes or Yorkshires at searingly hot.
It should still be 'warm' the trick is to cut thin and serve on warmed plates, the heat of the rest of the meal will soon bring it up to a comfortable eating level.

24 Dec 2010

Quote by corrie
You lot are so brilliant just realised its 18lb so its going to be a tough call for the oven so the USA idea actually sounds fab :lol: thank you so much xxxxxx

A big bird like that and you can reduce the cooking time a little.

24 Dec 2010

Another memory surfaced.
We were all to have Xmas dinner at my sister's. Her oven conked out that morning - thermostat went. She had a double oven - but the second one was about half the height of the main. There was no way to shove the turkey in. Her hubby split the turkey down it's middle and spread it out (spatchcock style), pinned the legs down against the body to keep it flat and cooked it. It took about an hour to cook a turkey for 7 people and it was delicious. Goodnes knows how an 18lb turkey would spread out cooked that way - probably not fit any oven at all. biggrin

24 Dec 2010

Quote by corrie
One year I cooked the turkey upside down .....

Actually that could have been an inspired mistake. I remember seeing a TV chef once saying you should cook it upside down for a while to let all the moisture sink down into the breast. :thumbup:
However it turns out, I hope you have a great Xmas!

24 Dec 2010

Cook it upside down, breast to the bottom for the first couple of hours, onion up its bum and covered in fatty bacon
After couple of hours take off bacon, turn over and finish cooking. Use the bacon for pigs in blankets

24 Dec 2010

Quote by Tan--Kinky
Cook it upside down, breast to the bottom for the first couple of hours, onion up its bum and covered in fatty bacon
After couple of hours take off bacon, turn over and finish cooking. Use the bacon for pigs in blankets

Cooking it upside down allows the fatty juices in the legs and base of the turkey to baste the dryer breast meat, the bacon helps keep the juices in to, turning it over allows for the top to crisp up and brown

24 Dec 2010

Oh and there is not much point in trying to cook roasties in the oven while the turkey is in either, they don't go golden and crispy because of the steam, the rest time of the turkey is for that lol

24 Dec 2010

Very important point - Make sure it's dead before you do any of the above!
:happy: Merry Christmas Corrie xx

27 Dec 2010

In an oven