Should I butterfly it or not? That's the part of the bird that's really most sensitive to cooking. Check out his great recipe for Cajun Smoked Turkey! —Tootsie at 8:44PM on 11/10/11. And she stuffs it. Perhaps your mom was served a roasted bird at a fancy restaurant once and noticed that the bit was missing and assumed it's because it somehow makes the bird taste better. When your turkey reaches an internal temperature of 180°, remove from oven and let stand in oven bag for another 15 minutes. Kenji's next project is a children’s book called Every Night is Pizza Night, to be released in 2020, followed by another big cookbook in 2021. See my response above. Others advocate a roasting pan and tinfoil or cheesecloth. A few years ago I made pan gravy using red wine (AB's Best Gravy Ever). Unfortunately, this means that if the turkey takes slightly longer than I expect, I'm in the kitchen whisking gravy while guests are here waiting for their food.. Preferably something that can be eaten with cranberry sauce... does that even exist? Thanksgiving's not the right day to think about weather your sauce is too heavy! —nothernspy at 7:50PM on 11/10/11. Just give it a good stir and drop in your turkey. Make sure you know what you're getting into before you buy a country ham though. If you aren't worried about having the perfectly round turkey on your Thanksgiving table, the best way to cook it is to butterfly it by cutting out the back, spreading it out, and pressing down on the center of the breast to flatten it. How long is the minimum brining time? Got a question? She is a baker and a crafter and loves to try new recipes for both. I'd fill up a few two-liter soda bottles with water and freeze them (leave space at the top for expansion) and use them to keep the laundry tub cool while the turkey brines. How do you go about asking a butcher to butterfly or cut your turkey into pieces? Learn exactly how to use one of these special oven bags here. But there are three words of caution anyone tempted to try cooking turkey in a bag needs to hear: Don’t do it. », Last Thursday we gave you the opportunity to ask anything about Thanksgiving. too much? Well, fact is that science says that large flavorful molecules like those found in smoke won't penetrate very far. Why don't I get as much gravy as she does? Learn more on our Terms of Use page. Are there any meat- and dairy-free side dishes that you could recommend to please a crowd of meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike? If they need a bit more cooking, remove them and leave them in the oven for longer while your breasts rest. How to Cook Turkey in an Oven Bag. … My family has a long time debate over the turkey rump (the little butt part that usually sticks out and up a bit). If that doesn't turn him on to gravy, sorry coppertone24, it's time to start shopping for a new boyfriend. TL;DR version: the key is to first slowly render all the fat out of the skin by slow cooking, then to cook it until the collagen in the skin has completely broken down. If you use a less salty brine, you're actually accomplishing the opposite of the intended goal: you're pulling salt out of the bird, which makes it lose moisture faster as it cooks. We answered that came in before then! Cooking small turkeys is just like cooking larger ones, you just have to keep an eye on their temperature as they cook, because cooking times will be significantly lower. Or is it pointless to brine it? You can reheat the legs in the same water bath as the breasts before serving. I pretty much always make my gravy ahead, adding drippings at end to enhance its flavor. cmstiller at 10:32PM on 11/10/11. AB's gravy was a rich brown color, ours turned purple. Also, what is the best way to cook, what I am assuming will be, a smaller turkey? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest recipes and tips! Prebrined or kosher birds are a good way to go if you have a tendency to accidentally overcook your turkeys or don't want to have to brine your bird yourself. An alternative to using a cooking bag is braising the turkey. About a zillion brining questions already so I don't know how you are going to condense it. Honey and corn syrup blend with savory herbs and seasonings to give this turkey a slightly sweet flavor. (Celebrating belatedly doesn't work out, either.) Josh Bousel has got you covered! Can you help me scale it down so I can see if the white & dark meat taste good? Just plan on lots of leftovers. —annet at 7:39PM on 11/10/11. Also, which is better? What are the pros/cons of cooking a turkey in a bag vs roasting? It was during the 1950s that the idea of cooking a turkey in a paper grocery bag first became trendy, and the notion still occasionally makes a comeback every few years. A supermarket? mains other than tofurkey. You won't fine a beef can big enough to hold a turkey upright though, or an oven for that matter. What should one look for when selecting a turkey e.g. I'm having a pre-Thanksgiving feast at my place a few days before the main event. The answer is probably in this series! Bad for the oven and bad for the turkey. My tried-and-true recipe never fails to win me compliments. I have always used turkey bags and the first year that I was in charge of the turkey for Thanksgiving, I thought my mother-in-law was going to have a heart attack she was so nervous about the turkey. How do you make the tastiest vegetarian gravy? Turkeys are generally a minimum of around 8 pounds or so, whereas you're going to want a 4-5 pound bird. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy. I know, I know "develop a relationship with your butcher" but I just don't eat that much meat. My mom's family says it must come off and having it on will ruin the taste of the rest of the turkey, while my dad's side loves that part (especially my grandma) and is very upset when they find its been chopped off prior to roasting. If the former, then it's new to me. That's the problem with opinion: it can't be trusted. I buy a natural, organic turkey with minimal processing and no additives. Even brining for a couple days shows penetration of no more than a few millimeters. It's absolutely the best part of the turkey (or any roasted bird, for that matter). We're doing turkey cutlets instead of a whole bird - how much should we buy per person? The best part: all the delicious juices stay in the Oven Bag, so you won’t even need to scrub the roasting pan with these easy steps. Believe it or not, the skin will brown. —Charlene Melenka, Vegreville, Alberta. I usually do this with chicken and then make a quick sauce with the pan goodie and creme fraiche. I just made my first batch of duck stock. Should you tip if it's an independent shop? (LA times says it works, but no science just opinion).