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How's YOUR Turkey?


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3091.gif I LOVE FALL....

And seeings how Thanksgiving season is almost upon us,

I was wondering how ya'll like to prepare your Turkey? :hug:

I like to wipe the skin down with a dry paper towel and then slathe softened seasoned butter all over the skin, and roast it uncovered, then after an hour or so, inject the meat with some of the drippings ...then baste more of the buttered drippings over the top of the skin as well..

Last hour, I may cover the wings and legs, so they don't get too dark.

Aslo, anyone have a favorite Stuffing recipe?

I love all different stuffing/dressing mixtures, just none with livers or giblets please...Ulgh :)

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I bake my turkey generally slower than most people, but on a lower setting such as 12lbs on 350 degrees for like 4 to 5 hours.

Wash him with luke warm water, inside and out. put butter or margarine on him all over, and put a whole stick inside the neck. lots of garlic salt inside and out, then lay the turkey breast side down in the bag.

The turkey wont be brown as traditional turkey, but its delicious, no basting needed as it bakes in its own juices and butter.

DELICIOUS!!! YUmmmmmmy

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Sunlite

I like roasting it slow, basting it every 45 mins or so so the bird does brown quite nicely. I make a stuffing that is 50/50 diced apples and bread cubes. It has sugar, salt, margarine, onions, celery also and that's it. It's sweet but not terribly so, nice change when you want something different.

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Anybody ever have Fried Turkey?

When I lived in Arkansas, a friend from my church came over, (he was single and lonely, so I adopted him for the holidays..lol) and he insisted we try to fry the turkey in a deep frier he has. Well, being stubborn and only liking things the classic way, I bought two turkeys and we both did our own things with them...

My husband tried some of the fried turkey first and ranted and raved....so I finally caved in and said "Ok, I'll try it" and O.M. GAWD...it was frickin' fantastic.

Now, mind you, I love the smell coming from the oven on Thanksgiving day, but that fried Turkey was the most tender and moist bird I have ever eaten.

I told my hubby we needed to invest in a deep frier for turkeys and now Bubba Wayne won't let me live it down..LOL

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ShihtzuBeauty

I wash mine in cold saltwater and rinse then pat him dry. I too rub seasoned butter all over him and inside the cavity. I bake according to the directions but I baste every 1/2hr. uncovered 'til about the last hour or so then I loosley tent him w/foil. Ok now I'm hungry! :head_hurts_kr:

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My Father in Law stuff's and prepare's our Turkey for Chrismas as well as our other meat's as he used to be a chef and is a wonderful cook. I also have a stupid phobia of touching raw meat and I can't bring myself to handle Turkey or Chicken at all.

He insert's butter into the Turkey Skin and makes his own stuffing. I love a cranberry type stuffing. It's amazing!

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My Father in Law stuff's and prepare's our Turkey for Chrismas as well as our other meat's as he used to be a chef and is a wonderful cook. I also have a stupid phobia of touching raw meat and I can't bring myself to handle Turkey or Chicken at all.

He insert's butter into the Turkey Skin and makes his own stuffing. I love a cranberry type stuffing. It's amazing!

I dont have a phobia of touching meat perse, but i do have a phobia of breaking chicken bones, so I never buy a hole chicken especially when trying to cook chicken and dumplings, i just buy them already cut up. I really hate eating any kind of meat that has been cooked next to a bone, ill eat all the meat until it gets really close to the bone.....

so i guess my phobia is bones lol

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  • 1 month later...

My Mom was VERY particular about the turkey when she was still with us, so we have basically followed her method: rinse well, salt inside and out, stuff with traditional bread stuffing, smear with butter and then roast at 325 (basting frequently) until done. (She DID get inventive a couple of years and tried brining with a couple of different recipes, which was WAY less than successful.)

This year, my son the chef (yes, he is actually a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, not currently in the field) has decided we are going to brine the turkey. I tried to talk him out if it, to no avail. He claims we either brined too long before or used the wrong solution, so I guess we're going to try one more time. I'll let you know how that goes.

Mind you, this is the kid who "took over" Thanksgiving dinner when my Mom was finally too sick to do it - he was about to graduate culinary school and start his externship at the time. We got the bird rinsed, seasoned, stuffed, trussed and into the oven. Then, he looked at me and said, "So. How do you roast a turkey, anyway?"

Apparently, in culinary school you learn to do all sorts of things like debone fowl and make turduken, but you don't learn how to roast a turkey. I looked at him in disbelief and replied, "It's a big chicken, you moron. You roast it like a big chicken." At that point, my Mom roused herself from her nap on the couch and said, "Don't tell him what to do! He's about to be a real CHEF!" (She was SO incredibly proud of him, since she had always wanted to be a chef but didn't have the opportunity.)

I gave up and started drinking early. :congrats:

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We soak our turkey the day before in brine. Not only does it make the meat juicy but IMO brings out the taste in the meat. We add other things in the mix of brine ( will have to look it up again) but it is the way to go. We place our turkey in a white ( turkey bucket) and keep it in a cool place. We use to use the garage ( as no heat ) so this year I think we are using the same.

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Pam, I love that you call your son moron. I call my kids names too. There's "idiot child", "you are a total dorkmeister", "diphthong", "a$$brain", stuff like that. They know that they all mean, I love you, kid.

I love making Thanksgiving dinner, but this year we are heading to Baltimore to Teresa and Crimson and baby Nathaniel's house. Teresa (my #2 kid) is a strict veggie, so I hope Crimson knows what to do.

I prefer a fresh turkey (one time I bought a frozen one and discovered rat tooth-marks on the underside--I don't often make a scene in public, but when I took that turkey back to the store, well...) I wash him out, rub on the butter (no margarine--that stuff is pure chemicals) liberally, and I stuff the turkey just like you are no longer supposed to do. I make it with bread cubes, seasoned, with celery, chopped chestnuts if I can afford them, onion, all browned in butter. Sometimes something else if I get a wild idea. So I usually put an aluminum foil tent over the bird for the first couple of hours. I think I usually do 325 degrees. I don't baste a whole lot, but it doesn't much matter. Turkey skin is my favorite food and I like it pretty crispy. I always make real cranberry sauce instead of canned. It's so much better, and very easy too.

Mmmm. Thanksgiving. And this year, it doubles as my birthday, too!

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Pam, I love that you call your son moron. I call my kids names too.

There's "idiot child", "you are a total dorkmeister", "diphthong", "

a$$brain", stuff like that. They know that they all mean, I love you, kid.

LOL....

I always know, when my son calls me, whether or not he's in a good/happy mood, or serious (something's up) mood.

When he's in his good/happy place, I am always referred to as: "Hey ya ol' hag" or just plain ol' "Hey momma" when he's down or upset.

I may have to look online for a good recipe of brine solution and instructions on how to roast the bird using that technique. Sounds yummo...

However, I do have a solid and a liquid injector that I like to use and inject flavorings just under the skin and into the breast meat while it's roasting.

There ain't NOTHING better than the smell of a Turkey in the oven on Thanksgiving..YUMMO!

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I guess I am the lazy one, I use the good ole Oven Roasting Bag.....butter and season and plop it in the bag and forget about it. But, it must be good, all 26 of them keep comin back every year.

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I do all the rinsing, salting,slathering with butter, etc. And always make my traditional bread stuffing but last year I added dried cranberries to my stuffing, YUMMY!!

I also have been using my convection feature on my oven for the last couple years works great made 2 turkeys in the time it takes to roast one and always turned out crispy skinned and perfectly moist inside.

I also put the root end of the onions in my roasting pan to carmelise and make my gravy dark and rich.

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We have a turkey fryer and generally leave the turkey frying to the men. Deep fried turkey beats any roasted turkey I have ever had. :P

I have to agree with that statement, however, I do enjoy smelling the aroma seeping throughout the house when roasting the bird in the oven.

Yet, the first time I ever tried fried turkey...I WAS HOOKED. Man'O Man, was it ever yummo.....

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Sorry guys. I am not a cook & this is a sad time for my family.

My Sister will be doing all the cooking this time. It's usually my Mom who does all the cooking & getting the family all together at my parents' house. This year it is going to be very hollow.

Mom has been gone since Feb. and it just seems so different with out her. My girls feel it too, as they loved calling or visiting on the weekends before & asking her about the "menu". It also seems that the closer to the Holidays, my Dad is getting more & more quiet speaking & tries to not think about holidays. He was very upset with himself for forgetting my youngests 15th birthday (Mom was always in charge of reminding him) in October. Ya gotta love/hate my Boy Friend though. He tries to help too. He is making my Mom & Dad's favorite dish for Thanksgiving. Which did put a little smile on my Dad's face. Home made Spinach Pie!

My Sister (the one cooking) does not eat this, But the rest of us love it! He is a wonderful Greek Cook & loves to cook different things. We are getting 2 sheets of it for Christmas too. One for the family & a special made one for my Dad.

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That's really sweet of your BF to want to help your dad through the first big holidays since your mom's passing. Spinach pie sounds great to me--can you send along the recipe? Very sorry you will be without your mother this year.

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Yvette, this will be a tough holiday season for you, I am so sorry. Ours is also going to be difficult. My sister lost her husband in January. She has had a very tough year getting through all the milestones of "firsts", first anniversary, first Fathers Day, etc, etc. Her husband was the center of attention always. He was a great chef and no matter who cooked what, he was the master and finalized everything. He was the turkey carver and puller in later years. We miss him greatly but are trying to start some "different" traditions. Good luck and hugs for strength over the next couple of months for all of your family.

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I am so very sorry for your loss Yvette, sending big cyber hugs! :(

My mom has been gone since 1999 and I still miss her something awful, especially harder during the holidays. I will be saying some :) for you and your family to find some peace. and comfort during this tough holiday time.

About how I like my turkey.... anyway the hubby wants to make it is just fine by me!

I don't cook, and I like it that way!

:)

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FairyTail Josette

Yvette, bless your bf's heart for making Spinach Pie, it sounds delicious. I would like to see the recipe too. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers this holiday season.

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CrazyTzuLady

I am so sorry for your loss Yvette I know how difficult it :) s, my mom died on the 19th of December in 1994 very unexpectedly she was only 39 so it makes it very difficult to get into the Christmas spirit. It has become a little easier over the years but it still makes it a very hard holiday season. I will be thinking of you

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I guess I am the lazy one, I use the good ole Oven Roasting Bag.....butter and season and plop it in the bag and forget about it. But, it must be good, all 26 of them keep comin back every year.

Yeah Cathy,I'm with you,I always used the bag method.Saves a lot of mess.But I have graduated to the ranks of retired person.We are all going over to my daughters.Her hubby does all the cooking,Although I am cooking a Spiral ham to take over.Dont know how that is going to turn out as I'm not using the bag.Just my expertise.(right Janet)My daughter in laws love me.You see,they dont have to live up to their mother in laws cooking.

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shihtzumomof2

My father died on December 19, 1989 and Chrismas was his holiday. He was buried on the 23rd of December which was their wedding anniversary. I have never gotten used to not going to my parents home for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner, etc. The holidays are just not the same. Now I am the old person who gets to cook and everyone comes. I miss the good old days.

I make my turkey about the same as you all do, cooking it with the stuffing inside. We've done it that way for years and no one has died yet, so I'm not about to change because of all these new ideas. This year I'm going to my sister's in North Carolina and Thanksgiving will taste so good since I don't have to cook. I will be helping her a lot though. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday meal.

YUMMY! I can smell it now!!!!

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I am so sorry for those of you who lost loved ones during this special time of year.Its hard enough to lose a parent any time but Thanksgiving & Christmas must really be overwhelming.

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