Well, we're on the countdown now for Thanksgiving and it takes time to prepare the perfect turkey, so I think we should get started. I want to share my way of making sure everyone truly enjoys the Thanksgiving bird for dinner.
Most likely, your turkey is frozen, as is mine. So, we should think ahead. An average size turkey...say 14 -16 pounds, is going to need to be removed from the freezer and placed into the refrigerator for two days so it may thaw slowly. Let's note that on the calendar!! Nothing worse than trying to work with a half frozen turkey! Of course, if you're a bit late and the turkey isn't completely thawed, you can always immerse it in cold water for a few hours and finish the thawing. Just leave the turkey in the sealed plastic wrap to make sure water doesn't get inside while the turkey is immersed.
Once the turkey is thawed, we'll move onto the next step, which you may not be familiar with doing, but will greatly enhance the bird! And we're going to need an additional day, so make sure that turkey is thawed in time!!
The morning before Thanksgiving, remove the thawed turkey from the refrigerator. Now, remove the turkey from the plastic wrap and rinse the turkey under cold water. Rinse the inside and outside of the turkey and don't forget to remove the package of giblets packed inside the turkey! I don't know how many people have managed to cook that little package inside the turkey, not realizing it's there! If you boil those giblets before making your stuffing...dice them up and add them to the stuffing mix...it's a nice addition, too. Or if you have cats, they sure love the boiled giblets, if you don't want to use them.
Now that you have the turkey all rinsed and dried, we're going to carefully loosen the skin from the meat on the breast and legs of the turkey. Be gentle and try to not tear the skin. Go slowly while doing this, separating the thin membrane separating the meat from the skin.
Take a small mixing bowl and pour in a generous amount of KOSHER SALT. Only use kosher salt, as it is much coarser than regular table salt. Now, you may add some pepper and seasonings of your choice to the kosher salt...Rosemary, Basil...whatever you like. Mix the salt, pepper and seasonings together. Pat the turkey down well to remove any moisture from the surfaces..you can use papere towels to do this. Take about 2 teaspoons of the salt/seasoning mixture and rub it all over the inside cavity of the turkey, using your hands. Make sure you thoroughly rub all surfaces. Now, using another 2 teaspoons of the salt/seasoning mix, lift the skin of the turkey and rub the breast meat and leg meat with the mixture. Again, rubbing all surfaces and being gentle so as to not tear the skin. When finished, pull the skin back into place on the turkey and follow the same procedure, rubbing the salt/seasoning mixture onto the surface of the turkey skin. Rub well into the area between the legs and body of the turkey and the wings, as well. Now, put the turkey back into the refrigerator, uncovered....until the following morning when you are ready to stuff and roast the bird.
Before stuffing the bird, remove it from the refrigerator and pat all surfaces dry....very dry. Remember to pat down the cavity inside the bird, as well.
NOTE: Don't worry about the salt you put on the turkey!!! It's not going to make it too salty! And when you pat the bird dry, the excess salt will be removed. Here's what this brine treatment is going to do. It's going to assure you that your turkey will be moist and juicy after you roast it...not all dried out....and it's going to assure you that the skin on the roasted bird is going to be very crispy and nice!
Now, you're free to stuff the bird with your favorite type of stuffing. I like to use a very moist stuffing mix...not too dry.
With the turkey stuffed and ready to go, I melt butter in a saucepan. I use a syringe type baster/injector and infuse the breast and legs with the melted butter. Inject deeply into the meat and slowly, moving around with the needle to get good dispersal of melted butter into the meat.
Now, I preheat the oven to 425 F degrees, with the cooking rack being set in the bottom 1/3 of the oven. I like clean up to be simple, so I always use one of the disposable aluminum pans for roasting the turkey. And, helping maintain moisture in the bird, I also put the bird inside one of those roasting bags before placing it into the aluminum pan. Again, clean up is easy and the bird stays moist. Seal the roasting bag and reduce the temperature in the oven to 350 F degrees. Place the turkey into the oven and begin roasting. The rule of thumb is to allow about 13 minutes per pound for your turkey to adequately roast.
For safety sake, make sure you have a meat thermometer handy. Check the legs and breast of the turkey, plunging the meat thermometer deeply into the meat to make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 F degrees. Do the same with the stuffing inside the turkey. You want to see 165 F degrees there, as well. This way, you know all bacteria has been killed and your guests are going to enjoy your turkey dinner instead of food poisoning!!!
Once the turkey is ready, I cut the roasting bag open along the top, exposing the breast, legs and wings. I like very crispy skin on the turkey...one of my favorite parts of the meal, so I brush the skin on the breast, legs and wings with more melted butter. I put the turkey back into the oven for about 20 minutes, allowing the skin to thoroughly brown and become more crispy. Once done, out of the oven!
Allow about 20 minutes for the turkey to "rest" after coming out of the oven before you carve it. That will allow all the juices time to settle and surface and the turkey will carve much more easily! Ready to serve!!
That's it...a perfect Thanksgiving turkey, my way. I hope you enjoy and remember, if you roast a chicken during the year, the same process works wonderfully there, as well.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: stan.kain@gmail.com You may also follow my recipe blog here on G+ for updates and more recipes. And share your experience on G+ if you try my methods and recipes and also share with family and friends!!
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